I visit MANY online blogshops and this is definitely one of my faves.
There are SOOOooO many reasons why!
They update often. About twice a week.
Packages arrive well-packed and are prompt. I have not experienced any delays. I also have not gotten any defected pieces from them despite buying from almost every collection.
Each update is done by a different owner. They have 3 owners who all have different tastes and different styles! So the great part is that each update has its own style and there'll be something to suit everyone!
Prices are very reasonable and the quality is good! However, there are one or two pieces which have to be handwashed and I'm soooo lazy.
The owners are very friendly. And on top of that they are customer-oriented. Payments had to be done within 24 hours. But there was once when my pet was very ill and I had to bring my pet to the doctor they were very understanding and waited for me! They even asked about my pet after. :) So sweet right?
They were even featured in the Straits Times National Day edition!
If I can give this place less than 1 star I would.
My sister bought a package at this place 2 months ago but she didn't go for her manicure/pedicure. She figured that it's very near our home and my mom and I can use it which is why she bought the package. The package cost $800 and consisted of 12 full manicures and pedicures and some disinfecting balls.
Last week, I went, thinking that I deserved to relax. I sat down and the lady, Cecilia, started to work on my legs. Just minutes into scrubbing my feet, she started to sell me a special treatment which is suppose to be good for removing corns, which she claimed I had. I have been to so many salons and no one said that I had this problem. But anyway the treatment costs $200 and I wasn't sure if it was good so I refused.
Then with cream on my feet and stuff, she started hard-selling. She refused to continue, saying that if I top up my current package to the one with the corn treatment she can do it right away so that I can experience it right now. THE TOP UP COSTS $2000 ! And that was on top of my current $800 package! I couldn't budge cos my feet were dirty and she refused to continue, though she remained polite all the way. Finally when I said loudly I didn't want because I didn't have the cash for it she continued... not before insisting that I do the $20 scrub. I was so sick of her ranting then I agreed to the $20 scrub.
After having everything painted and my nail art done, I sat at the counter to have my nails dried... then Cecilia came back with a "MORE ATTRACTIVE" package which she claims that I can pay by instalments. She insisted that MY credit card can pay by instalments. Then came the 45 min lecture on why I should take up the package etc... More and more staff came to hound me.
Finally I relented. Only because I know my mom had a corn problem and I thought she could really use it. To say the truth... I was on the verge of tears. I kept saying no... kept saying that I needed time to think about it because it was so expensive... but they surrounded me and kept going on about it.
We went to the machine to pay by instalments... AND IT DIDN'T APPROVE! Can you imagine how embarrassed I felt when they said that loudly? It wasn't even my fault! Then they hounded me more and I paid a deposit of $400 for the package.
Only then did they let me go. The whole process... wasted 3 hours of my time. Have you ever had a 3-hour pedicure? Nope not even with a manicure.
When I was standing there making payment... I saw them do the same thing to an older lady. They hounded her.. until she was so irritated she pulled out her wallet, tipped it over to show that she didn't have any cash on her and didn't bring her cards. After that they left her alone... and I really mean alone as in there wasn't ANYONE serving her at all. They just left her there for about 20 minutes choosing colours and preparing her feet at all.
** the aftermath:
After leaving, I came to my senses. And I realised that they would hard-sell me, my mom and my sister things every time we went... I realised that I CANNOT take up that package. I went back and argued. The $400 cannot be refunded (which I expected) but it is now a credit on the old package which can be used for other things. After the package is up.. I WILL NEVER go back there again.
BTW, my nail polish chipped in 4 days. Faster than if I painted it myself. Sigh.
I love watching dramas, because they got fairy-tale endings; there are moments where you smile like a fool, or weep together with the scenes, but at the end it will be a happy ending – I like happily-ever-after outcomes.
And there are always food in the show, the characters are only human, they need to eat too! So when I watch dramas, I will always get hungry. This bring us to Korean food, it’s a shame that we can’t put our hands inside the screen and grab that very delicious-looking food. So, we hunt, for Korean food.
We wanted the spicy looking Korean noodles but it was sold out; so we took the next-spicy-looking, kimchi soup set ($5.50) instead. It came with a appetiser with choices of tofu or anchovy, kimchi soup and rice. The kimchi soup was fabulous; spicy yet not to the extent of fiery, with a subtle hint of sweetness – I love it!
Bibimbap ($5) will always my choice when I have Korean food, not that I’ve eaten much, but I like the mixture of everything in one bowl. And I also like it to be in a hot stone bowl so that the rice will be piping hot! The one at Ming Jia was pretty decent, just that it wasn’t hot enough! Still, it was great to mix everything with the spicy-and-slight-sweet chilli!
(1) Ming Jia is very near my place.
(2) Ming Jia is very affordable.
(3) Ming Jia is unpretentious and homely.
(4) Ming jis is helmed by a Korean lady, and Koreans go there too.
