So we changed before we started and the locker was well equiped with a robe, shorts, slippers and towels.
Before we started, we were served some tea, before we start our Jacuzzi. Since it was outdoor and it was raining, the hot Jacuzzi was a good welcome. Spent about 40 mins in it. We were given fresh towels to dry ourselves.
After which, we were urshered to our respective steamrooms.
While waiting for the scrubs, we were urshered into a holding area, where we can sit down and relax, with hot tea provided.
For our body scrubs, we chose sugar scrub with lavender scent. We were urshered into a room with smoothing music playing at the same time. While lying on the bed, they "forcefully" scrub the lavender scent sugar crystals on us. It is not painful but a little ticklish. Hee.... After which we were asked to shower off. Our bodies were smelling great after it.
After another cup of hot tea, we started our massage. I got the Traditional Indonesian Massage while my partner got Indulgent Aroma Massage. For mine, it was done in a good and forceful way. It did relax all my tensed muscles. The whole massage was smooth and relaxing. The massuer also used enough force as well.
After another quick shower, we lazed around with another hot cup of tea, relaxing.
The whole experience was very good and it was done in a professional way as well. It seems that we have the whole palce to us as there is no other people at the same time. This was great as we dun feel like rush to complete our package.
In fact the whole experience was so good that we signed up for another 3 more couple packages. Since the spa is located in Safra, the rpcie is also cheaper than those in town area or in hotels. So looking forward to our next spa experience. For those who have not tried it, should do so quick!
Popped by the Siglap area for lunch one afternoon with my colleague and chanced upon Sushi Jiro while scouring the area for Japanese food.
Unpretentiously located along East Coast Road just before Siglap Centre, Sushi Jiro plays neighbour to the more illustrious Perle Noir, which incidentally, is never open for lunch. The decor is simple and you get to dine in private tatami rooms which can probably seat about 2-8 pax.
I've honestly not eaten enough Chawamushi to gauge whether Sushi Jiro's rendition was good, but I did like it for coming across as light on the palate. The addition of orange peel to the rather watery base was a nice touch as it introduced a slightly bitter dimension to the dish.
Wakadori Karaage - The chicken was nice and crispy but tasted like it had too much oil. Every bite brought forth a secretion of juices (oil water), which got me worrying for my health really.
Eihire - This dish piqued my curiosity quite a bit as I've never eaten stingray fins before. Lightly grilled, the fins were interesting but not something I would order again. It seemed rather salty for starters and when eaten with the mayonnaise, the flavours didn't seem to complement, to the extent of being weird.
Tempura Moriawase - Almost a staple regardless of which Japanese restaurant I patronise, the tempura batter was thin and light but a little too bland for my liking. I did like the prawns that came with it though, huge, fresh and sweet. The other stuff were rather average.
California Maki - I can't think of a better word than average to describe the California Maki. Rice was of the right texture but seemed a little too scattered. The only plus point was that it was covered with roe.
I would say that overall the meal was very average but the tatami rooms did make for a more private and enjoyable lunch. However, $58 for 2 pax might seem a little steep especially for the quality and quantity of food. That said, service is good and they have a rather novel system (at least in Singapore) of catching the wait staff's attention, which is to clap your hands.
With the popularity of donut boutiques like The Donut Factory, it is inevitable that people will want to jump on the donut bandwagon for a piece of this ever growing cash pie. Donut Donut is one such outlet and it seems to have been reasonably successful thus far with about 3 outlets spread across the country (the ones i know thus far that is).
Yummy looking Donuts!! ($6 for 6) - First up, i'm not a fan of donuts but this box looked simply delightful! It contained 6 donuts, 2 durian flavored, 1 coffee flavored, 1 dark chocolate flavored and 2 more which i don't know because i never tried them. For what i did try, the durian and coffee flavored one, it was quite nicely done. The dough was soft and decidedly porous with an aromatic taste of buns. The durian was not as strong flavored as i thought but still managed to command recognition. The coffee donut had dark chocolate sprinkled atop and was shaped like a heart. The dough was alike with its durian offering and the coffee mentioned was basically mocha flavored cream passing off as coffee. Decent nonetheless. Good marks for presentation though, i'm looking forward to my next visit to see if there are better offerings.
