The newly renovated basement of Plaza Singapura has seen many new tenants providing all sorts of quirky and creative food. Bratwurst Shop is one of the original stores which has been there for quite a long period of time.
Just in case you have no idea, Bratwurst is a sausage composed of pork, beef and/or veal and the name is from Germany.
For the sausages, you get to choose from different toppings, the original, bacon & cheese, mushroom& cheese are some of the popular ones.
After choosing the toppings, you’ll get to choose the type of bratwurst that you fancy, swiss cheese pork, spicy beef & pork, black pepper pork, italian pork, mild beef & pork are all available.
There are also a wide range of sandwiches available at pretty decent prices.
I remember the old Bratwurst shop was located on the other side of the basement, nearer to the escalator outside Carrefour, but they have since shift to this corner which provides them with a larger seating area.
The theme for Bratwurst shop is apparently red, with their furnitures and shop signboard in bright red.
Swiss cheese pork, original with mustard & sauerkraut ($4.95) I had the original with mustard & sauerkraut for my choice of topping, and the swiss cheese pork for the main.
The sausage was really huge, i must say its quite value for money as one will fill you up if you finish it together with the bun. However i disliked the sauerkraut as i find it to be too salty and sour, and does not compliments the taste of the sausage.
And just in case you are wondering, sauerkraut is finely sliced cabbage fermented by various lactic acid.
Tuna Sandwich ($5.50) On first sight the tuna sandwich certainly does not looks appealing, the bread looks dry, and the tuna well doesn’t looks attractive to me.
But my friend say the tuna sandwich actually taste not bad, and at $5.50 i guess you can’t really complain.
Total bill was $10.45 for two, we didn’t order any drinks because we went to Carrefour to buy mineral water beforehand. Well, we were on a budget, had waffles at Gelare before coming here, and besides mineral water is healthier!
Drop by Bratwurst shop for a hassle-free, quick bite if you are in Plaza Singapura, and do not want to spend too much money on a meal before going to the theaters!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or biasness. Feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
Wednesday is for the ladies, party all night long!
Thursday we have people queuing up to buy Toto
Friday its one more day to the weekends
Saturday its finally weekends!
Sunday 4D 4D & 4D
So what do we have on Tuesday? Make a guess?!?
Yep, Tuesdays are Waffles Day!
For every Tuesday, its waffles day at Gelare, where you get to enjoy 50% discount on their waffles (actually for their plain waffles only, the rest less than 50%).
But who bothers! Its waffles day, and personally i do think its quite a good sales tactic. I mean even though i have never try Gelare before, but i heard of their promotions before. It works.
A friend and i went down to Gelare @ Plaza Singapura, 3pm and the place’s almost full house. For every tuesday, plain Waffle with syrup & cream is half price at $3.90, and the single scoop ice cream waffle is $6.90 (original price being $9.90)
There’s this promotion which they are having for their main course. But after seeing that their pastas are actually those frozen ready-packed one, which they heat up in the microwave, no thanks!
I was tempted to try their cheesecakes which at $5 a slice seems reasonable. Anyone try before mind letting me know whether it’s good?
Waffle with single scoop Tiramisu ice cream ($6.90) Just stick to what Geláre is good at, waffles. There was a choice whether you want to add on 20 cents to change the waffle to chocolate chip waffles, but we sticked with the normal ones.
The choice of toppings will be either chocolate sauce or maple syrup, and the option for having cream or no cream.
I liked my Ti-ra-mi-su ice cream waffles. But its actually quite soft, i’m not sure whether good waffles are meant to be soft, but i have a penchant for crispier waffles, like the one i had at Haato’s
Waffle with single scoop Pistachio gelare ($6.90) The Pistachio gelare here wasn’t to my friend’s liking. Pistachio is a kind of nut just in case you have no idea, like me. My friend like the soft waffles though, i guess everybody has different preference.
And we concluded that the waffles will taste much nicer without the whipped cream, and the chocolate sauce only hinder the taste of the ice cream.
Total Bill for 2 waffles is $13.80, on tuesday the waffles single scoop ice cream at $6.90 are considered reasonable i guess, but even the normal price ten bucks for it, i won’t touch it.
Haato’s waffle with single scoop ice cream is at $6, everyday. I guess thats the place to fulfill my waffles cravings until a better place comes about.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or biasness. Feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
Brown Sugar - A tiny little cafe/bistro that opened up in November 2006 and the brainchild of a former fund manager turned chef, Yuan Oeij. Following in the footsteps of yet another local restaurateur, lawyer turned chef Willin Low of Wild Rocket fame, Oeij was a part time chef for hire before deciding to give up his job to open a restaurant.
Nestled in a nook just off River Valley Road within the StarDus clubhouse premises, Brown Sugar is a small cafe that can probably seat about 30 pax. Its limited capacity means that reservations are highly recommended especially for dinners on Fridays and Saturdays. The decor is kept simple yet cosy through the use of ambient lighting.
Complimentary Bread - The bread was served warm and interestingly, had a slightly spicy aftertaste. Though crisp, I found it a tad too dry for my liking, which is where the olive oil comes into play.
Deconstructed Apple Salad - The salad consisted of apple slices, rocket leaves, walnuts and not to forget, cheese, which was cleverly hidden from view between the layers of apple slices. I personally liked this harmonious combination of flavours with the sweetness of the apple complimenting the contrasting flavours of the cheese and the rocket leaves. But its small and its $13.
Linguine of Organic Mushrooms in Cream Sauce with Sliced Parma Ham - According to the wait staff, the organic mushrooms in this dish are sourced from a local farm which ensures its freshness. True enough, the mushrooms were fresh and plentiful. However, the linguine was a tad too overcooked and the parma ham, though nice, did seem a little too thickly sliced. On the upside, the cream sauce wasn't overwhelming hence you can easily stuff more down without feeling nauseous.
Hand Chopped Wagyu Burger, Truffled Mushroom Sauce, Salad and Fries - As mentioned in my entry on Iggy's sometime back, its a total waste of good beef if you chop wagyu up and make it into a beef patty. Brown Sugar's rendition wasn't just about to change my view on that. The beef, though evidently hand chopped from the unevenness of the patty, didn't taste much different from other beef patties that I've eaten. It could have been normal beef and I honestly wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Sure, the meat was more tender with more fats but lacked the beefy taste and the texture seemed more more like minced pork than beef. It definitely didn't help that the patty was done medium well instead of medium rare as per my request. All in all a very decent burger but not exactly one to bowl me over. Oh and the fries were a tad dry and overcooked.