(5) Ming Jia will be the place to go when I’m craving for Korean food.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Yes! The good old irresistible Scotts (Picnic) Beef Noodles is back, and can be found at B4 foodcourt - Food Opera, within ION Orchard Turn. This is the same famous stall that popularise the Beef Noodle Dry ($5.00) that comes with the thick, flavourful and yummy gravy.
Paired it with Chor Bee Hoon (Thick Vermicelli), Beef Balls, Sliced Beef, Beef Brisket and Beef Tripe and one gets a satisfying bowl of noodles.
Did HFB also mentioned that the small bowl of soup coupled with the dry version also tasted really flavoursome too! Ahhhh.... such wonderful memories.
If one was there for lunch, chances were they were in for 7atenine’s “Lunch Unlimited” offering @ $37 per pax – where there’s no menu in sight, and diners are subjected to unlimited elements of surprises and heighten anticipation by the chef.
First up, we had the Tomato and Thyme on Parmesan Biscuit – this was one of the two dishes that we did not complete. Uninspiring.
Another dish that looked better than it tasted, the pairing of Thai Asparagus Rolls with Wasabi just didn’t make the grade for HFB in this instance. The veggie was slightly tough too.
Sadly, the Homemade Ravioli with Parmesan Cheese and Ebi Bisque was flavoursome in a bad way - the cheese totally overwhelmed this dish i.e. the prawn flavoured broth waned in comparison.
To be honest, HFB certainly didn’t expect to spot the Maguro Sushi with Roe at his table. It wasn’t bad, but it certainly didn’t impressed. Perhaps the whole Japanese dish served in a western restaurant concept didn’t resonated well with him.
However, if there was any reason why HFB would be back at this establishment, the Beef Roll with Parmesan and Wild Herbs alone would sufficed as the answer. Served atop a piece of hot rock, one gets to enjoy the very bottom of the beef cooked, the middle portion medium rare, and the top raw. The play on the texture was amazing, the meat was succulent and the parmesan complemented the dish. We certainly did request for repeated servings of this dish.
The Crispy Pork Belly with Apple Puree was another brilliant dish. Nicely crisp on the exterior, the sweet and savoury combination also flourished. Marvellous!
The Jerusalem Artichoke Puree with Foam was flavourful despite its lacklustre appearance. HFB enjoyed this!
However, none can be said about the Cucumber Gazpacho with Crouton. It didn’t work well for HFB - acting as a palate cleanser, he found it too “green” for his liking.
The Caesar Salad was another one of the "ordinary" dishes that day - nothing quite wrong, yet nothing striking.
Another reorder we had was the Seared Scallops with Avocado Mousse and Red Grapefruit. The scallops were really sweet, luscious and nicely seared. HFB though craved the scallops to be bigger.
The Crab Salad Wrapped with Onion was the other dish that was left unfinished. Although in its defence, HFB had to say he enjoyed this dish pretty much. His guess was one probably need to enjoy onions to appreciate this dish. He surely did.
The Tuna Tartare with Miso Jelly was a dish of hits and misses. While he truly enjoyed the tuna, HFB felt that the miso jelly didn’t quite make the grade – its texture was chewy and the assortments of veggies within just didn’t quite gel.
Simply called the 7atenine Burger, the beef patties were really yummy and goes really well with the salsa coupled within. Only irk was that the bread was a tad oily.
One of their signatured dishes, the Udon Carbonara with Miso Scented Cream Reduction and Serrano Ham was in replacement of the beef roll, when we wanted for a third serving. Luckily for us, the Lolita of Spicc, Katharina, was gracious enough, as it was unavailable for the day’s lunch unlimited offering, to offer us a chance to savour her favourite dish. It was really a pleasant twist and in truth palatable, although HFB thought the noodles were slightly overcooked – al dente would have been much better welcomed.
Once we were done with the carbs, we signalled for the desserts to be served. The Cranberry Pastille with Chocolate Praline looked unimpressive yet it tasted oh so good. Simple yet packed a punch!
The Vanilla Mousse with Mango Ice-cream was really fruity and HFB thought it was a nice way to end the meal, along with Assorted Biscuits which went really well with our cup of coffee.
Overall, it was an out of the ordinary dining experience and although there were some misses with the dishes, there were others that makes a revisit a possibility.
The world we live in, is complex and beyond our wildest imaginations. Life is a mess, there will always be new problems arising everyday. Life is never fair and you have no control over it. But hey, who says life is ever gonna be easy? Babies cry when they enter this world don’t they? But sweetie, our world is also a beautiful place to live in, close your eyes and hold your breathe for a second; you will appreciate it a lot better.
And in life, nothing beats walking into a bakery with the smell of the freshly baked bread straight from the oven!
But I knew from the moment I stepped inside the bakery that it was a mistake. I wanted to buy everything! It was astonishing to see the number of Milkpan that they baked there - rows and rows of them, and everything smelled so good! The unbelievable softness, the light fragrance, and the creamy custard fillings, oh my god, one milkpan’s really not enough.