A quick follow up on this little pastry outlet as promised. For a view of my previous comments, please click here.
If you remember from my previous post, i was quite optimistic about what this little outlet offered and promised to visit it again soon. Well, here it is! I had a go at the more expensive cheese donut and was quite disappointed by it as i found the dough a little hard this time around and i couldn't justify why sprinkling cheese bits on top and having cheese vanilla flavored cream on the inside increases the price of it by another 20 cents from its other offerings. From there, everything went downhill as i tried once again, the mocha flavored donut, dark chocolate coated donut and the white chocolate donut. Somehow, i can sum the whole experience up as dull after a few bites as everything starts to blend into one familiar flavor. I also began to feel the dough isn't aromatic enough and finally, i've decided i probably would not patronize the place further as their offerings remain largely the same throughout with little to no surprises at this point.
I would like to apologize to anyone who did try this place out because in the end, it really isn't very good. In fact, their donuts are only slightly above average and a good way to put it is that it is simply a flashier version of normal coffee shop pastries that is riding on the success of The Donut Factory. Next write up, The Donut Factory.
this outlet is the first time I went for any Pepper Lunch. We went there for dinner and first impression wasn't all that great.
Customers especially those as new as us would be confused of the sitting arrangement and ordering system. Perhaps instead of having staffs standing around to answer queries, they could have a notice board or something with instructions. The customers would not have the perpetual "blur" look when they first enter the restaurants.
Food. Not that great. At least it does not give the wow factor but merely some new experiences to a different way of eating. Cooking the food though is interesting, seeing the raw meat on the plate doesn't increase my appetite. Not a balanced meal as they served bean sprouts and very little of other vegetables. Cooking the food also cause a smell to be emitted while we struggle to stir the veges.
On the whole, I wouldn't visit Pepper Lunch often. Perhaps I will visit when I feel like cooking but lazy to buy ingredients
On my sisters 19th birthday, the choice of cake was decided as the all time favorite oreo cheesecake. Having a plethora of choices, we settled upon a quick and easy fix of getting one from Jack's place which was a bus ride away.
Oreo Cheesecake 0.5kg ($18 before gst) - The cake looks decent but not exactly aesthetically pleasing. The top layer consists of a thin layer of dark chocolate which melts too readily and the middle cream cheese portion came across as being too soft for my liking. I also found the cheese filling sour and lacking the sweetness present in other renditions of Oreo cheesecakes. As mentioned earlier, it seems to melt or turn soft a little too quickly which really takes away from the experience. The oreo crust base is about the only thing that is reasonably passable for this cake. Overall, a disappointment and a prime example of a good cake gone bad. I hope the rest of their offerings aren't that meager because i actually have fond memories of their cake offerings.Maybe its because it used to be made in house but now, they added a Halal cert and a new pastry arm which doesn't quite do the brand justice. The same goes for their food offerings as well. Such a pity.
My friend recommended us to this place since we have no idea where to eat.
This cafe is well hidden and it is in between two small cafes as well. The cafe is small, very small. The tables are spilled out onto the walkway as well. There was a small queue going on. Seem like the place is really popular!
We were shown to our table fast. Simple table and chair, nothing fanciful about. The menu is simple with no pics. The got set meals which consist of Soup, Main (Pasta), Dessert and Drink. Set dinner cost $15.20 nett.
The mains mainly consist of pasta dishes, about 20 to choose form but no pics. In the end I ordered Teriyaki Chicken Meatball Pasta. It was ok, do quite like the meatball though.
The soup, drink as normal and the dessert nothing to wow about.