Tarte Tatin of Pears with Honey & Fig Ice Cream - A rather interesting dessert if I may say. The pastry was flaky but did seem a little too hard from the hardened caramel glaze. The pears were firm and not too sweet, providing a nice crunch to the flimsy looking pastry.When paired with the honey and fig ice cream, it was truly enjoyable. Order this before hand because there is a wait time of 15 minutes.
Molten 100% Valrhona Chocolate Cake, Raspberry Coulis, Vanilla Ice Cream - I think I'm just a sucker for chocolate cakes, especially ones with the word molten chocolate attached to them. Brown Sugar's offering had a rather soft crust which I personally dislike, but the decadent molten chocolate more than made up for it. The vanilla ice cream was made from vanilla beans, not extract, as evident by the black dots on the ice cream. Together with the chocolate cake, it made for a nice and not too sweet ending. Please note that this dessert has a wait time of 15 minutes as well.
An appetiser, 2 mains and 2 desserts cost something to the tune of $98 which does seem a little high for a cafe hidden in a small government building. Quality of food is of a reasonably high standard and service is quite good. Add the nice homely environment to the mix and Brown Sugar is worth a revisit. For those who wish to experience Brown Sugar for less, there is the set lunch option, at $23 for 2 courses and $27 for 3 courses.
I had my first taste of Sarpino's pizza at the Singapore Discovery Centre (SDC), don't ask why i was there, long story!
Anyway i didn't previously recalled knowing the existance of Sarpino Pizza, well besides Pizza hut, i know Canadian pizza.
And like Canadian Pizza, Sarpino's have the buy 1 get 1 offer too, except that their prices i think are slightly cheaper. Ànd obviously there will be a difference between their normal pizza and the promotions pizza.
Lets see an example, for the popular choice of hawaiian pizza, for the normal one, its call tropical hawaiian special which comes with ingredients of turkey ham, smoked turkey bacon, pineapples, cheddar and mozzarella cheese.
While for the promotion 1-for-1 pizza, there is also hawaiian pizza, just that its call The Aloha, with turkey bacon sweet pineapples, topped with italian cheese. A whole lot of difference right? I guess if you want quality be prepared to pay more
Otherwise like us just take the promotions one, and eat to your heart content! We had The Aloha, and double pepperoni. Large 14'' is $34, one for one and it works out to be about $17 for each pizza.
I say the pizza is value for money given the price, and it wont lose out to pizza hut. I'm eating less of pizza hut nowadays since the pizza quality dropped, and its rather expensive compared to canadian and sarpino's.
Jurong East is getting a reputation for being a banking hub, just beside Citibank at the CPF building, there is HSBC and OCBC, with POSB, Maybank, and a few others all in the vicinity.
I was at Citibank jurong east since its the one nearest to my home, and the one here is more of a regional hub than a small branch.
Anyway, my objective for the visit was to apply for citibank credit card, (i couldn't, my dad sup for me).
I was amazed by the simple procedures of getting a credit card nowadays, even though i'm a banking and finance student and i do know that the rules have relaxed a lot compared to last time, but i was still amazed.
How simple you asked? From the time we walked into the bank to the time we walked out, it took slightly less than 20mins. And poof! you got your credit card!
I cant remember the name of the sales person who attended to me, but he was polite and helpful to any questions and enquiries which i had.
Just for information i was tempted by the promotions offered in the citi gourmet promotions, so in the end i got two cards, citi mastercard, and citi clear platinium.
That guy suggested getting two since there was firstly no charge on the cards, and secondly he said just in case one card couldn't be use the other will be available. But thinking of it now even though there's no charges involved, but its still quite dumb to get two cards from a same bank.
In short, i'm pretty happy with the no-hassle service provided.
Heard lots about Melvados cafe and its famous brownies but due to the fact that its location is on the other side of Singapore, i've never coerced myself to make the trip down to visit it. In fact, i still have not visited it due to mixed reviews on the service and the food from the place. However, i did manage to get lucky one day and got my hands on a box of Melvados brownies for a tea time treat for free.
Macadamia Nut Brownie ($28 for 10 pieces) & Mango Mousse ($26 for 10 pieces) - Fortunate me got this box of brownies and cakes for free due to over ordering and i can say that i found the brownies and cakes above average. The Macadamia brownie obviously had a crunchy layer of macadamia nuts strewn all over the top of a chocolaty and bitter brownie. Its also soft and crumbles easily with each bite, doesn't crumble in your hand though, which to me, is a mark of an above average brownie. On the downside, the only thing to pick on is that the bitterness gets to you pretty quick. The Mango mousse cake is smooth, creamy and soft. Its lightly sweet with a thin layer of cream for that feeling of indulgence and balance all in one. It also helps to note that it was fresh. Another yummy treat.
I liked the brownies quite a bit. Its fresh, pack with taste and pretty much comfort food for me. The fact that i didn't have to pay for them helped quite a bit as well. All in all, i'd recommend ordering out to try for yourself. It ain't cheap though so please take note.
Fast food in Singapore has always been dominated by a few big names and now, competition is on the way. Well, competition has been on the way forever but never quite caught up. Its the niche that these new places are fighting for and somehow, SuperDog, which i've passed by so many times, finally got me to step in for a trial. Is it even close to being in the race? Read on for my take on the issue.
Its good to see that the company has a sense of humor from their eating etiquette. Nothing too fancy but it gets a few facts right. The philosophy also does a good job of telling consumers their main selling point, which is that their ingredients and items are fresh, never frozen. Sounds good enough for me.
Iced Chocolate and Pineapple Sensation - Beverages of fast food joints are hardly the stuff of legend and yet, this one managed to be a notch above the usual. Instead of boring reruns of coke and what not (which they do serve), we got ourselves a healthy dose of iced chocolate and pineapple sensation. The iced chocolate was rich and pretty much rivaled Starbucks or Coffee Bean if you ask me. The pineapple sensation was also pretty good with its sourish sweet taste which felt like actual pineapple juice instead of reworked extracts. Most surprising.
Breaded Fish And Chips - Nice up was the bread fish and chips which looked suitably bland since its an item that has been done to death by numerous and uncountable hordes of copycats. And yet, it managed to taste better then the likes of Long John Silvers, Coffee Club and Swenson's. This is probably because it had a taste of herbs mixed in with its crispy breaded skin and expertly done fish which managed to retain a sweetness the others simply did not offer. Another surprise.
SuperDog - This is the dog that started it all. The SuperDog, wholesome pork bratwurst with a piece of bacon, cheese, garlic and their own special chili concoction which made each bite easier to take. In terms of the bratwurst, maybe i'm no expert but i found it rather tasty albeit bland. The chili managed to salvage that however and taken as a whole, its was quite good. The chili isn't the spicy variety as well which had a tangy and mildly sweet flavor.