There was two types of anpan; I was convinced/psycho to get this one. It vaguely reminded me of the red-bean buns that I often got from the neighbourhood bakery. Nosh and nosh.
The scary thing about the bread here, they’d sold out the moment they are out! We got ten of them, five custard, and five chocolate. And it definitely wasn’t enough.
We preferred the chocolate wassants though; the other one was lacking in flavour, while this one had the subtle sweet chocolate within the bread. And there’s even a new kaya version, but that’s for the next visit!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
My fellow Bukit Batok-ians, this is THE place to go to for char kuay teow and hokkien mee. I often like to ask what local food will you miss the most if you go overseas, and my answer will always be ckt. By and large it’s not a easy choice, not when there are so many nice and delicious local food around; chicken rice, rojak, laksa just to name a few, but yes, I will miss my ckt the most.
From afar, I could smell the aroma, and I’m drawn in, immediately. What is that smell? Sniff, sniff: this, is the smell of my love. Every mouthful was so good, and I wolfed down one plate in a blink of the eye. One plate was definitely not enough, I always order two plates of char kuay teow ($2). And I don’t want to share with you, shoo! go away.
I love the char kuay teow here, for a period of time initially, I was having ckt for almost four-five times a week (two plates each time). But when you have too much good food, you will become sick of it, and so was I, which brought my attention to…
Hokkien mee!
I have the black carrot cake for breakfast, char kuay teow for lunch, and hokkien mee for dinner. Sounds good right? Nah, I usually rotates between the char kuay teow or hokkien mee ($3) for lunch since the stall closes during the afternoon. I know judging from the photo, the ckt looks a lot better than the HM, but believe me, I’ll go to the extent of saying this is the best Hokkien mee, at least in Bukit Batok. He cooks every order by plate, which meant a longer waiting time; but hey, every plate is fricking good! And I like the wetness and moist version of HM, with a lot chilli and two limes squeeze in; I’m a happy man!
And oh, it’s almost lunch time. Uncle, one packet of char kuay teow, and one packet of hokkien mee with extra chilli and lime please!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Probably riding on the hype of the popular Little Nonya TV series comes Jia Chuan Steamboat – a unique Nonya influenced Tom Yum steamboat recipe of chef, Mdm Elsie Lim. With her own brand of Peranakan-Chinese familiarity, the spice quotient of the Thai inspired broth is up with an extra serving of home-made nonya paste – made with up to 10 types of herbs and spices – for that extra punch!
For the non-fiery taste buds, one can also opt for the homemade Chicken Broth, or the Fish Broth that is slowed cooked for flavours using Flounder Fish, Ikan Bilis, and other homemade ingredients. You can even throw in Fried Red Snapper Fish Head and Fried Taco for that added fish head steamboat ‘experience’.
HFB sampled both the Tom Yum and Fish broth, and thought that the former was interesting but not awe-inspiring. Perhaps HFB was not used to it, but the broth was slightly too sweet for him, yet at the same time there existed a bitterness aftertaste from the Turmeric due to the constant boiling. The fish broth though was more familiar in taste due to the ikan bilis, and thus more welcoming and better appreciated. Highlights of the steamboat are the selection of homemade specialties such as meatballs (pork or chicken) made with Crabmeat, Prawns, Chestnut, Bamboo Shoots, etc.
But the one the really stood out was the Sotong Balls with Prawns – the sotong taste was evident and palatable.
The Pork Dumplings with Prawns also did not disappoint. It was hearty with a wholesome bite.
And what’s Chinese steamboat without pork, in the form of Pork Belly Slices. The greasy strips of fat gave the meat that added marbling texture. Succulent!
HFB was also asked to comment on the Beef Glue and Beef Ball that the establishment was trying to introduce to their menu.
While the former was essentially minced beef and nothing noteworthy, the beef balls are a shoo-in for their new menu. Chestnuts added to it also gave it an added crunch.
Another point to note include their tasty sweet chilli, reminiscent to that from Coca Steamboat. The sambal though is really spicy and not for the faint-hearted.
And do look out for their lighted signboard when you are driving into the area as the "cafe" or air-conditioned coffeeshop is easily miss.
Buddy Value Meal (2pax) is valued for $25 and comes with a choice of ONE meat (Beef, Chicken or Pork) and Steamboat Party Value Meal (3 to 5 pax) is valued at $48 and comes with a choice of TWO meat. No service charge and GST.
After hearing SOOOOoOoo much about Tao's for such a long time, I finally had the chance to step into Tao's! I was so excited.
Parking wasn't too much of a problem at Selegie Centre... however 3 hours cost us $10 . If it weren't raining so heavily when we arrived I reckon we would have parked elsewhere. The parking area was a little hard to find but easy (for the driver) to work her way about.
Because it was a weekday and it was just after lunch @ 2pm, the place was empty!! *happiness* We did make reservations though. I was told by my friend that reservations are a must if you wanted a weekend lunch/dinner.
They charge $19.80 (or was it $19.90) for a 6 course set lunch. I shan't dwell on the system they have here since everyone's talked about it.