The service is a bit slow as I think only 1 manager and 2 waiters doing the serving, cleaning and ushering at the same time. Everything have to wait, even to top out water. When we asked for our desserts, only 2 came out and waited for the 3rd one, then to realised that they actually forgotten about it.
I start to wonder y so many ppl started to queue up as the food is passable, and to say that the place is quite ulu as well.
Well in the end I concluded that it is cheap and the portions are quite big. There is no service charge or GST which can be quite a big draw as well.
Along this stretch of road there is a number of Zhong Qing steamboat places, considered quite cheap as well and always attracted a crowd. This place charges each person $13.80. Cash payment only.
So my friend decided to make our dinner there and make a reservation. The place is divided into 2 floors, 1st floor no air con and 2nd floor air con and for bigger groups as well.
They have an interesting concept there. Once they show you to the table, they will ask you what soup base you want and you can start to collect you plates, spoons, food etc. In the end, with everything ready, then we found out that there are no chopsticks. After checking with them, we found out that we need to pay at the counter in exchange for dispoable chopsticks. Haa.... Interesting right?
They have a wide variety of food and quite a lot as well, from vege to seafood to meat etc. Their seafood are quite fresh too, from crabs to all the shells. The meat came thinly sliced which I like it for steamboat.
Their soup base are ok, I think it is the type that used maggi cubes to get the flavour.
For drinks, this places charges separately. Heard from my friend, there is another one along the stretch that one price person include drinks as well.
Service one still ok. One incident happen as we are sitting next to a small little staircase, the waitress was carrying a pot of hot soup going to a table and fell flat on the staircase, the hot soup did get to us, however the staff there did not even check if we are ok a not. So much for customer service then.
Ask me if I am going back again? Hmm... I think I will give the rest of the places along the same stretch a try before deciding.
The newest blog advertising site. Works to link bloggers and advertisers set up by Paddy Tan who is also the founder of Bak2U, an anti-theft software. Fixed fee of $3 per advertisement.
Pro> Fast and friendly customer service. Usually reply to emails within the day. Stress that bloggers would not be penalised if they reject the ads.
Allows blogger to choose to accept the advertisements as some layout may not allow the advertisements to be put up. If possible and advertisers allow, there will be different sizes of advertisements available for choosing.
Recently goes into per post advertisements which should be more popular among bloggers.
Con> $3 for a month of banner advertisement is rather little. This means that there is limited advertisements matching as there is only this much space for putting banners.
Joined in the fun for the 1st Eat Out by Yebbers at Eden. It was fun to see the people behind the usernames. Hee.... Fun and friendly people. It is also one of the time that I actually ate from 8 plus to midnight, so it ended as a dinner/supper session. Haa...
The resturant was along Club street, well have to look out for the signage if not will miss the place.
The place is small but cosy, with simple decoration.
The boss, Clement is very friendly going ard making small talks with people at the same time making sure that the food are ready to be served on time.
Now to the food:
Starters:
Tomato based seafood soup: It is a thick tomato based seafood. The seadfood inside was fresh as well. I enjoyed it.
Endives with Mushroom and bacon canapes: I stongly recommend this starter. It was great! The mushroom was grilled (or pan fried) to prefection, and yet able to retain its juices within. Together with the bacon canapes, they formed a prefect match! Simply wonderful!
Main:
Rosemerry rose petal garlic lamb / beef: Hmm... did not managed to taste the rose petal, but the beef that I have was tender.
Lemon garlic Mahi Mahi: I believed that this dish was changed to snow fish. Even thought there is a hint of lemon and garlic taste but then it did not managed to fully cover the fishy smell. Overall a pleasant dish.
Seedless grape chicken: This one came in a pastry form where we have to break open the hard pastry for it. It was like digging for treasure. Hee... Once opened, can smell the faint smell of the grape. The only sad thing about this dish is the chicken is a bit too dry for my liking. If not, this will be a wonderful dish as well.
Balsemic Strawberry Beef: This dish is another winner! I loved it. The taste of the strawberry went into the beef which was a prefect match as well. The beef was tender and juicy! The strawberry a bit on the sour side. Hee....