Bacon Chili Cheese Dog - At first glance, this is pretty much the same as the Superdog but a little smaller. The only discernible difference was the hotdog which was smaller and had cheese in it. The good thing is that the cheese was hot and flows well with each bite. In fact, i prefer this to the SuperDog. The bread in both versions were lightly buttered and toasted on the inside for a crispy texture which served it well.
Surprise. That pretty much sums it up. The place has never looked appetizing to me but i find myself drawn towards it now. The food isn't cheap and is priced above its competitors but the taste is different and surprisingly good. The service was also friendly enough to commend. To me, i find this fast food chain up there with the big boys and maybe even surpassing them on some levels. Try it, it might surprise you.
Tea Cosy formally known as Tea Cosy by Eclectic attic was the place for a foodie outing organized by HGW one quiet Friday night. Appearing on television programs and newspapers, Tea Cosy is not media shy in the least and has garnered reviews from both ends of the spectrum which ranges from flat out good to a foodie beating of disappointments. Of course, for us, we were there to discern if such praises and damnations were accurate.
One of the main draws of Tea Cosy is the strange setting that the restaurant resides in. Basically, it is possible to walk pass this restaurant without ever realizing that it is a place where you can have food. The reason for this is because of the fusion of a high end furniture store with the restaurant. Everything in the shop can be bought and has a price tag as far as the owners are concerned and to be perfectly honest, the prices are sky high IMHO. The restaurant itself changes according to the expected number of diners the restaurant predicts and this time, they've prepared a nice table set up for the event, which was appropriate.
Fat Bastard Chardonnay and Shiraz ($12 a glass) - Now, for our first disappointment for the day, the wines. As introduced by Martin, the wines are the absolute finest he has been able to find in recent memory as he enjoyed wines with a more subtle taste. The wines were actually served by the serving lady because she mentioned to us that the wine was "complementary" for the first glass which turned out otherwise but more on that later. The wines themselves were average to my tastes because i've had quite a fine wines on my own and somehow, this "Fat Bastard" label struck me as below average with its overtly weak taste and rather bland palate. And charging $12 a glass is simply ridiculous.
The bell was a nice touch until you realise there wasn't much in terms of service from the temporary staff that was hired which was a pity since the hosts were rather entertaining and friendly.
Cream Of Mushroom Soup with Toasted bread and secret Mayo - The first item after a decidedly long wait was the cream of mushroom which came with generous bits of mushroom strewn within. Along with this was a piece of toasted bread which was toasted possibly with the restaurants own brand of mayonnaise which gave it a sweet and appealing taste. The soup was average as it struck me as too salty.
Decadent salad with prawns, foie gras and egg yolk - The decadent salad is a must try whenever you visit this place. Period. Fresh green salads and greens with three pieces of prawn, a half boiled egg and 2 small pieces of pan fried foie gras. To dissect the dish, the prawns were average, as are the greens and the foie gras but when you take this as a whole, it becomes a much better dish. The mayonnaise and half boiled egg is a stroke of genius since it gives the dish a much better taste than usual. The foie gras and prawns feel more like an afterthought since the foie gras was actually very small and charred on both sides while the prawns weren't the crunchy types i've come to enjoy. Another service lapse happened here because the organizers of the party got bigger portions than ours which left a sour taste in my groups mouth since we thought they paid the same amount but got double standards. Which we found out that they paid a higher price for the bigger servings in the end but there was one more thing. We were at the restaurant first but ended up served last, now thats something they couldn't explain away and its my point that double standards were in place.
Lemon Pan Fried Dory Fillet, Grilled Chicken With Rice, Laksa Pesto - Had a try of some of the items above and this is what i think. The grilled chicken was good, soft, tender and went well with the lemon and sweet sauce. The dory was normal, nothing too special about it. The laksa pesto was reminiscent of Wild Rockets rendition except that this was more watery and had a little curry taste in it. From what i heard, it was extremely salty as well.
Foie Gras - The Foie Gras is another well known must-try dish during a visit to Tea Cosy. 2 rather decent sized pieces of goose liver pan fried on top of a bed of salad which looked much like the decadent salad of yore. Honestly though, having this on its own would have left me hungry as the foie gras weren't particularly generous. Taste wise, it was pretty normal as there doesn't seem to be much preparation in the cooking. A slightly crispy and salty outer skin is about all i could discern. Sage and Braise served better Foie Gras. This place is an option if you have a tight budget but still crave some wholesome fat.
Tirasmisu, Strawberry Shortcake, Chocolate Indulgence, Raisin Brownies and Cinnamon Cake - In case you were wondering. I made up the name above since i forgot what this was called. As i've only had .... less then a spoonful when shared, i'll refrain from commenting too much. I'll say that the cakes were quite good but not for the price.
Ebony and Ivory - Premium vanilla ice cream dribbled with chocolate and frozen set atop a chocolate brownie. Simple yet totally easy to like. The vanilla ice cream was very creamy while the chocolate gave it the slight edge in sweetness it needs. The brownie in turn gave the whole concoction a dimension of bitterness which makes it easier to recommend. My only gripe is that the portion is small and that after a few bites, sugar overload commences.
Total bill this time came up to $49 a person instead of the aforementioned and agreed upon $32.90 which the deal was supposed to be.
(Service: 4/10)
Why the low score for service? Firstly because the wine which was supposed to be complimentary turned out otherwise. Secondly, upon informing the lady of the error, instead of waiving the cost of drinks, she waived the cost of the laksa which is not much help. Thirdly, i remember Martin mentioning he was not in the job for the money but apparently the ending was that the cost of 6 glasses of wrongly served wine proved too much to handle. In all fairness, apart from this hick up, the food was average in some while above average in others. If there's anything to try, its the decadent salad and that would be about all you should have to maximize your dollar.
Held our annual excuse to dine out in the guise of mother's day at Si Chuan Dou Hua, Plaza Park Royal. Scarred from the barely satisfying dinner at Sun Japanese Dining last year, my family decided to stick to the traditional Chinese route this year. Expectations were high as I had a relatively good experience at Si Chuan Dou Hua UOB Plaza at the beginning of last year.
Wood seems to be the focus for the entire restaurant, with overhanging oriental lamps capping a most traditional Chinese interior that oozes finesse through its plush carpeted floors and doorway arches. Here you can peer through the floor to ceiling windows but the view really isn't something you would want to see - tour coaches.
I liked the keropok (crackers) which came in the usual fish and prawn variety. Crackling with every bite, it wasn't soft or soggy and made for a rather unusual but pleasing appetiser.
Sliced Beef and Tripe in Chilli Sauce - A most appetite whetting way to start off our meal, the sliced beef and tripe was nice and chewy and not to mention very spicy from all the chilli oil. This dish has a rating of 5 chillis on the menu, probably the most number awarded. Just a side comment (please correct me if I am wrong), Szechuan chilli seems to be all about spice and no fragrance.
Eight Treasure Seafood Soup - My choice of soup the last time round and this time as well. The soup definitely doesn't conform to the traditional seafood soup with its greenish colour due to the addition of ground spinach to the mix. It tasted exactly like shark's fin soup, a tad starchy with tiny bits and pieces of shark's fin, scallops, fish maw etc. Overall quite a tasty soup which bears the signature dish tag adequately.
Spicy Pork Belly - Chilli oil plus fatty pork belly is a sure fire recipe for cardiac arrest. And with the pork belly this average, I would rather listen to my doctor. Sure, the pork was chewy and not too spicy but all I could taste was the chilli and nothing else. It definitely didn't help that the pork slices were a tad too dry for my liking as well.
Fried Bittergourd with Bean Paste - A terribly executed dish honestly. The whole dish was very salty and the bittergourd was very plain bitter. Cooking the bittergourd with other stuff like beef would have made it alot better in my humble opinion. So much for a $15 plate of vegetables.
Beancurd with Dried Scallop - I'm a sucker for beancurd and this one didn't disappoint. Nice and smooth with a light smoky aftertaste. Only gripe I had was that the skin seemed a tad too dry and shrivelled. The accompanying gravy was good as well, not too starchy with shredded scallops. Very nice.
Steamed Garoupa - Have you ever eaten a garoupa, or fish for that matter, that costs $300/kg? Well its definitely a first for me and probably the last. The black garoupa, though extremely fresh and sweet with a firm meat texture to boot, cost a whooping $225 . How's that for a shocker? Pretty fishy business if you ask me.
Braised Pork Spare Rib - I really didn't quite take to the spare rib. For starters, it was way too fatty and the sauce was too sweet. The meat was also a tad too soft though still fibrous. Probably the only thing that I liked was the stick shaped man tou which was nice and crispy on the outside yet soft and compact on the inside. And at $10/piece, its definitely not cheap.
Peking Duck - Speechless. That was my initial reaction after popping a slice of the skin covered with a crepe into my mouth. The skin wasn't crispy and instead, tasted soft and limp with lots of fats underneath it. Adding to that was the non egg based crepe which was way too thick and chewy for my liking. We opted to stir fry the remains for the duck with noodles and even that tasted flat as the noodles were soft and bland.
Custard Bun - Honestly I've never had custard bun for dessert before or seen it listed under the dessert section of a menu because its usually under the dim sum portion. The custard bun was seriously quite good but very sinful with all the oil in it. Biting into one releases a gush of melted butter and custard which is guaranteed to make your heart stop. Traces of egg yolk were present in the filling as evident by the sediment. However I would have preferred a slightly more coagulated filling with a stronger custard taste .
Yam Rolls - The second of our complimentary desserts, the yam rolls were essentially yam paste wrapped up in deep fried dough and coated with sesame at both ends. The yam paste tasted like a milder version of Orh Nee and actually went quite well with the dough and sesame, very much like eating dough fritters with a sweet filling.
Fine Beancurd with Syrup - As mentioned before, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out, from its name, that Si Chuan Dou Hua is known for its dou hua aka fine beancurd. At $3 a pop, this is one expensive bowl of dou hua. But I like it quite a bit. Silky smooth yet firm through the addition of egg. You get to decide how much sugar syrup you want in it as well.
The food at Si Chuan Dou Hua was a case of hits and misses but for the price, $550 for 5 pax for lunch, its pure insanity. If the desserts weren't complimentary, we would probably be paying something to the tune of $600. Would you pay so much for a meal like that?
The Indulge @ Cathay offers fusion European cuisine with an Asian twist. Located at basement 1 of Cathay, the front of the restaurant isn’t that prominent from first sight, its more behind in a corner.
The fusion cuisine is apparent in the names of the dishes like panseared salmon with kung po sauce, dory with thai sauce, chicken kebab with oyster ginger sauce.
The Indulge interior is quite small, roughly seats about 20-30. The lightning is actually quite dark, i suppose its for the “ambiance”
One thing that i don’t like was at one corner of the restaurant, they actually dumped quite a lot of stuff there which makes the overall feel messy and untidy.
Apparently The Indulge won quite a lot of awards, and appeared on magazines and local publications.
The Indulge offers “super value” lunch promotion set meals, at $10.90 you can choose from a few main course, and it comes with free tea, soup of the day, and dessert of the day.
There are some dishes which are supposedly the chef’s signature dishes, but not feeling very adventurous, my cousin and I decided to go for the cheaper set meals.
Chicken Chop with roasted black pepper sauce ($10.90) The black pepper sauce chicken chop comes with either garlic rice or mash potatos. I chose garlic rice, and the fragrant of the garlic in the rice surge in when i had my first taste of it.
Although the garlic rice was not bad, not so much can be said of the black peper chicken chop. It was downright ordinary. Being a restaurant i was expecting something more, but it just never came.
Grilled Beef sirloin with black pepper sauce ($10.90) The same could be said for the black pepper sirloin. Done medium rare, the sirloin did nothing to impress us.
One thing which i also did not like was the lack of sides, it could be better if there are sides of veggies or stuff like potatoes which will make the meal more complete.
Dessert of the day The dessert of the day is a single scoop of ice cream, while the ice cream is your normal vanilla, but the sauce and nut goes quite well with it.
Total bill was $25.50 for 2 person, not expensive given its a restaurant. But its a double-edged thing, the quality is certainly not there since its a restaurant also.
Maybe we ordered the wrong dishes, maybe we should have try the signature dishes to have a true gauge of the restaurant, but if the normal dishes taste so ordinary like your typical coffee shop western food, i’m not so sure about the rest.
But having said all that, The Indulge still served fusion food with affordable pricing, and its a good place for a meal in Cathay, especially when there’s not much dining place there, and you can have a quick bite before or after your movies.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my genuine feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or biasness. Please do not feel emotional or distress should you have any violent objections. Kindly click the little X at the upper, extreme right of your screen if negative adjectives would be derived. Otherwise, feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
1=SGD 0.0587
The newly renovated basement of Plaza Singapura has seen many new tenants providing all sorts of quirky and creative food. Bratwurst Shop is one of the original stores which has been there for quite a long period of time.
Just in case you have no idea, Bratwurst is a sausage composed of pork, beef and/or veal and the name is from Germany.
For the sausages, you get to choose from different toppings, the original, bacon & cheese, mushroom& cheese are some of the popular ones.
After choosing the toppings, you’ll get to choose the type of bratwurst that you fancy, swiss cheese pork, spicy beef & pork, black pepper pork, italian pork, mild beef & pork are all available.
There are also a wide range of sandwiches available at pretty decent prices.
I remember the old Bratwurst shop was located on the other side of the basement, nearer to the escalator outside Carrefour, but they have since shift to this corner which provides them with a larger seating area.
The theme for Bratwurst shop is apparently red, with their furnitures and shop signboard in bright red.
Swiss cheese pork, original with mustard & sauerkraut ($4.95)
I had the original with mustard & sauerkraut for my choice of topping, and the swiss cheese pork for the main.
The sausage was really huge, i must say its quite value for money as one will fill you up if you finish it together with the bun. However i disliked the sauerkraut as i find it to be too salty and sour, and does not compliments the taste of the sausage.
And just in case you are wondering, sauerkraut is finely sliced cabbage fermented by various lactic acid.
Tuna Sandwich ($5.50)
On first sight the tuna sandwich certainly does not looks appealing, the bread looks dry, and the tuna well doesn’t looks attractive to me.
But my friend say the tuna sandwich actually taste not bad, and at $5.50 i guess you can’t really complain.
Total bill was $10.45 for two, we didn’t order any drinks because we went to Carrefour to buy mineral water beforehand. Well, we were on a budget, had waffles at Gelare before coming here, and besides mineral water is healthier!
Drop by Bratwurst shop for a hassle-free, quick bite if you are in Plaza Singapura, and do not want to spend too much money on a meal before going to the theaters!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or biasness. Feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
” Not your normal small sausages “
Rating given:
Monday everyone have the standard Mondays blue
Wednesday is for the ladies, party all night long!
Thursday we have people queuing up to buy Toto
Friday its one more day to the weekends
Saturday its finally weekends!
Sunday 4D 4D & 4D
So what do we have on Tuesday? Make a guess?!?
Yep, Tuesdays are Waffles Day!
For every Tuesday, its waffles day at Gelare, where you get to enjoy 50% discount on their waffles (actually for their plain waffles only, the rest less than 50%).
But who bothers! Its waffles day, and personally i do think its quite a good sales tactic. I mean even though i have never try Gelare before, but i heard of their promotions before. It works.
A friend and i went down to Gelare @ Plaza Singapura, 3pm and the place’s almost full house. For every tuesday, plain Waffle with syrup & cream is half price at $3.90, and the single scoop ice cream waffle is $6.90 (original price being $9.90)
There’s this promotion which they are having for their main course. But after seeing that their pastas are actually those frozen ready-packed one, which they heat up in the microwave, no thanks!
I was tempted to try their cheesecakes which at $5 a slice seems reasonable. Anyone try before mind letting me know whether it’s good?
Waffle with single scoop Tiramisu ice cream ($6.90)
Just stick to what Geláre is good at, waffles. There was a choice whether you want to add on 20 cents to change the waffle to chocolate chip waffles, but we sticked with the normal ones.
The choice of toppings will be either chocolate sauce or maple syrup, and the option for having cream or no cream.
I liked my Ti-ra-mi-su ice cream waffles. But its actually quite soft, i’m not sure whether good waffles are meant to be soft, but i have a penchant for crispier waffles, like the one i had at Haato’s
Waffle with single scoop Pistachio gelare ($6.90)
The Pistachio gelare here wasn’t to my friend’s liking. Pistachio is a kind of nut just in case you have no idea, like me. My friend like the soft waffles though, i guess everybody has different preference.
And we concluded that the waffles will taste much nicer without the whipped cream, and the chocolate sauce only hinder the taste of the ice cream.
Total Bill for 2 waffles is $13.80, on tuesday the waffles single scoop ice cream at $6.90 are considered reasonable i guess, but even the normal price ten bucks for it, i won’t touch it.
Haato’s waffle with single scoop ice cream is at $6, everyday. I guess thats the place to fulfill my waffles cravings until a better place comes about.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or biasness. Feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
” Only on Tuedays, Waffles day! “
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Brown Sugar - A tiny little cafe/bistro that opened up in November 2006 and the brainchild of a former fund manager turned chef, Yuan Oeij. Following in the footsteps of yet another local restaurateur, lawyer turned chef Willin Low of Wild Rocket fame, Oeij was a part time chef for hire before deciding to give up his job to open a restaurant.
Nestled in a nook just off River Valley Road within the StarDus clubhouse premises, Brown Sugar is a small cafe that can probably seat about 30 pax. Its limited capacity means that reservations are highly recommended especially for dinners on Fridays and Saturdays. The decor is kept simple yet cosy through the use of ambient lighting.
Complimentary Bread - The bread was served warm and interestingly, had a slightly spicy aftertaste. Though crisp, I found it a tad too dry for my liking, which is where the olive oil comes into play.
Deconstructed Apple Salad - The salad consisted of apple slices, rocket leaves, walnuts and not to forget, cheese, which was cleverly hidden from view between the layers of apple slices. I personally liked this harmonious combination of flavours with the sweetness of the apple complimenting the contrasting flavours of the cheese and the rocket leaves. But its small and its $13.
Linguine of Organic Mushrooms in Cream Sauce with Sliced Parma Ham - According to the wait staff, the organic mushrooms in this dish are sourced from a local farm which ensures its freshness. True enough, the mushrooms were fresh and plentiful. However, the linguine was a tad too overcooked and the parma ham, though nice, did seem a little too thickly sliced. On the upside, the cream sauce wasn't overwhelming hence you can easily stuff more down without feeling nauseous.
Hand Chopped Wagyu Burger, Truffled Mushroom Sauce, Salad and Fries - As mentioned in my entry on Iggy's sometime back, its a total waste of good beef if you chop wagyu up and make it into a beef patty. Brown Sugar's rendition wasn't just about to change my view on that. The beef, though evidently hand chopped from the unevenness of the patty, didn't taste much different from other beef patties that I've eaten. It could have been normal beef and I honestly wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Sure, the meat was more tender with more fats but lacked the beefy taste and the texture seemed more more like minced pork than beef. It definitely didn't help that the patty was done medium well instead of medium rare as per my request. All in all a very decent burger but not exactly one to bowl me over. Oh and the fries were a tad dry and overcooked.
Tarte Tatin of Pears with Honey & Fig Ice Cream - A rather interesting dessert if I may say. The pastry was flaky but did seem a little too hard from the hardened caramel glaze. The pears were firm and not too sweet, providing a nice crunch to the flimsy looking pastry.When paired with the honey and fig ice cream, it was truly enjoyable. Order this before hand because there is a wait time of 15 minutes.
Molten 100% Valrhona Chocolate Cake, Raspberry Coulis, Vanilla Ice Cream - I think I'm just a sucker for chocolate cakes, especially ones with the word molten chocolate attached to them. Brown Sugar's offering had a rather soft crust which I personally dislike, but the decadent molten chocolate more than made up for it. The vanilla ice cream was made from vanilla beans, not extract, as evident by the black dots on the ice cream. Together with the chocolate cake, it made for a nice and not too sweet ending. Please note that this dessert has a wait time of 15 minutes as well.
An appetiser, 2 mains and 2 desserts cost something to the tune of $98 which does seem a little high for a cafe hidden in a small government building. Quality of food is of a reasonably high standard and service is quite good. Add the nice homely environment to the mix and Brown Sugar is worth a revisit. For those who wish to experience Brown Sugar for less, there is the set lunch option, at $23 for 2 courses and $27 for 3 courses.
See all my pictures here.
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I had my first taste of Sarpino's pizza at the Singapore Discovery Centre (SDC), don't ask why i was there, long story!
Anyway i didn't previously recalled knowing the existance of Sarpino Pizza, well besides Pizza hut, i know Canadian pizza.
And like Canadian Pizza, Sarpino's have the buy 1 get 1 offer too, except that their prices i think are slightly cheaper. Ànd obviously there will be a difference between their normal pizza and the promotions pizza.
Lets see an example, for the popular choice of hawaiian pizza, for the normal one, its call tropical hawaiian special which comes with ingredients of turkey ham, smoked turkey bacon, pineapples, cheddar and mozzarella cheese.
While for the promotion 1-for-1 pizza, there is also hawaiian pizza, just that its call The Aloha, with turkey bacon sweet pineapples, topped with italian cheese. A whole lot of difference right? I guess if you want quality be prepared to pay more
Otherwise like us just take the promotions one, and eat to your heart content! We had The Aloha, and double pepperoni. Large 14'' is $34, one for one and it works out to be about $17 for each pizza.
I say the pizza is value for money given the price, and it wont lose out to pizza hut. I'm eating less of pizza hut nowadays since the pizza quality dropped, and its rather expensive compared to canadian and sarpino's.
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Jurong East is getting a reputation for being a banking hub, just beside Citibank at the CPF building, there is HSBC and OCBC, with POSB, Maybank, and a few others all in the vicinity.
I was at Citibank jurong east since its the one nearest to my home, and the one here is more of a regional hub than a small branch.
Anyway, my objective for the visit was to apply for citibank credit card, (i couldn't, my dad sup for me).
I was amazed by the simple procedures of getting a credit card nowadays, even though i'm a banking and finance student and i do know that the rules have relaxed a lot compared to last time, but i was still amazed.
How simple you asked? From the time we walked into the bank to the time we walked out, it took slightly less than 20mins. And poof! you got your credit card!
I cant remember the name of the sales person who attended to me, but he was polite and helpful to any questions and enquiries which i had.
Just for information i was tempted by the promotions offered in the citi gourmet promotions, so in the end i got two cards, citi mastercard, and citi clear platinium.
That guy suggested getting two since there was firstly no charge on the cards, and secondly he said just in case one card couldn't be use the other will be available. But thinking of it now even though there's no charges involved, but its still quite dumb to get two cards from a same bank.
In short, i'm pretty happy with the no-hassle service provided.
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Heard lots about Melvados cafe and its famous brownies but due to the fact that its location is on the other side of Singapore, i've never coerced myself to make the trip down to visit it. In fact, i still have not visited it due to mixed reviews on the service and the food from the place. However, i did manage to get lucky one day and got my hands on a box of Melvados brownies for a tea time treat for free.
Macadamia Nut Brownie ($28 for 10 pieces) & Mango Mousse ($26 for 10 pieces) - Fortunate me got this box of brownies and cakes for free due to over ordering and i can say that i found the brownies and cakes above average. The Macadamia brownie obviously had a crunchy layer of macadamia nuts strewn all over the top of a chocolaty and bitter brownie. Its also soft and crumbles easily with each bite, doesn't crumble in your hand though, which to me, is a mark of an above average brownie. On the downside, the only thing to pick on is that the bitterness gets to you pretty quick.
The Mango mousse cake is smooth, creamy and soft. Its lightly sweet with a thin layer of cream for that feeling of indulgence and balance all in one. It also helps to note that it was fresh. Another yummy treat.
I liked the brownies quite a bit. Its fresh, pack with taste and pretty much comfort food for me. The fact that i didn't have to pay for them helped quite a bit as well. All in all, i'd recommend ordering out to try for yourself. It ain't cheap though so please take note.
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Fast food in Singapore has always been dominated by a few big names and now, competition is on the way. Well, competition has been on the way forever but never quite caught up. Its the niche that these new places are fighting for and somehow, SuperDog, which i've passed by so many times, finally got me to step in for a trial. Is it even close to being in the race? Read on for my take on the issue.
Its good to see that the company has a sense of humor from their eating etiquette. Nothing too fancy but it gets a few facts right. The philosophy also does a good job of telling consumers their main selling point, which is that their ingredients and items are fresh, never frozen. Sounds good enough for me.
Iced Chocolate and Pineapple Sensation - Beverages of fast food joints are hardly the stuff of legend and yet, this one managed to be a notch above the usual. Instead of boring reruns of coke and what not (which they do serve), we got ourselves a healthy dose of iced chocolate and pineapple sensation. The iced chocolate was rich and pretty much rivaled Starbucks or Coffee Bean if you ask me. The pineapple sensation was also pretty good with its sourish sweet taste which felt like actual pineapple juice instead of reworked extracts. Most surprising.
Breaded Fish And Chips - Nice up was the bread fish and chips which looked suitably bland since its an item that has been done to death by numerous and uncountable hordes of copycats. And yet, it managed to taste better then the likes of Long John Silvers, Coffee Club and Swenson's. This is probably because it had a taste of herbs mixed in with its crispy breaded skin and expertly done fish which managed to retain a sweetness the others simply did not offer. Another surprise.
SuperDog - This is the dog that started it all. The SuperDog, wholesome pork bratwurst with a piece of bacon, cheese, garlic and their own special chili concoction which made each bite easier to take. In terms of the bratwurst, maybe i'm no expert but i found it rather tasty albeit bland. The chili managed to salvage that however and taken as a whole, its was quite good. The chili isn't the spicy variety as well which had a tangy and mildly sweet flavor.
Bacon Chili Cheese Dog - At first glance, this is pretty much the same as the Superdog but a little smaller. The only discernible difference was the hotdog which was smaller and had cheese in it. The good thing is that the cheese was hot and flows well with each bite. In fact, i prefer this to the SuperDog. The bread in both versions were lightly buttered and toasted on the inside for a crispy texture which served it well.
Surprise. That pretty much sums it up. The place has never looked appetizing to me but i find myself drawn towards it now. The food isn't cheap and is priced above its competitors but the taste is different and surprisingly good. The service was also friendly enough to commend. To me, i find this fast food chain up there with the big boys and maybe even surpassing them on some levels. Try it, it might surprise you.
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Tea Cosy formally known as Tea Cosy by Eclectic attic was the place for a foodie outing organized by HGW one quiet Friday night. Appearing on television programs and newspapers, Tea Cosy is not media shy in the least and has garnered reviews from both ends of the spectrum which ranges from flat out good to a foodie beating of disappointments. Of course, for us, we were there to discern if such praises and damnations were accurate.
One of the main draws of Tea Cosy is the strange setting that the restaurant resides in. Basically, it is possible to walk pass this restaurant without ever realizing that it is a place where you can have food. The reason for this is because of the fusion of a high end furniture store with the restaurant. Everything in the shop can be bought and has a price tag as far as the owners are concerned and to be perfectly honest, the prices are sky high IMHO. The restaurant itself changes according to the expected number of diners the restaurant predicts and this time, they've prepared a nice table set up for the event, which was appropriate.
Fat Bastard Chardonnay and Shiraz ($12 a glass) - Now, for our first disappointment for the day, the wines. As introduced by Martin, the wines are the absolute finest he has been able to find in recent memory as he enjoyed wines with a more subtle taste. The wines were actually served by the serving lady because she mentioned to us that the wine was "complementary" for the first glass which turned out otherwise but more on that later. The wines themselves were average to my tastes because i've had quite a fine wines on my own and somehow, this "Fat Bastard" label struck me as below average with its overtly weak taste and rather bland palate. And charging $12 a glass is simply ridiculous.
The bell was a nice touch until you realise there wasn't much in terms of service from the temporary staff that was hired which was a pity since the hosts were rather entertaining and friendly.
Cream Of Mushroom Soup with Toasted bread and secret Mayo - The first item after a decidedly long wait was the cream of mushroom which came with generous bits of mushroom strewn within. Along with this was a piece of toasted bread which was toasted possibly with the restaurants own brand of mayonnaise which gave it a sweet and appealing taste. The soup was average as it struck me as too salty.
Decadent salad with prawns, foie gras and egg yolk - The decadent salad is a must try whenever you visit this place. Period. Fresh green salads and greens with three pieces of prawn, a half boiled egg and 2 small pieces of pan fried foie gras. To dissect the dish, the prawns were average, as are the greens and the foie gras but when you take this as a whole, it becomes a much better dish. The mayonnaise and half boiled egg is a stroke of genius since it gives the dish a much better taste than usual. The foie gras and prawns feel more like an afterthought since the foie gras was actually very small and charred on both sides while the prawns weren't the crunchy types i've come to enjoy.
Another service lapse happened here because the organizers of the party got bigger portions than ours which left a sour taste in my groups mouth since we thought they paid the same amount but got double standards. Which we found out that they paid a higher price for the bigger servings in the end but there was one more thing. We were at the restaurant first but ended up served last, now thats something they couldn't explain away and its my point that double standards were in place.
Lemon Pan Fried Dory Fillet, Grilled Chicken With Rice, Laksa Pesto - Had a try of some of the items above and this is what i think. The grilled chicken was good, soft, tender and went well with the lemon and sweet sauce. The dory was normal, nothing too special about it. The laksa pesto was reminiscent of Wild Rockets rendition except that this was more watery and had a little curry taste in it. From what i heard, it was extremely salty as well.
Foie Gras - The Foie Gras is another well known must-try dish during a visit to Tea Cosy. 2 rather decent sized pieces of goose liver pan fried on top of a bed of salad which looked much like the decadent salad of yore. Honestly though, having this on its own would have left me hungry as the foie gras weren't particularly generous. Taste wise, it was pretty normal as there doesn't seem to be much preparation in the cooking. A slightly crispy and salty outer skin is about all i could discern. Sage and Braise served better Foie Gras. This place is an option if you have a tight budget but still crave some wholesome fat.
Tirasmisu, Strawberry Shortcake, Chocolate Indulgence, Raisin Brownies and Cinnamon Cake - In case you were wondering. I made up the name above since i forgot what this was called. As i've only had .... less then a spoonful when shared, i'll refrain from commenting too much. I'll say that the cakes were quite good but not for the price.
Ebony and Ivory - Premium vanilla ice cream dribbled with chocolate and frozen set atop a chocolate brownie. Simple yet totally easy to like. The vanilla ice cream was very creamy while the chocolate gave it the slight edge in sweetness it needs. The brownie in turn gave the whole concoction a dimension of bitterness which makes it easier to recommend. My only gripe is that the portion is small and that after a few bites, sugar overload commences.
Total bill this time came up to $49 a person instead of the aforementioned and agreed upon $32.90 which the deal was supposed to be.
(Service: 4/10)
Why the low score for service? Firstly because the wine which was supposed to be complimentary turned out otherwise. Secondly, upon informing the lady of the error, instead of waiving the cost of drinks, she waived the cost of the laksa which is not much help. Thirdly, i remember Martin mentioning he was not in the job for the money but apparently the ending was that the cost of 6 glasses of wrongly served wine proved too much to handle. In all fairness, apart from this hick up, the food was average in some while above average in others. If there's anything to try, its the decadent salad and that would be about all you should have to maximize your dollar.
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Held our annual excuse to dine out in the guise of mother's day at Si Chuan Dou Hua, Plaza Park Royal. Scarred from the barely satisfying dinner at Sun Japanese Dining last year, my family decided to stick to the traditional Chinese route this year. Expectations were high as I had a relatively good experience at Si Chuan Dou Hua UOB Plaza at the beginning of last year.
Wood seems to be the focus for the entire restaurant, with overhanging oriental lamps capping a most traditional Chinese interior that oozes finesse through its plush carpeted floors and doorway arches. Here you can peer through the floor to ceiling windows but the view really isn't something you would want to see - tour coaches.
I liked the keropok (crackers) which came in the usual fish and prawn variety. Crackling with every bite, it wasn't soft or soggy and made for a rather unusual but pleasing appetiser.
Sliced Beef and Tripe in Chilli Sauce - A most appetite whetting way to start off our meal, the sliced beef and tripe was nice and chewy and not to mention very spicy from all the chilli oil. This dish has a rating of 5 chillis on the menu, probably the most number awarded. Just a side comment (please correct me if I am wrong), Szechuan chilli seems to be all about spice and no fragrance.
Eight Treasure Seafood Soup - My choice of soup the last time round and this time as well. The soup definitely doesn't conform to the traditional seafood soup with its greenish colour due to the addition of ground spinach to the mix. It tasted exactly like shark's fin soup, a tad starchy with tiny bits and pieces of shark's fin, scallops, fish maw etc. Overall quite a tasty soup which bears the signature dish tag adequately.
Spicy Pork Belly - Chilli oil plus fatty pork belly is a sure fire recipe for cardiac arrest. And with the pork belly this average, I would rather listen to my doctor. Sure, the pork was chewy and not too spicy but all I could taste was the chilli and nothing else. It definitely didn't help that the pork slices were a tad too dry for my liking as well.
Fried Bittergourd with Bean Paste - A terribly executed dish honestly. The whole dish was very salty and the bittergourd was very plain bitter. Cooking the bittergourd with other stuff like beef would have made it alot better in my humble opinion. So much for a $15 plate of vegetables.
Beancurd with Dried Scallop - I'm a sucker for beancurd and this one didn't disappoint. Nice and smooth with a light smoky aftertaste. Only gripe I had was that the skin seemed a tad too dry and shrivelled. The accompanying gravy was good as well, not too starchy with shredded scallops. Very nice.
Steamed Garoupa - Have you ever eaten a garoupa, or fish for that matter, that costs $300/kg? Well its definitely a first for me and probably the last. The black garoupa, though extremely fresh and sweet with a firm meat texture to boot, cost a whooping $225 . How's that for a shocker? Pretty fishy business if you ask me.
Braised Pork Spare Rib - I really didn't quite take to the spare rib. For starters, it was way too fatty and the sauce was too sweet. The meat was also a tad too soft though still fibrous. Probably the only thing that I liked was the stick shaped man tou which was nice and crispy on the outside yet soft and compact on the inside. And at $10/piece, its definitely not cheap.
Peking Duck - Speechless. That was my initial reaction after popping a slice of the skin covered with a crepe into my mouth. The skin wasn't crispy and instead, tasted soft and limp with lots of fats underneath it. Adding to that was the non egg based crepe which was way too thick and chewy for my liking.
We opted to stir fry the remains for the duck with noodles and even that tasted flat as the noodles were soft and bland.
Custard Bun - Honestly I've never had custard bun for dessert before or seen it listed under the dessert section of a menu because its usually under the dim sum portion. The custard bun was seriously quite good but very sinful with all the oil in it. Biting into one releases a gush of melted butter and custard which is guaranteed to make your heart stop. Traces of egg yolk were present in the filling as evident by the sediment. However I would have preferred a slightly more coagulated filling with a stronger custard taste .
Yam Rolls - The second of our complimentary desserts, the yam rolls were essentially yam paste wrapped up in deep fried dough and coated with sesame at both ends. The yam paste tasted like a milder version of Orh Nee and actually went quite well with the dough and sesame, very much like eating dough fritters with a sweet filling.
Fine Beancurd with Syrup - As mentioned before, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out, from its name, that Si Chuan Dou Hua is known for its dou hua aka fine beancurd. At $3 a pop, this is one expensive bowl of dou hua. But I like it quite a bit. Silky smooth yet firm through the addition of egg. You get to decide how much sugar syrup you want in it as well.
The food at Si Chuan Dou Hua was a case of hits and misses but for the price, $550 for 5 pax for lunch, its pure insanity. If the desserts weren't complimentary, we would probably be paying something to the tune of $600. Would you pay so much for a meal like that?
See all my pictures here.
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The Indulge @ Cathay offers fusion European cuisine with an Asian twist. Located at basement 1 of Cathay, the front of the restaurant isn’t that prominent from first sight, its more behind in a corner.
The fusion cuisine is apparent in the names of the dishes like panseared salmon with kung po sauce, dory with thai sauce, chicken kebab with oyster ginger sauce.
The Indulge interior is quite small, roughly seats about 20-30. The lightning is actually quite dark, i suppose its for the “ambiance”
One thing that i don’t like was at one corner of the restaurant, they actually dumped quite a lot of stuff there which makes the overall feel messy and untidy.
Apparently The Indulge won quite a lot of awards, and appeared on magazines and local publications.
The Indulge offers “super value” lunch promotion set meals, at $10.90 you can choose from a few main course, and it comes with free tea, soup of the day, and dessert of the day.
There are some dishes which are supposedly the chef’s signature dishes, but not feeling very adventurous, my cousin and I decided to go for the cheaper set meals.
Chicken Chop with roasted black pepper sauce ($10.90)
The black pepper sauce chicken chop comes with either garlic rice or mash potatos. I chose garlic rice, and the fragrant of the garlic in the rice surge in when i had my first taste of it.
Although the garlic rice was not bad, not so much can be said of the black peper chicken chop. It was downright ordinary. Being a restaurant i was expecting something more, but it just never came.
Grilled Beef sirloin with black pepper sauce ($10.90)
The same could be said for the black pepper sirloin. Done medium rare, the sirloin did nothing to impress us.
One thing which i also did not like was the lack of sides, it could be better if there are sides of veggies or stuff like potatoes which will make the meal more complete.
Dessert of the day
The dessert of the day is a single scoop of ice cream, while the ice cream is your normal vanilla, but the sauce and nut goes quite well with it.
Total bill was $25.50 for 2 person, not expensive given its a restaurant. But its a double-edged thing, the quality is certainly not there since its a restaurant also.
Maybe we ordered the wrong dishes, maybe we should have try the signature dishes to have a true gauge of the restaurant, but if the normal dishes taste so ordinary like your typical coffee shop western food, i’m not so sure about the rest.
But having said all that, The Indulge still served fusion food with affordable pricing, and its a good place for a meal in Cathay, especially when there’s not much dining place there, and you can have a quick bite before or after your movies.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my genuine feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or biasness. Please do not feel emotional or distress should you have any violent objections. Kindly click the little X at the upper, extreme right of your screen if negative adjectives would be derived. Otherwise, feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
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