We just went about picking whatever we liked from the menu.
I shall only comment on those I did taste. :)
Food ordered: Bacon & Mushroom Gratin, served with Toasted Bread This is an item we didn’t have a choice with in the menu. I’m not really a fan of gratin so I was a little hesitant. I didn’t quite take to the smell of the cheese they used for the gratin but it was generally alright for non-cheese lovers. A definite stay away if you dislike cheese though. The bread was heavenly. I LOVEEDDD it. I wished I could have more (it’s free flow) but I was afraid I couldn’t finish the rest of my meal. The bread was well toasted and can be eaten alone without the gratin at all.
Smoked Salmon Salad My choice. My companions had the Fruit Salad and the Prawn Roll though. Nothing fantastic about my salad though I had some trouble finishing it as I found the salmon a little too salty after a few bites. The serving was just right though.
Cream of Pumpkin I absolutely loved this soup. I was the only one not having the Shark fin one, which my companions raved about. But I loved the thickness of this pumpkin soup and the slight sweetness which made me finish it really quickly.
Grilled Snapper with Japanese Sauce This is my main complaint I think. I definitely regretted this choice. The snapper was unevenly grilled and charred on one end but fine on the other. There was so much sauce poured over it and it certainly didn’t help that it was too salty. In reality, the snapper was quite tasty on its own, after much cleaning away of the sauce. I liked the pumpkin mash served with the snapper though. I would definitely go for the flounder next time.
Ice Rose Apple Tea I like how the smell of the rose blended together with the taste of the apple in this one. And they even provided a fork for you to eat the apple. They serve their teas in this nice little pot with a tiny cup, so we had fun tasting each other’s tea.
Ice Summer Peach Tea I LOVE THIS TEA! I like the aftertaste of the peach!
Brownie served with ice cream Or should I say, ice-cream served with brownie? I finished it in 2 bites. Either my mouth’s big or… to give credit, the brownie is quite moist and not too dry. The nuts below should be cut up a little more so that it can be evenly distributed with each bite.
The total bill came up to $115 for 5 of us which is quite reasonable I guess. Topped with great service and smiles even though we were overstayers, it was a good experience after all.
There are generally two type of restaurants; either one that has great food, but normal or almost no scenery to boost of; where you will gladly bring along your really-stable-boyfriend, bff, girlfriends whom have all seen you at your worst so dining unglamorously is not an issue. Or the other that serves average food, but has a to-die-for ambience, making it a must-go place for your date.
And Novus Cafe belongs to the latter. Theoretically Novus cafe isn’t a restaurant, it is a cafe. But I’m speaking on the broad assumption that it has great ambience, and serve average simple food.
The latter will be the type of places where you will go for your first date, or important occasions; never mind the food’s you-know-what, but it’s a great place to hang out and chill at. Period. Novus’s menu mostly comprises of simple food like pasta/risotto, pizza, and sandwich. But it is the ambience, I love in fall with it the first time I “accidentally” went to the National Museum and saw it. Okay, that’s a lie, I went there with the sole and only purpose to Reece the place for a visit.
Nestled within a Museum, artistic value checked. Nice al fresco dining area, checked. Comfy sofas and nice ambience, checked. Come for dinner and you have a night at the museum. You come to the places like this for your important date, the food doesn’t matter since you are gonna lock eyes with the partner sitting opposite and probably won’t notice what you are putting in your mouth.
I always feel sandwich is a down-sized burger in disguise. Well the similarity is certainly there; fillings stuff between two bread/bun, with the exception that sandwiches ain’t as sexy as their burger counterparts. Who wants sandwiches when you got burgers? Stop pretending to be healthy, and keep the calories chart that you are holding!
“My sandwich” ($16) certainly wasn’t what my-kind-of-sandwich would be like. Beef pastrami, gouda cheese, tomato, dijonnaise, rucola, and sunny side up. And it came with potato chips. How healthy. Anyway, I was wondering how come we can pay 16 bucks for a sandwich and not wimp, while some will scorn at the mere mention of paying the same amount for the burger? Does this means the sandwich was bad? Not at all, like I said, I’m just not that into sandwich.
I fall in love with risotto, and ever since I’d been on the lookout for better ones. So when there’s only four selections under the seemingly-comprehensive-sounding title of pasta & risotto in the menu, I chose the risotto, immediately. I’ll never forget, the sticky-almost-porridge texture, the essence of the ingredient fully absorbed and coated in every grain of the alluring aborio rice. Pesto risotto ($12).
Does that means Novus being the nice-ambience-but-average-food place was bad? Of course not. I’m so gonna come back here again! There are places where you will go for the good food, and there are places where you go to, to immerse yourself in the surroundings. And Novus belongs to the latter.
I’m a sucker for ambience.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
1=SGD 0.0587
I visit MANY online blogshops and this is definitely one of my faves.
There are SOOOooO many reasons why!
They update often. About twice a week.