Black sesame mushroom pasta: Once they placed this dish in front of me, I could smell the cheese. With is handmade pasta (I believed), it is unique but too unique for my taste.
Desserts:
Wine tea floral fruit jello: Got two of it, one is made with extra from hibicus and the other I forgot alr. Hee.... Both are good! Not really too sweet and taste really well!
Balsume mosse cake: Light on taste, with a hint of cheese in it.
Got 2 more desserts, which I forgot their names, one is another cheesecake.
Overall, the whole meal is fine, but maybe my expectations are a bit too high from reading the reviews above or manybe they are too busy trying to get all the dishes out on time that it might affect the quailty of the food that day.
However, I will be back to try their other dishes especially their desserts that Clement had recommended.
Thks to the organisers for this party and Clement for the great host, explaining every dish to us.
Aston's specialties, yet another "coffeeshop gourmet" outlet which seems to be all the rage these days. Aston's specializes in steak and has appeared on television programs such as "Pai Pai Zhan, Ca Ca Kan" (Queue and check it out!) recently. The outlet i reviewed is its less glorious outlet at Seragoon Gardens but let it be known that location does not dictate the quality of food. Good food always speaks for itself.
Found in an obscure location along the crossing towards Coffee bean, Friends and Cafe Cartel from the bus stop, this is one of the last places i would imagine a gourmet eating place can be found, and worse, i worked here for 2 years and never tried it till now. The shame oh the shame!
Mushroom Soup ($2.20) - After waiting for about half an hour to get my orders taken and another 15 minutes for the soup to be brought to me, grumpy would be a kind way to describe my feelings at that point. However, the soup managed to ease my nerves a little. Creamy and slightly starchy, the soup tasted full bodied, thick and was surprisingly packed with mushroom bits albeit a little salty. The bread was pleasantly toasted, warm and soft unlike offerings elsewhere.
Grilled Dory Fish with Herbal Sauce ($5.50) - The fish came a few minutes after the soup and was steaming hot. Sides were simple affairs of boiled seasonal vegetables and a potato salad. The seasonal vegetables were broccoli and carrots which were simply boiled. Potato salad was of the crunchy variety however and was nicely mixed with sauce for a strong, pleasant and raw appetizer. The dory fish was slightly charred on the ends but otherwise moist and sweet on the inside. They must have marinated it pretty well because the pepper and herb taste was thoroughly in the meat. I also liked the herb scented sauce on used as a dressing which really brings out the flavor. Point to note was that the fish somehow managed to stay warm throughout our meal which is a big plus.
Aston's Prime Ribeye Steak ($11.90) - A baked potato and caeser's salad accompanied my ribeye steak which is of a pretty generous portion, probably 200-150 grams of meat. The baked potato looked uninviting but tasted good due to it being burning hot and served with a huge dollop of melting salted butter on top. The caeser salad, consisting of lettuce, carrots, radish, blueberries and tomatoes was fresh, crunchy and sweet along with a small dressing of thousand island sauce. The beef was served as i ordered, medium rare and smoking. I could easily taste the beef juices in each succulent, juicy bite. Mushroom dressing was used to further enhance the taste which i honestly can't complain. Apart from the fatty meat along the sides which is usual for this cut of meat, i believe everything else checks out pretty well for this place. Nicely done.
$20 for a simple, fumes induced yet satisfying dinner is what i call value for money.
Finally! A commercial review that deserves merit is few and far between. Though the queues are long and bound to get longer after its recent television outing, you'll be hard pressed to find better value for money for steaks of this caliber. Heartily recommended for a try to judge yourselves. Watch the queues and fumes though.
1=SGD 0.0587
Went for my 1st Spa experience @ The Rainforest Spa. When 1st step in, the whole place gave a very calming and peaceful effect.
Since it is our 1st time there, the reception was patient to explain our package to us. Our package includes of
1. Outdoor Jacuzzi & Steam Bath
2. Body Scrub
3. Massage
So we changed before we started and the locker was well equiped with a robe, shorts, slippers and towels.
Before we started, we were served some tea, before we start our Jacuzzi. Since it was outdoor and it was raining, the hot Jacuzzi was a good welcome. Spent about 40 mins in it. We were given fresh towels to dry ourselves.
After which, we were urshered to our respective steamrooms.
While waiting for the scrubs, we were urshered into a holding area, where we can sit down and relax, with hot tea provided.
For our body scrubs, we chose sugar scrub with lavender scent. We were urshered into a room with smoothing music playing at the same time. While lying on the bed, they "forcefully" scrub the lavender scent sugar crystals on us. It is not painful but a little ticklish. Hee.... After which we were asked to shower off. Our bodies were smelling great after it.
After another cup of hot tea, we started our massage. I got the Traditional Indonesian Massage while my partner got Indulgent Aroma Massage. For mine, it was done in a good and forceful way. It did relax all my tensed muscles. The whole massage was smooth and relaxing. The massuer also used enough force as well.
After another quick shower, we lazed around with another hot cup of tea, relaxing.
The whole experience was very good and it was done in a professional way as well. It seems that we have the whole palce to us as there is no other people at the same time. This was great as we dun feel like rush to complete our package.
In fact the whole experience was so good that we signed up for another 3 more couple packages. Since the spa is located in Safra, the rpcie is also cheaper than those in town area or in hotels. So looking forward to our next spa experience. For those who have not tried it, should do so quick!
Time to feel relax in these stressful times!
Rating given:
Popped by the Siglap area for lunch one afternoon with my colleague and chanced upon Sushi Jiro while scouring the area for Japanese food.
Unpretentiously located along East Coast Road just before Siglap Centre, Sushi Jiro plays neighbour to the more illustrious Perle Noir, which incidentally, is never open for lunch. The decor is simple and you get to dine in private tatami rooms which can probably seat about 2-8 pax.
I've honestly not eaten enough Chawamushi to gauge whether Sushi Jiro's rendition was good, but I did like it for coming across as light on the palate. The addition of orange peel to the rather watery base was a nice touch as it introduced a slightly bitter dimension to the dish.
Wakadori Karaage - The chicken was nice and crispy but tasted like it had too much oil. Every bite brought forth a secretion of juices (oil water), which got me worrying for my health really.
Eihire - This dish piqued my curiosity quite a bit as I've never eaten stingray fins before. Lightly grilled, the fins were interesting but not something I would order again. It seemed rather salty for starters and when eaten with the mayonnaise, the flavours didn't seem to complement, to the extent of being weird.
Tempura Moriawase - Almost a staple regardless of which Japanese restaurant I patronise, the tempura batter was thin and light but a little too bland for my liking. I did like the prawns that came with it though, huge, fresh and sweet. The other stuff were rather average.
California Maki - I can't think of a better word than average to describe the California Maki. Rice was of the right texture but seemed a little too scattered. The only plus point was that it was covered with roe.
I would say that overall the meal was very average but the tatami rooms did make for a more private and enjoyable lunch. However, $58 for 2 pax might seem a little steep especially for the quality and quantity of food. That said, service is good and they have a rather novel system (at least in Singapore) of catching the wait staff's attention, which is to clap your hands.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
With the popularity of donut boutiques like The Donut Factory, it is inevitable that people will want to jump on the donut bandwagon for a piece of this ever growing cash pie. Donut Donut is one such outlet and it seems to have been reasonably successful thus far with about 3 outlets spread across the country (the ones i know thus far that is).
Yummy looking Donuts!! ($6 for 6) - First up, i'm not a fan of donuts but this box looked simply delightful! It contained 6 donuts, 2 durian flavored, 1 coffee flavored, 1 dark chocolate flavored and 2 more which i don't know because i never tried them. For what i did try, the durian and coffee flavored one, it was quite nicely done. The dough was soft and decidedly porous with an aromatic taste of buns. The durian was not as strong flavored as i thought but still managed to command recognition. The coffee donut had dark chocolate sprinkled atop and was shaped like a heart. The dough was alike with its durian offering and the coffee mentioned was basically mocha flavored cream passing off as coffee. Decent nonetheless.