Packages arrive well-packed and are prompt. I have not experienced any delays. I also have not gotten any defected pieces from them despite buying from almost every collection.
Each update is done by a different owner. They have 3 owners who all have different tastes and different styles! So the great part is that each update has its own style and there'll be something to suit everyone!
Prices are very reasonable and the quality is good! However, there are one or two pieces which have to be handwashed and I'm soooo lazy.
The owners are very friendly. And on top of that they are customer-oriented. Payments had to be done within 24 hours. But there was once when my pet was very ill and I had to bring my pet to the doctor they were very understanding and waited for me! They even asked about my pet after. :) So sweet right?
They were even featured in the Straits Times National Day edition!
Rating given:
If I can give this place less than 1 star I would.
My sister bought a package at this place 2 months ago but she didn't go for her manicure/pedicure. She figured that it's very near our home and my mom and I can use it which is why she bought the package. The package cost $800 and consisted of 12 full manicures and pedicures and some disinfecting balls.
Last week, I went, thinking that I deserved to relax. I sat down and the lady, Cecilia, started to work on my legs. Just minutes into scrubbing my feet, she started to sell me a special treatment which is suppose to be good for removing corns, which she claimed I had. I have been to so many salons and no one said that I had this problem. But anyway the treatment costs $200 and I wasn't sure if it was good so I refused.
Then with cream on my feet and stuff, she started hard-selling. She refused to continue, saying that if I top up my current package to the one with the corn treatment she can do it right away so that I can experience it right now. THE TOP UP COSTS $2000 ! And that was on top of my current $800 package! I couldn't budge cos my feet were dirty and she refused to continue, though she remained polite all the way. Finally when I said loudly I didn't want because I didn't have the cash for it she continued... not before insisting that I do the $20 scrub. I was so sick of her ranting then I agreed to the $20 scrub.
After having everything painted and my nail art done, I sat at the counter to have my nails dried... then Cecilia came back with a "MORE ATTRACTIVE" package which she claims that I can pay by instalments. She insisted that MY credit card can pay by instalments. Then came the 45 min lecture on why I should take up the package etc... More and more staff came to hound me.
Finally I relented. Only because I know my mom had a corn problem and I thought she could really use it. To say the truth... I was on the verge of tears. I kept saying no... kept saying that I needed time to think about it because it was so expensive... but they surrounded me and kept going on about it.
We went to the machine to pay by instalments... AND IT DIDN'T APPROVE! Can you imagine how embarrassed I felt when they said that loudly? It wasn't even my fault! Then they hounded me more and I paid a deposit of $400 for the package.
Only then did they let me go. The whole process... wasted 3 hours of my time. Have you ever had a 3-hour pedicure? Nope not even with a manicure.
When I was standing there making payment... I saw them do the same thing to an older lady. They hounded her.. until she was so irritated she pulled out her wallet, tipped it over to show that she didn't have any cash on her and didn't bring her cards. After that they left her alone... and I really mean alone as in there wasn't ANYONE serving her at all. They just left her there for about 20 minutes choosing colours and preparing her feet at all.
** the aftermath:
After leaving, I came to my senses. And I realised that they would hard-sell me, my mom and my sister things every time we went... I realised that I CANNOT take up that package. I went back and argued. The $400 cannot be refunded (which I expected) but it is now a credit on the old package which can be used for other things. After the package is up.. I WILL NEVER go back there again.
BTW, my nail polish chipped in 4 days. Faster than if I painted it myself. Sigh.
Rating given:
I love watching dramas, because they got fairy-tale endings; there are moments where you smile like a fool, or weep together with the scenes, but at the end it will be a happy ending – I like happily-ever-after outcomes.
And there are always food in the show, the characters are only human, they need to eat too! So when I watch dramas, I will always get hungry. This bring us to Korean food, it’s a shame that we can’t put our hands inside the screen and grab that very delicious-looking food. So, we hunt, for Korean food.
We wanted the spicy looking Korean noodles but it was sold out; so we took the next-spicy-looking, kimchi soup set ($5.50) instead. It came with a appetiser with choices of tofu or anchovy, kimchi soup and rice. The kimchi soup was fabulous; spicy yet not to the extent of fiery, with a subtle hint of sweetness – I love it!
Bibimbap ($5) will always my choice when I have Korean food, not that I’ve eaten much, but I like the mixture of everything in one bowl. And I also like it to be in a hot stone bowl so that the rice will be piping hot! The one at Ming Jia was pretty decent, just that it wasn’t hot enough! Still, it was great to mix everything with the spicy-and-slight-sweet chilli!
(1) Ming Jia is very near my place.
(2) Ming Jia is very affordable.
(3) Ming Jia is unpretentious and homely.
(4) Ming jis is helmed by a Korean lady, and Koreans go there too.
(5) Ming Jia will be the place to go when I’m craving for Korean food.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
Rating given:
Yes! The good old irresistible Scotts (Picnic) Beef Noodles is back, and can be found at B4 foodcourt - Food Opera, within ION Orchard Turn. This is the same famous stall that popularise the Beef Noodle Dry ($5.00) that comes with the thick, flavourful and yummy gravy.
Paired it with Chor Bee Hoon (Thick Vermicelli), Beef Balls, Sliced Beef, Beef Brisket and Beef Tripe and one gets a satisfying bowl of noodles.
Did HFB also mentioned that the small bowl of soup coupled with the dry version also tasted really flavoursome too! Ahhhh.... such wonderful memories.
You can view all the photos here.
Rating given:
If one was there for lunch, chances were they were in for 7atenine’s “Lunch Unlimited” offering @ $37 per pax – where there’s no menu in sight, and diners are subjected to unlimited elements of surprises and heighten anticipation by the chef.
First up, we had the Tomato and Thyme on Parmesan Biscuit – this was one of the two dishes that we did not complete. Uninspiring.
Another dish that looked better than it tasted, the pairing of Thai Asparagus Rolls with Wasabi just didn’t make the grade for HFB in this instance. The veggie was slightly tough too.
Sadly, the Homemade Ravioli with Parmesan Cheese and Ebi Bisque was flavoursome in a bad way - the cheese totally overwhelmed this dish i.e. the prawn flavoured broth waned in comparison.
To be honest, HFB certainly didn’t expect to spot the Maguro Sushi with Roe at his table. It wasn’t bad, but it certainly didn’t impressed. Perhaps the whole Japanese dish served in a western restaurant concept didn’t resonated well with him.
However, if there was any reason why HFB would be back at this establishment, the Beef Roll with Parmesan and Wild Herbs alone would sufficed as the answer. Served atop a piece of hot rock, one gets to enjoy the very bottom of the beef cooked, the middle portion medium rare, and the top raw. The play on the texture was amazing, the meat was succulent and the parmesan complemented the dish. We certainly did request for repeated servings of this dish.
The Crispy Pork Belly with Apple Puree was another brilliant dish. Nicely crisp on the exterior, the sweet and savoury combination also flourished. Marvellous!
The Jerusalem Artichoke Puree with Foam was flavourful despite its lacklustre appearance. HFB enjoyed this!
However, none can be said about the Cucumber Gazpacho with Crouton. It didn’t work well for HFB - acting as a palate cleanser, he found it too “green” for his liking.
The Caesar Salad was another one of the "ordinary" dishes that day - nothing quite wrong, yet nothing striking.
Another reorder we had was the Seared Scallops with Avocado Mousse and Red Grapefruit. The scallops were really sweet, luscious and nicely seared. HFB though craved the scallops to be bigger.
The Crab Salad Wrapped with Onion was the other dish that was left unfinished. Although in its defence, HFB had to say he enjoyed this dish pretty much. His guess was one probably need to enjoy onions to appreciate this dish. He surely did.
The Tuna Tartare with Miso Jelly was a dish of hits and misses. While he truly enjoyed the tuna, HFB felt that the miso jelly didn’t quite make the grade – its texture was chewy and the assortments of veggies within just didn’t quite gel.
Simply called the 7atenine Burger, the beef patties were really yummy and goes really well with the salsa coupled within. Only irk was that the bread was a tad oily.
One of their signatured dishes, the Udon Carbonara with Miso Scented Cream Reduction and Serrano Ham was in replacement of the beef roll, when we wanted for a third serving. Luckily for us, the Lolita of Spicc, Katharina, was gracious enough, as it was unavailable for the day’s lunch unlimited offering, to offer us a chance to savour her favourite dish. It was really a pleasant twist and in truth palatable, although HFB thought the noodles were slightly overcooked – al dente would have been much better welcomed.
Once we were done with the carbs, we signalled for the desserts to be served. The Cranberry Pastille with Chocolate Praline looked unimpressive yet it tasted oh so good. Simple yet packed a punch!
The Vanilla Mousse with Mango Ice-cream was really fruity and HFB thought it was a nice way to end the meal, along with Assorted Biscuits which went really well with our cup of coffee.
Overall, it was an out of the ordinary dining experience and although there were some misses with the dishes, there were others that makes a revisit a possibility.
You can view all the photos here.
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The world we live in, is complex and beyond our wildest imaginations. Life is a mess, there will always be new problems arising everyday. Life is never fair and you have no control over it. But hey, who says life is ever gonna be easy? Babies cry when they enter this world don’t they? But sweetie, our world is also a beautiful place to live in, close your eyes and hold your breathe for a second; you will appreciate it a lot better.
And in life, nothing beats walking into a bakery with the smell of the freshly baked bread straight from the oven!
But I knew from the moment I stepped inside the bakery that it was a mistake. I wanted to buy everything! It was astonishing to see the number of Milkpan that they baked there - rows and rows of them, and everything smelled so good! The unbelievable softness, the light fragrance, and the creamy custard fillings, oh my god, one milkpan’s really not enough.