Good marks for presentation though, i'm looking forward to my next visit to see if there are better offerings.
A quick follow up on this little pastry outlet as promised. For a view of my previous comments, please click here.
If you remember from my previous post, i was quite optimistic about what this little outlet offered and promised to visit it again soon. Well, here it is!
I had a go at the more expensive cheese donut and was quite disappointed by it as i found the dough a little hard this time around and i couldn't justify why sprinkling cheese bits on top and having cheese vanilla flavored cream on the inside increases the price of it by another 20 cents from its other offerings. From there, everything went downhill as i tried once again, the mocha flavored donut, dark chocolate coated donut and the white chocolate donut. Somehow, i can sum the whole experience up as dull after a few bites as everything starts to blend into one familiar flavor. I also began to feel the dough isn't aromatic enough and finally, i've decided i probably would not patronize the place further as their offerings remain largely the same throughout with little to no surprises at this point.
I would like to apologize to anyone who did try this place out because in the end, it really isn't very good. In fact, their donuts are only slightly above average and a good way to put it is that it is simply a flashier version of normal coffee shop pastries that is riding on the success of The Donut Factory. Next write up, The Donut Factory.
Rating given:
this outlet is the first time I went for any Pepper Lunch. We went there for dinner and first impression wasn't all that great.
Customers especially those as new as us would be confused of the sitting arrangement and ordering system. Perhaps instead of having staffs standing around to answer queries, they could have a notice board or something with instructions. The customers would not have the perpetual "blur" look when they first enter the restaurants.
Food. Not that great. At least it does not give the wow factor but merely some new experiences to a different way of eating. Cooking the food though is interesting, seeing the raw meat on the plate doesn't increase my appetite. Not a balanced meal as they served bean sprouts and very little of other vegetables. Cooking the food also cause a smell to be emitted while we struggle to stir the veges.
On the whole, I wouldn't visit Pepper Lunch often. Perhaps I will visit when I feel like cooking but lazy to buy ingredients
Rating given:
On my sisters 19th birthday, the choice of cake was decided as the all time favorite oreo cheesecake. Having a plethora of choices, we settled upon a quick and easy fix of getting one from Jack's place which was a bus ride away.
Oreo Cheesecake 0.5kg ($18 before gst) - The cake looks decent but not exactly aesthetically pleasing. The top layer consists of a thin layer of dark chocolate which melts too readily and the middle cream cheese portion came across as being too soft for my liking. I also found the cheese filling sour and lacking the sweetness present in other renditions of Oreo cheesecakes. As mentioned earlier, it seems to melt or turn soft a little too quickly which really takes away from the experience. The oreo crust base is about the only thing that is reasonably passable for this cake. Overall, a disappointment and a prime example of a good cake gone bad.
I hope the rest of their offerings aren't that meager because i actually have fond memories of their cake offerings.Maybe its because it used to be made in house but now, they added a Halal cert and a new pastry arm which doesn't quite do the brand justice. The same goes for their food offerings as well. Such a pity.
Rating given:
My friend recommended us to this place since we have no idea where to eat.
This cafe is well hidden and it is in between two small cafes as well. The cafe is small, very small. The tables are spilled out onto the walkway as well. There was a small queue going on. Seem like the place is really popular!
We were shown to our table fast. Simple table and chair, nothing fanciful about. The menu is simple with no pics. The got set meals which consist of Soup, Main (Pasta), Dessert and Drink. Set dinner cost $15.20 nett.
The mains mainly consist of pasta dishes, about 20 to choose form but no pics. In the end I ordered Teriyaki Chicken Meatball Pasta. It was ok, do quite like the meatball though.
The soup, drink as normal and the dessert nothing to wow about.
The service is a bit slow as I think only 1 manager and 2 waiters doing the serving, cleaning and ushering at the same time. Everything have to wait, even to top out water. When we asked for our desserts, only 2 came out and waited for the 3rd one, then to realised that they actually forgotten about it.
I start to wonder y so many ppl started to queue up as the food is passable, and to say that the place is quite ulu as well.
Well in the end I concluded that it is cheap and the portions are quite big. There is no service charge or GST which can be quite a big draw as well.
Rating given:
Along this stretch of road there is a number of Zhong Qing steamboat places, considered quite cheap as well and always attracted a crowd. This place charges each person $13.80. Cash payment only.
So my friend decided to make our dinner there and make a reservation. The place is divided into 2 floors, 1st floor no air con and 2nd floor air con and for bigger groups as well.
They have an interesting concept there. Once they show you to the table, they will ask you what soup base you want and you can start to collect you plates, spoons, food etc. In the end, with everything ready, then we found out that there are no chopsticks. After checking with them, we found out that we need to pay at the counter in exchange for dispoable chopsticks. Haa.... Interesting right?
They have a wide variety of food and quite a lot as well, from vege to seafood to meat etc. Their seafood are quite fresh too, from crabs to all the shells. The meat came thinly sliced which I like it for steamboat.
Their soup base are ok, I think it is the type that used maggi cubes to get the flavour.
For drinks, this places charges separately. Heard from my friend, there is another one along the stretch that one price person include drinks as well.
Service one still ok. One incident happen as we are sitting next to a small little staircase, the waitress was carrying a pot of hot soup going to a table and fell flat on the staircase, the hot soup did get to us, however the staff there did not even check if we are ok a not. So much for customer service then.
Ask me if I am going back again? Hmm... I think I will give the rest of the places along the same stretch a try before deciding.
Rating given:
The newest blog advertising site. Works to link bloggers and advertisers set up by Paddy Tan who is also the founder of Bak2U, an anti-theft software. Fixed fee of $3 per advertisement.
Pro>
Fast and friendly customer service. Usually reply to emails within the day. Stress that bloggers would not be penalised if they reject the ads.
Allows blogger to choose to accept the advertisements as some layout may not allow the advertisements to be put up. If possible and advertisers allow, there will be different sizes of advertisements available for choosing.
Recently goes into per post advertisements which should be more popular among bloggers.
Con>
$3 for a month of banner advertisement is rather little. This means that there is limited advertisements matching as there is only this much space for putting banners.
Rating given:
Joined in the fun for the 1st Eat Out by Yebbers at Eden. It was fun to see the people behind the usernames. Hee.... Fun and friendly people. It is also one of the time that I actually ate from 8 plus to midnight, so it ended as a dinner/supper session. Haa...
The resturant was along Club street, well have to look out for the signage if not will miss the place.
The place is small but cosy, with simple decoration.
The boss, Clement is very friendly going ard making small talks with people at the same time making sure that the food are ready to be served on time.
Now to the food:
Starters:
Tomato based seafood soup: It is a thick tomato based seafood. The seadfood inside was fresh as well. I enjoyed it.
Endives with Mushroom and bacon canapes: I stongly recommend this starter. It was great! The mushroom was grilled (or pan fried) to prefection, and yet able to retain its juices within. Together with the bacon canapes, they formed a prefect match! Simply wonderful!
Main:
Rosemerry rose petal garlic lamb / beef: Hmm... did not managed to taste the rose petal, but the beef that I have was tender.
Lemon garlic Mahi Mahi: I believed that this dish was changed to snow fish. Even thought there is a hint of lemon and garlic taste but then it did not managed to fully cover the fishy smell. Overall a pleasant dish.
Seedless grape chicken: This one came in a pastry form where we have to break open the hard pastry for it. It was like digging for treasure. Hee... Once opened, can smell the faint smell of the grape. The only sad thing about this dish is the chicken is a bit too dry for my liking. If not, this will be a wonderful dish as well.