There was two types of anpan; I was convinced/psycho to get this one. It vaguely reminded me of the red-bean buns that I often got from the neighbourhood bakery. Nosh and nosh.
The scary thing about the bread here, they’d sold out the moment they are out! We got ten of them, five custard, and five chocolate. And it definitely wasn’t enough.
We preferred the chocolate wassants though; the other one was lacking in flavour, while this one had the subtle sweet chocolate within the bread. And there’s even a new kaya version, but that’s for the next visit!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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My fellow Bukit Batok-ians, this is THE place to go to for char kuay teow and hokkien mee. I often like to ask what local food will you miss the most if you go overseas, and my answer will always be ckt. By and large it’s not a easy choice, not when there are so many nice and delicious local food around; chicken rice, rojak, laksa just to name a few, but yes, I will miss my ckt the most.
From afar, I could smell the aroma, and I’m drawn in, immediately. What is that smell? Sniff, sniff: this, is the smell of my love. Every mouthful was so good, and I wolfed down one plate in a blink of the eye. One plate was definitely not enough, I always order two plates of char kuay teow ($2). And I don’t want to share with you, shoo! go away.
I love the char kuay teow here, for a period of time initially, I was having ckt for almost four-five times a week (two plates each time). But when you have too much good food, you will become sick of it, and so was I, which brought my attention to…
Hokkien mee!
I have the black carrot cake for breakfast, char kuay teow for lunch, and hokkien mee for dinner. Sounds good right? Nah, I usually rotates between the char kuay teow or hokkien mee ($3) for lunch since the stall closes during the afternoon. I know judging from the photo, the ckt looks a lot better than the HM, but believe me, I’ll go to the extent of saying this is the best Hokkien mee, at least in Bukit Batok. He cooks every order by plate, which meant a longer waiting time; but hey, every plate is fricking good! And I like the wetness and moist version of HM, with a lot chilli and two limes squeeze in; I’m a happy man!
And oh, it’s almost lunch time. Uncle, one packet of char kuay teow, and one packet of hokkien mee with extra chilli and lime please!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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Probably riding on the hype of the popular Little Nonya TV series comes Jia Chuan Steamboat – a unique Nonya influenced Tom Yum steamboat recipe of chef, Mdm Elsie Lim. With her own brand of Peranakan-Chinese familiarity, the spice quotient of the Thai inspired broth is up with an extra serving of home-made nonya paste – made with up to 10 types of herbs and spices – for that extra punch!
For the non-fiery taste buds, one can also opt for the homemade Chicken Broth, or the Fish Broth that is slowed cooked for flavours using Flounder Fish, Ikan Bilis, and other homemade ingredients. You can even throw in Fried Red Snapper Fish Head and Fried Taco for that added fish head steamboat ‘experience’.
HFB sampled both the Tom Yum and Fish broth, and thought that the former was interesting but not awe-inspiring. Perhaps HFB was not used to it, but the broth was slightly too sweet for him, yet at the same time there existed a bitterness aftertaste from the Turmeric due to the constant boiling. The fish broth though was more familiar in taste due to the ikan bilis, and thus more welcoming and better appreciated. Highlights of the steamboat are the selection of homemade specialties such as meatballs (pork or chicken) made with Crabmeat, Prawns, Chestnut, Bamboo Shoots, etc.
But the one the really stood out was the Sotong Balls with Prawns – the sotong taste was evident and palatable.
The Pork Dumplings with Prawns also did not disappoint. It was hearty with a wholesome bite.
And what’s Chinese steamboat without pork, in the form of Pork Belly Slices. The greasy strips of fat gave the meat that added marbling texture. Succulent!
HFB was also asked to comment on the Beef Glue and Beef Ball that the establishment was trying to introduce to their menu.
While the former was essentially minced beef and nothing noteworthy, the beef balls are a shoo-in for their new menu. Chestnuts added to it also gave it an added crunch.
Another point to note include their tasty sweet chilli, reminiscent to that from Coca Steamboat. The sambal though is really spicy and not for the faint-hearted.
And do look out for their lighted signboard when you are driving into the area as the "cafe" or air-conditioned coffeeshop is easily miss.
Buddy Value Meal (2pax) is valued for $25 and comes with a choice of ONE meat (Beef, Chicken or Pork) and Steamboat Party Value Meal (3 to 5 pax) is valued at $48 and comes with a choice of TWO meat. No service charge and GST.
You can view all the photos here.
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After hearing SOOOOoOoo much about Tao's for such a long time, I finally had the chance to step into Tao's! I was so excited.
Parking wasn't too much of a problem at Selegie Centre... however 3 hours cost us $10 . If it weren't raining so heavily when we arrived I reckon we would have parked elsewhere. The parking area was a little hard to find but easy (for the driver) to work her way about.
Because it was a weekday and it was just after lunch @ 2pm, the place was empty!! *happiness* We did make reservations though. I was told by my friend that reservations are a must if you wanted a weekend lunch/dinner.
They charge $19.80 (or was it $19.90) for a 6 course set lunch. I shan't dwell on the system they have here since everyone's talked about it.
We just went about picking whatever we liked from the menu.
I shall only comment on those I did taste. :)
Food ordered:
Bacon & Mushroom Gratin, served with Toasted Bread
This is an item we didn’t have a choice with in the menu. I’m not really a fan of gratin so I was a little hesitant. I didn’t quite take to the smell of the cheese they used for the gratin but it was generally alright for non-cheese lovers. A definite stay away if you dislike cheese though. The bread was heavenly. I LOVEEDDD it. I wished I could have more (it’s free flow) but I was afraid I couldn’t finish the rest of my meal. The bread was well toasted and can be eaten alone without the gratin at all.
Smoked Salmon Salad
My choice. My companions had the Fruit Salad and the Prawn Roll though. Nothing fantastic about my salad though I had some trouble finishing it as I found the salmon a little too salty after a few bites. The serving was just right though.
Cream of Pumpkin
I absolutely loved this soup. I was the only one not having the Shark fin one, which my companions raved about. But I loved the thickness of this pumpkin soup and the slight sweetness which made me finish it really quickly.
Grilled Snapper with Japanese Sauce
This is my main complaint I think. I definitely regretted this choice. The snapper was unevenly grilled and charred on one end but fine on the other. There was so much sauce poured over it and it certainly didn’t help that it was too salty. In reality, the snapper was quite tasty on its own, after much cleaning away of the sauce. I liked the pumpkin mash served with the snapper though. I would definitely go for the flounder next time.
Ice Rose Apple Tea
I like how the smell of the rose blended together with the taste of the apple in this one. And they even provided a fork for you to eat the apple. They serve their teas in this nice little pot with a tiny cup, so we had fun tasting each other’s tea.
Ice Summer Peach Tea
I LOVE THIS TEA! I like the aftertaste of the peach!
Brownie served with ice cream
Or should I say, ice-cream served with brownie? I finished it in 2 bites. Either my mouth’s big or… to give credit, the brownie is quite moist and not too dry. The nuts below should be cut up a little more so that it can be evenly distributed with each bite.
The total bill came up to $115 for 5 of us which is quite reasonable I guess. Topped with great service and smiles even though we were overstayers, it was a good experience after all.
I’m looking forward to going there again!
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There are generally two type of restaurants; either one that has great food, but normal or almost no scenery to boost of; where you will gladly bring along your really-stable-boyfriend, bff, girlfriends whom have all seen you at your worst so dining unglamorously is not an issue. Or the other that serves average food, but has a to-die-for ambience, making it a must-go place for your date.
And Novus Cafe belongs to the latter. Theoretically Novus cafe isn’t a restaurant, it is a cafe. But I’m speaking on the broad assumption that it has great ambience, and serve average simple food.
The latter will be the type of places where you will go for your first date, or important occasions; never mind the food’s you-know-what, but it’s a great place to hang out and chill at. Period. Novus’s menu mostly comprises of simple food like pasta/risotto, pizza, and sandwich. But it is the ambience, I love in fall with it the first time I “accidentally” went to the National Museum and saw it. Okay, that’s a lie, I went there with the sole and only purpose to Reece the place for a visit.
Nestled within a Museum, artistic value checked. Nice al fresco dining area, checked. Comfy sofas and nice ambience, checked. Come for dinner and you have a night at the museum. You come to the places like this for your important date, the food doesn’t matter since you are gonna lock eyes with the partner sitting opposite and probably won’t notice what you are putting in your mouth.
I always feel sandwich is a down-sized burger in disguise. Well the similarity is certainly there; fillings stuff between two bread/bun, with the exception that sandwiches ain’t as sexy as their burger counterparts. Who wants sandwiches when you got burgers? Stop pretending to be healthy, and keep the calories chart that you are holding!
“My sandwich” ($16) certainly wasn’t what my-kind-of-sandwich would be like. Beef pastrami, gouda cheese, tomato, dijonnaise, rucola, and sunny side up. And it came with potato chips. How healthy. Anyway, I was wondering how come we can pay 16 bucks for a sandwich and not wimp, while some will scorn at the mere mention of paying the same amount for the burger? Does this means the sandwich was bad? Not at all, like I said, I’m just not that into sandwich.
I fall in love with risotto, and ever since I’d been on the lookout for better ones. So when there’s only four selections under the seemingly-comprehensive-sounding title of pasta & risotto in the menu, I chose the risotto, immediately. I’ll never forget, the sticky-almost-porridge texture, the essence of the ingredient fully absorbed and coated in every grain of the alluring aborio rice. Pesto risotto ($12).
Does that means Novus being the nice-ambience-but-average-food place was bad? Of course not. I’m so gonna come back here again! There are places where you will go for the good food, and there are places where you go to, to immerse yourself in the surroundings. And Novus belongs to the latter.
I’m a sucker for ambience.
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written herein are my genuine feelings expressed in words. Food, my dear, is what they call an adventure!
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