Balsemic Strawberry Beef: This dish is another winner! I loved it. The taste of the strawberry went into the beef which was a prefect match as well. The beef was tender and juicy! The strawberry a bit on the sour side. Hee....
Black sesame mushroom pasta: Once they placed this dish in front of me, I could smell the cheese. With is handmade pasta (I believed), it is unique but too unique for my taste.
Desserts:
Wine tea floral fruit jello: Got two of it, one is made with extra from hibicus and the other I forgot alr. Hee.... Both are good! Not really too sweet and taste really well!
Balsume mosse cake: Light on taste, with a hint of cheese in it.
Got 2 more desserts, which I forgot their names, one is another cheesecake.
Overall, the whole meal is fine, but maybe my expectations are a bit too high from reading the reviews above or manybe they are too busy trying to get all the dishes out on time that it might affect the quailty of the food that day.
However, I will be back to try their other dishes especially their desserts that Clement had recommended.
Thks to the organisers for this party and Clement for the great host, explaining every dish to us.
Rating given:
Aston's specialties, yet another "coffeeshop gourmet" outlet which seems to be all the rage these days. Aston's specializes in steak and has appeared on television programs such as "Pai Pai Zhan, Ca Ca Kan" (Queue and check it out!) recently. The outlet i reviewed is its less glorious outlet at Seragoon Gardens but let it be known that location does not dictate the quality of food. Good food always speaks for itself.
Found in an obscure location along the crossing towards Coffee bean, Friends and Cafe Cartel from the bus stop, this is one of the last places i would imagine a gourmet eating place can be found, and worse, i worked here for 2 years and never tried it till now. The shame oh the shame!
Mushroom Soup ($2.20) - After waiting for about half an hour to get my orders taken and another 15 minutes for the soup to be brought to me, grumpy would be a kind way to describe my feelings at that point. However, the soup managed to ease my nerves a little. Creamy and slightly starchy, the soup tasted full bodied, thick and was surprisingly packed with mushroom bits albeit a little salty. The bread was pleasantly toasted, warm and soft unlike offerings elsewhere.
Grilled Dory Fish with Herbal Sauce ($5.50) - The fish came a few minutes after the soup and was steaming hot. Sides were simple affairs of boiled seasonal vegetables and a potato salad. The seasonal vegetables were broccoli and carrots which were simply boiled. Potato salad was of the crunchy variety however and was nicely mixed with sauce for a strong, pleasant and raw appetizer. The dory fish was slightly charred on the ends but otherwise moist and sweet on the inside. They must have marinated it pretty well because the pepper and herb taste was thoroughly in the meat. I also liked the herb scented sauce on used as a dressing which really brings out the flavor. Point to note was that the fish somehow managed to stay warm throughout our meal which is a big plus.
Aston's Prime Ribeye Steak ($11.90) - A baked potato and caeser's salad accompanied my ribeye steak which is of a pretty generous portion, probably 200-150 grams of meat. The baked potato looked uninviting but tasted good due to it being burning hot and served with a huge dollop of melting salted butter on top. The caeser salad, consisting of lettuce, carrots, radish, blueberries and tomatoes was fresh, crunchy and sweet along with a small dressing of thousand island sauce. The beef was served as i ordered, medium rare and smoking. I could easily taste the beef juices in each succulent, juicy bite. Mushroom dressing was used to further enhance the taste which i honestly can't complain. Apart from the fatty meat along the sides which is usual for this cut of meat, i believe everything else checks out pretty well for this place. Nicely done.
$20 for a simple, fumes induced yet satisfying dinner is what i call value for money.
Finally! A commercial review that deserves merit is few and far between. Though the queues are long and bound to get longer after its recent television outing, you'll be hard pressed to find better value for money for steaks of this caliber. Heartily recommended for a try to judge yourselves. Watch the queues and fumes though.
Rating given: