We went to this cheery little steamboat place at Tanjong Katong Road called Paradise on Earth.
I feel like I've hit the lottery. Hubby who normally loathes steamboat actually likes this place and would come back again (in fact, he doesn't want to go anywhere else!). Most of our experiences with steamboat have left us quite disappointed. Here, at Paradise on Earth, the food not only looks and tastes fresh, it's really quite value-for-money. Very pleasing on both eye and wallet.
About 60 items (meat, seafood, vegetables and dishes) plus dessert come free-flow with the buffet price. They also have a premium menu (house specialties) of about 30 items that you can order separately. You won't be complaining about lack of variety here (got a sudden craving for live bull frogs and geoduck? no problem).
They have about five soup choices (you can have two). They are well-known for their satay flavoured soup - we liked this better than their hot & spicy (mala style) soup. Others are fish head, dried scallop and tom yum.
You must try the fried rice here. Looks like plain old Yangzhou fried rice but it's delicious - the first time I had it, I took three bowls! I like the sweet-sour-spicy dipping sauce too. Oh, they also serve you a nice plate of achar - pickled pineapple, carrots and cucumber (that will later appear as a $2 charge on your bill). However, there is no GST and no service charge at this place. Hurrah!
Lunch: S$15.80 for adults; S$7.90 for children (under 12) Dinner: S$17.80 for adults; S$8,90 for children Weekends and public holidays, add S$1 for adults and 50 cents for children
This place does not have that good a reputation for food. As a regular tze char place, it's fairly middling. However, I have had one good dish from here - cereal prawns!
And this is not just cereal prawn but butter cereal prawns! Extra fragrant, yummy and still crisp, despite being a takeaway. I ate even the skins and tails (not the heads though, although I peeled the tasty batter off them). And I love the crispy bits with curry leaves and sliced chili padi.
Do not try their fried rice or horfun though...they are the blandest ever!
The Raffles City basement now has so many eateries but very few that we like. A few days ago, we chanced upon this little ramen shop - Bishamon Sapporo Ramen. Ah, another Sapporo ramen joint. I'd heard good stuff about them. And we weren't disappointed. I liked the spicy miso ramen (S$12) I had. Nicely savoury without being overpowering or overly spicy. The char siew slices are very thick but amazingly, they were so tender, they just melted in your mouth.
Hubby enjoyed the shoyu ramen (S$12.50). I am not fond of shoyu flavouring and found a perceptible porky taste. But it does grow on you. Just a very different flavour from the miso.
This tiny shop doesn't seat very many. Seats spill out into the walkway and most people just eat and go. Bishamon also serves curry rice and some appetiser snacks, if you prefer something other than ramen.
This is a curry udon specialist chain from Japan (Singapore is their first overseas outlet). Didn't really pay much attention to them until I saw the cheese-laden bowl on LiquidShadow's blog. That brought back some memories of Mentsu-dan in Shinjuku, where I first fell in love with udon and where they had this cheese-egg udon that was phenomenal. Ahh, Japan...
Hubby who doesn't like The Central acquiesced to come here for this. We started with the coleslaw with renkon chips (S$6.50, this month's special, available til end March). This was so delicious, and the renkon chips so addictive, we asked for another as soon as we polished it off. We told the waitress they should put this on the regular menu!
Hubby went for the cheese curry udon (S$15.50). The cheese topping did not look as huge as it didn't have any tonkatsu or ebi tempura to rest on. The curry is not bad. I'm not a Japanese curry fan because of its mild and sweetish nature, but I liked this (especially after we put a ton of chili flakes into it). Next time I am coming here to have my own bowl!
I had the grilled eel dish called hitsumabushi (S$18), because I had been craving my good experience at Unasho in Akihabara. I hoped this place would at least meet some standards, unlike local Japanese chains like Ichiban Sushi. Well, Wakashachiya's version was decent enough with good quality ingredients. If you want double the amount of unagi, you can go for the deluxe version (S$27).
Hitsumabushi is fun because you get to play with your food. There are three different ways of eating it. You can divide the bowl into four portions. The first one you can eat as it is - just eel and rice. The second one you can enjoy with condiments of nori, spring onions and wasabi.
The third method is an ochazuke. Pour the hot dashi stock over your eel, rice and condiments to create a "rice tea". The stock here has a strong charcoal or roasted taste, typical of ochazuke. But I still prefer Unasho's more savoury version.
Service here is polite and the lead waitress spoke some Japanese. She was also very conscientious about details and made sure the tables were all laid out neatly, that nothing was out of place. Enthusiastic commitment to the job! Either that or she is the boss of the place!
Well, for a restaurant chain, Wakashachiya is better than expected. I enjoyed myself and will certainly be back again. In fact, looking at these pictures, I'm craving some curry udon already!
Astons is by now, almost a household name for cheap Western set meals. This "Prime" outlet is its high end foray into more premium offerings. Think of it attempting to bring Lawrie's or Morton's to the masses.
The restaurant with dark wood panels and tall black booth seats is indeed wonderfully cosy with dim incandescent lighting.
There were quite a few negative reviews in its early days, which hinted at teething problems. But now they seem to have gotten their act together. Service that evening was genuine and pleasant. They served us iced and warm water, regularly topped up, and even extra napkins when they saw us needing it. I liked the warm rustic dinner roll with garlic herb butter (unsalted, I think). A good start.
The wild mushroom soup (S$5) was filled with chunky mushroom pieces and clumps of cream but tasted a tad sourish, which didn't do it for us. I detected the scent of evaporated milk too, another thing we didn't fancy. However the clam chowder (not pictured as it looks too similar) was much much better, for the same price. At S$5, we didn't complain. Even a fancy can of Campbell's costs more these days.
Delightful salad of raw spinach and crisp, grilled bacon. A very generous portion for S$12.90. I was delighted by the tangy dressing and mustard seeds which added unusual texture to the salad. I could just have this and be happy!
This is one of the main reasons we came here. Mother-in-law had been craving crab cakes, so we decided to come here and try Astons' version. Apparently they sell out really fast, so we pre-ordered two when we called for reservations. There's only one patty per serving, and it looks like a "bergedil" (the Malay fried potato-and-mince patty). However, tastewise, it was a bit musty and bland. Even the grassy taste of the alfalfa sprouts overpowered the crab cake. Absolutely not worth the S$16.90 it commanded.
The steak was really the star of the show. They ran out of ribeye so we got the striploin. This premium slab of USDA Choice, New York 12oz striploin (S$38.90) here was HUUUGE. And more importantly, delicious. This is their "medium" - just slightly pink in the middle but not bloody - although this itself was too "raw" for my mother-in-law and maid.
Aside from the steak, we also had USDA baby back ribs (S$26.90). Another enormous portion served on warmed plate. It was meaty but a wee bit dry. We almost had trouble finishing this.
With the mains, you get to choose sides for S$3 each. Oh the steakhouse fries (S$3 as side dish to main) are good, so very good. Lightly dusted with paprika and salt, they stayed hot and crispy for quite a long while.
While we've never had a good experience at Astons Specialties, I'd come back to Astons Prime for the steak, spinach salad and fries. Pleasant ambiance and good service round up a nice experience. On the whole, we did feel it was pretty good value-for-money. On top of that, there's no service charge or GST. This goes on my list of good places to indulge Neanderthal cravings.
Banking on the concept of nostalgia and old world charm, Jacob's Cafe is all about rediscovery, fresh food and simple, laid back relaxation. Established since September 2000, Jacob's has been serving and belting out tasty country meals for families and couples alike.
Jacob's features an al fresco dining area which makes up the bulk of the seating arrangements and the inner sanctum which has only limited seats of up to 10 people. The seats in the restaurant definitely brings with it a rustic charm and a comfortable atmosphere but the trade off is that after the meal, you'll come out smelling like one yourself. The al fresco seats have no such problem but lighting and visibility will be a little lower.
Pumpkin Soup(Part of the game hen meal), Bread Roll(Part of the game hen meal) - Our first visit there was more of a trial, we wanted to see exactly how good the place was since FZ mentioned the bread roll here has to be the best in Singapore. Thus, we ordered one of the specials on the board. This being the oven baked game hen set meal which came with soup, bread roll, coffee and the game hen of course. For starters, the pumpkin soup was very creamy, a little sweet and definitely opens the pallet. Not the best i had but its decent enough. The bread roll needs a little more description. It will not be immediately apparent why this bread roll is good, but a few bites into it will convince you otherwise. Reason being, its the only bread roll i've had that is completely balanced in having a reasonably hard crust while still maintaining warm and soft inside. You can't even compare it to any other bread roll thus far for that matter. There are no problems with biting into it and separating it as compared to some french loaves you find outside, where eating it is a challenge in itself. Make no mistake, this bread roll is better. Try it to find out.
Oven Baked Game Hen ($25.90) - The game hen came as quite a large portion. Definitely bigger then the spring chickens you can find at the food court. It came with 2 sides, assorted greens and fries. The fries were normal enough while the boiled greens were sauteed with a little butter to enhance the taste while remaining moderately crunchy and soft. The game hen was plump, juicy, tender and very fragrant. The sauce made it slightly salty but it suits the dish well. There's meat enough to go around for 2 people so basically, if you order this, it can be shared for 2 small eaters. I like the way the juices are locked in so that the hen remained tender without being dry. Worth a try.
Jacob's Pizza ($16.90) - Ah yes...Jacob's pizza. I always love ordering food that bears the restaurants namesake because its very important what they put their name on to represent themselves. This pizza, does not disappoint. It came chock full of toppings and cheese with a thin and crispy crust to boot. And the important thing is, you get to see them prepare it fresh before they pop it into the oven and serve to the customers. No issues on freshness here. This is definitely worth a try if you are here. Do note the waiting time for it extends by up to 20 minutes so its wise to order something else while waiting.
Apple Crumble and Vanilla Ice Cream ($7.50) - Having fallen in love with the apple crumble at coffee club, i make it a point to order it when i try out a new place. This is no exception here. However, lo and behold, it turns out to be the first disappointment of the day. Every item up till now has been above average but this sank the experience down quite a bit. To describe how it tastes is easy, its bascially Mcdonald's apple pie with a nicer crust and ice cream thrown into the fray. Definitely leave this out of the meal.
Coffee (Part of the game hen meal) - Our meal came with coffee as well and while its not exactly a gourmet cuppa, i do appreciate them including it and it does complete a meal pretty well.
The total bill for this visit came up to $50.30 with no gst nor service charge. Oh! The service here is really good as well. And the price is definitely justified as the quality of food is of a certain standard.
Barely a week later, me and my gf returned once again to re experience Jacob's and find out if it is still as good as before.
Mushroom Soup (Part of the Ribeye Set) - This time around, i ordered the ribeye set which also came with soup, bread roll and coffee. We had mushroom soup this time and its more watery with chunks of mushroom in it. Its quite bland but still pretty decent. The bread roll is as good as ever though.
Ham and Sausage Combo ($19.90) - My gf ordered the Ham and sausage combo which is actually called the meatloaf on the menu. It arrived as a huge plate with sides of mashed potato and sauerkraut with some mustard for dipping. The mashed potato was pretty good with some peppery taste and a some chunks of potato in it as well. The meatloaf or ham looks like a huge piece of luncheon meat actually and tastes a little like luncheon meat as well but is firmer and juicier. The sausages were definitely fragrant and very tasty.
Ribeye Steak ($28.90) - Another huge serving, the steak came with 3 sides, a tomato with pepper and celery, boiled greens and mashed potatoes. The steak i ordered was done medium rare as i ordered and is very very juicy. Its also a tad salty and had some parts not evenly done as there were portions that were a little too rare. Still, its a decent main dish. However, i probably won't recommend ordering it since Jacob's has other items that are much better.
Pecan Pie ($4.60) - During the first visit, the worst item was the dessert which thankfully isn't the case this time. By recommendation, we ordered the pecan pie which is supposedly a rather rare item in Singapore. This dessert is moderately sweet, crunchy and different in a good way. Its served hot, as in very hot and is something easily recommended. Try it.
Total bill for this visit is $53.40.
And for my third and last visit (so far anyway), we had yet again, a different choice and different items.
Fresh Farm Salad (Part of the Jacob's Chicken Pie Set) - Part of the Jacob's Chicken pie set, this is basically farm fresh salad drenched in balsamic vinegar for good effect. Sour, sweet and fresh, the salad definitely opens your appetite for the meal that follows.
Frankfurters Set ($8.90) - I ordered this thinking that i would be getting the thick and big versions of these little sausages but i was wrong. What was served was extremely small and measly. Taste wise, it doesn't taste any different from the run-of-the-mill sausages you could get outside. This is the second disappointment i've had at Jacob's.
Hungarian Beef Goulash With Bread Roll ($13.50) - I've been wanted to have a go at the Hungarian Goulash ever since i saw it in the menu. Now, i've finally had the chance to try it. For the price, the serving is huge. You get a huge plate of beef, carrots, potatoes and tomatoes in a delectable stew and the choice to have it with either rice or bread roll. I obviously chose the bread roll since its still without a doubt, one of the best bread rolls i've had. The goulash tastes like a cross between beef stew and sardines actually. It doesn't sound very good but in actual fact, it works. Its difficult to describe it further but you'll get a strong beef taste along with a sweet and sour broth which goes really well with the roll. Worth a try.
Jacob's Pie ($16.90) - My gf's Jacob's pie was actually a really small serving given the price but of course, you need to factor in the salad that came before as well. The pastry it came in had a nice buttery taste which i immediately took to and its very crusty and crispy as well. The pie ingredients itself were potatos, green beans, carrots and lots and lots of chicken pieces. The thing i like about the dish was the crust and the fact that the pie is a little bland. Do note that its also superbly hot when served so its important to be careful while eating. Not too bad but not exactly mind blowing either.
Tiramisu with Vanilla Ice Cream ($8.50) - The tiramisu this time was rather good as well. There is a clear distinction on where the cake starts and where the cream ends. The only gripe is that its note evenly done with some portions thicker then the rest. The rum is easily discernible but not overwhelming. I'd say the pecan pie was better though.
The bill this time clocked off at $47.80 for 2 people for a filling and satisfying meal.
Out of 3 meals, i can't say there were no misses. But for what its worth, the experience was still above average and if you asked me, i'd gladly go for another meal. The fact that there's no service charge or gst only serves to sweeten the draw for going back.
Joe’s kitchen may look ordinary on the outside, or even you might totally missed it when you passed by the place at its location at Bukit Merah, just directly opposite Alexander Hospital. I did. Having passed by the area a few times, i didn’t know there was this hidden gem offering authentic thai food experience in our midst of our heartland.
I was given this opportunity for the wonderful Makan experience organized by Leslie of ieatishootipost fame. A total of 47 food punters joined us on this occasion. Some of which were ieat’s old makan kakis, while many like me were first-timers joining ieat on his makan session.
The interior of the place was simple, the place wasn’t very big but it managed to squeeze all 47 of us inside the place. I wondered how all of us managed to eat inside that night. Miracle!
The event was supposed to start at 7pm, i got there around 645pm and there were people there already. Damien was the co-organizer for the outing. Jiawei and Shanice were the earliest there if i’m not wrong, i seated in the same table with them. Also on the same table as me were liverpool, eastcoastlife & hubby, yanti & friend. All of us had a wonderful time chatting taking photos, and savouring the food.
The crowd starts to come in and by around 740pm or thereabouts almost everyone arrived. The menu was to be 14 dishes including some starters, mains, and desserts. All the dishes came in sampling tasting size so that we can have a bit of everything. The female boss, Jamie (chef Joe’s wife) is friendly and attended to us warmly.
Crispy rice cake The Kao Dang Na Dang help to kick-start our makan session. Not commonly found in Singapore. the cripsy rice cake, was supposed to go together with the peanut sauce. I didn’t quite enjoy this appetizer as i found it to be way too dry for my liking.
Prawn Cakes The Thot Man Goong or Prawn Cakes was nice to eat, it was crispy and the prawn taste is just right.
Mango Salad The mango salad is one the appetizer dish that you will not be surprised to find in a Thai restaurant. No doubt about it, th salad is packed with everything. The first taste of it, refreshing. The initial impression was its not as spicy as i thought. But the magical part of it was the longer it gets, the spicier it became. A few more bites and the mango salad got to its “full level”
As most of us waited quite long for everyone to turn up before the dishes to serve, by the time the mango salad came out everybody were famished. We literally “attacked” the salad, and it was until ieat told us to hold our horses, that the salad was supposed to eat together with the sticky rice and chicken which were not out yet then we realized that.
Gai Yang (Grilled Chicken) The grilled chicken was quite good to be honest, everyone got a bite of it. Placing the mango salad and the chicken onto the sticky rice, the taste is very different from eating the three dishes separately.
Grilled Pork Collar This was no doubt for me, the star of the show! The Khaw Mu Yang, or grilled pork collar was somewhat similar to our Chinese char siew, albeit Thai style. Many of the kakis found it to be good too! Its also commonly eaten together with the sticky rice and mango salad. But its so good that we eat it on its own.
Tom Yum soup with fried fish In my personal opinion, how good a Thai restaurant is can be based on the test of their Tom Yum soup. Unquestionably. Tom Yum soup is the first thing that most people will think of when they think of Thai food. Well i say the Tom Yum soup by Chef Joe should passed with flying colours. The soup is really spicy, at least from my perspective. Dipping the crispy fried fish into the soup was quite a experience for me.
Green curry beef The beef was tender, and immersed with the essence of the green curry.
Deep fried Grouper with Thai chili The Thai chili was excellent here, real hot and a little sweet spicy. But i couldn’t help drinking more water so as to have a few more mouthful of the chili with the deep fried grouper.
Red Curry Roasted Duck Having seen the green curry earlier, my first thought was red curry after green? This was followed by roasted duck curry? I have never heard of roasted duck curry, let alone tasting it. But this dish was really not bad, i’m not sure how the roasted duck came about, whether Chef Joe roasted the duck, or he brought it from elsewhere and cook it with the red curry, but nevertheless its good.
And to our astonishment, there were grapes, yes grapes inside the curry! Talk about surprise, first roasted duck in curry, then grapes?
Basil leave minced pork I was never a fan of minced pork in the first place, n’uff said!
Claypot Crab Vermicelli with fatty pork Although the claypot crab was suppose to be the highlight here, but we got into eating the vermicelli instead. After cooking, the essence of the crab and fatty pork all went into the vermicelli, that alone should suffice for eating the vermicelli.
Poom Fy Dang - Kang Kong Thai style Like all the other dishes in Joe’s Kitchen, the first taste was not very spicy, but the second bite was real hot. The Kang Kong got hotter with each bite, i suggested just swallow the veggies!
Mango Stick rice To round off our authentic Thai food experience, we had Mango sticky rice, the mango was real sweet!
Tapioca with Coconut milk I didn’t like tapioca, so this dish was not to my taste bud
Total Bill was $1646 for 47 people, $35 per head for the Authentic Thai food experience at Chef Joe’s place. I love going to Makan outings with big groups because we can get to know more people. Think Yebber Party @ MINT where there were about 50 people, the Social Media Breakfast with around 40 odds people, and now this ieat makan outing with 47 people.
Credits to Leslie (ieat) and Damien whom organized this makan session for everyone to get together and enjoyed food. I looked forward to the many more outings organized by them, to meet more people and eat more food!
The beauty of food, it can bring everyone from all ages, different backgrounds together, for one common purpose that is to savour all the good food. How often do you see strangers getting together and seating down for a meal? I’m going to organised LIC food event soon, do watch out for the post!
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 : )
” Authentic Thai Food experience, in the midst of our heartland “
I believe everybody is familiar with the song on television that goes: "Dom Dom Kushinbo" etc etc. And this is my second visit to the place in 4 years if i'm not wrong so there's quite a few new things we can talk about. Here we go>>>
$27.80 per head (Lunch buffet) - Japanese buffets are without a doubt one of my favorite buffets to have. The one offered by Kuishinbo certainly has alot up for offer. As per my previous visit, some things have changed. The interior being one of the changes and the amount of food offerings as well. Not exactly for the better in my opinion, the seats and ambiance seem to have taken a step backwards and just feels less friendly then before. Service and clearing of plates this time seemed to have improved though. On to the food, you get a whole lot of choices to begin with. Cold dishes like sashimi, cha soba, sushi and california rolls are yours for the taking. Then there are the deep fried dishes which had ebi tempura, chicken, hotate and other fried items. There are also soups, paper steamboats and assorted other items which could be cooked on the spot for you. Desserts are piled with cakes, ice cream, fondue, puffs and biscuits. Coffee and tea are also available for the taking.
Basically, the food is decent albeit nothing really stays with you after you finish eating. The sashimi are alright though the quality is definitely questionable. I liked the california rolls they had. The tempura had way too much batter and not enough prawn. The steamboat is simply too sweet for comfort. The miso soup here is the worst i've ever had. The cooked salmon is normal, the dory is nicely sweet and tender while the beef was overcooked and rubbery. Basically, their sushis were moderately decent. The dessert was alright if you simply go for the fondue and the cakes, the puffs, cookies and brownies really need improvement. And that about sums everything up.
Total bill came up to $65.44 for a stuffed stomach and a less then satisfied pallet.
The buffet we had was lunch which meant we didn't get to have any crab. I was told that the crab served during the evenings were much better and worth a try. But as it stands, i'm probably not going to return for another try at least for the next year or so.
ladyironchef finally got his namecard!! Namecards are important, first they tell others your name, and then they also make them remember your contact number. Its a hassle to liase or socialise with people if you don't have one.
Encountering the problem at Yebber first anniversary party at MINT, and at the Social Media Breakfast where LIC got to meet many people but didn't have any namecard to exchange with.
LIC got a friend to design his namecard, the layout is simple and nice (i hope), styled in black background at the front and white background at the back.
And the rest is easy, bringing down the template in thumbdrive saved as the format required. There was two lady when LIC went to Tommy Print. One was cold and had few words, while the other was friendly and helpful.
They guided me to choosing the different things required for my namecard, and it was not much of a problem. I choose the cheapest, but very nice Gloss/Matte Lamination.
As this is my first time printing my own namecards, i chose 200 pieces at $24, instead of the otherwise more worth-it 300 pieces at $30. Its suppose to take them 4-5 working days to print, but i got the call from them on the 3rd day. So i guess they are quite efficient.
The results of the namecard are nice, better than what i expected really. And at $24 for two box, its really very cheap and affordable for anyone and everyone to own their own namecards.
Meet me at the next Yebber outing, i'll pass you one of mine : )
You was not expecting ladyironchef to get his DSLR from challenger after reading all the rantings and praises he had for the different camera shops.
After the complaints against Alan photo, and the praise on John 3:16, you must be wondering why didn't LIC got his DSLR from John 3:16?
Well, first thing first, LIC love canon products, the old camera is a canon ixus 60. But for DSLR, for the budget LIC has now, Canon doesn't seem so viable. Nikon D40 for &750, D60 for $950, Canon 400D for $1080, Canon 450D for $1490.
I'll love to get from John 3:16, but they are not a fan of Nikon, and the model that i wanted to get D40, they are not selling it anymore. End of story.
On the other hand, Challenger is having this promotion for Nikon D40 for $749 which comes with a nikon bag, 2GB SD card. But we hit one snag, the promotion lasted until 30 april only.
As i was there last sunday, but i didn't buy the dslr as i was in rush of time. The sales associate Shawn he remembered me, and despite the promotion is over, he gave me the 2GB SD card. Thats service to me.
After which, i asked him where can i get the screen protector, challenger is selling at $9.90, but then even though its not part of the deal, he say he gave it to me. Its not the freebies, but the service provided by Shawn. Kudos!
And i am proud to annouce Ladyironchef is a owner of the magical DSLR, the Nikon D40!! Thank you for reading through all the previous posts, hope i didn't confuse you where i was buying from : )
1=SGD 0.0587
We went to this cheery little steamboat place at Tanjong Katong Road called Paradise on Earth.
I feel like I've hit the lottery. Hubby who normally loathes steamboat actually likes this place and would come back again (in fact, he doesn't want to go anywhere else!). Most of our experiences with steamboat have left us quite disappointed. Here, at Paradise on Earth, the food not only looks and tastes fresh, it's really quite value-for-money. Very pleasing on both eye and wallet.
About 60 items (meat, seafood, vegetables and dishes) plus dessert come free-flow with the buffet price. They also have a premium menu (house specialties) of about 30 items that you can order separately. You won't be complaining about lack of variety here (got a sudden craving for live bull frogs and geoduck? no problem).
They have about five soup choices (you can have two). They are well-known for their satay flavoured soup - we liked this better than their hot & spicy (mala style) soup. Others are fish head, dried scallop and tom yum.
You must try the fried rice here. Looks like plain old Yangzhou fried rice but it's delicious - the first time I had it, I took three bowls! I like the sweet-sour-spicy dipping sauce too. Oh, they also serve you a nice plate of achar - pickled pineapple, carrots and cucumber (that will later appear as a $2 charge on your bill). However, there is no GST and no service charge at this place. Hurrah!
Lunch: S$15.80 for adults; S$7.90 for children (under 12)
Dinner: S$17.80 for adults; S$8,90 for children
Weekends and public holidays, add S$1 for adults and 50 cents for children
PARADISE ON EARTH
200 Tanjong Katong Road
Singapore 436998
Tel: 6345 9272.
Daily 11am - 3pm, 6pm - 11pm.
Rating given:
This place does not have that good a reputation for food. As a regular tze char place, it's fairly middling. However, I have had one good dish from here - cereal prawns!
And this is not just cereal prawn but butter cereal prawns! Extra fragrant, yummy and still crisp, despite being a takeaway. I ate even the skins and tails (not the heads though, although I peeled the tasty batter off them). And I love the crispy bits with curry leaves and sliced chili padi.
Do not try their fried rice or horfun though...they are the blandest ever!
Rating given:
Original review at Camemberu.com.
The Raffles City basement now has so many eateries but very few that we like. A few days ago, we chanced upon this little ramen shop - Bishamon Sapporo Ramen. Ah, another Sapporo ramen joint. I'd heard good stuff about them. And we weren't disappointed. I liked the spicy miso ramen (S$12) I had. Nicely savoury without being overpowering or overly spicy. The char siew slices are very thick but amazingly, they were so tender, they just melted in your mouth.
Hubby enjoyed the shoyu ramen (S$12.50). I am not fond of shoyu flavouring and found a perceptible porky taste. But it does grow on you. Just a very different flavour from the miso.
This tiny shop doesn't seat very many. Seats spill out into the walkway and most people just eat and go. Bishamon also serves curry rice and some appetiser snacks, if you prefer something other than ramen.
Rating given:
See original review with all photos at Camemberu.com
I went there a second time too - their ebi tempura curry udon sure has big prawns!
This is a curry udon specialist chain from Japan (Singapore is their first overseas outlet). Didn't really pay much attention to them until I saw the cheese-laden bowl on LiquidShadow's blog. That brought back some memories of Mentsu-dan in Shinjuku, where I first fell in love with udon and where they had this cheese-egg udon that was phenomenal. Ahh, Japan...
Hubby who doesn't like The Central acquiesced to come here for this. We started with the coleslaw with renkon chips (S$6.50, this month's special, available til end March). This was so delicious, and the renkon chips so addictive, we asked for another as soon as we polished it off. We told the waitress they should put this on the regular menu!
Hubby went for the cheese curry udon (S$15.50). The cheese topping did not look as huge as it didn't have any tonkatsu or ebi tempura to rest on. The curry is not bad. I'm not a Japanese curry fan because of its mild and sweetish nature, but I liked this (especially after we put a ton of chili flakes into it). Next time I am coming here to have my own bowl!
I had the grilled eel dish called hitsumabushi (S$18), because I had been craving my good experience at Unasho in Akihabara. I hoped this place would at least meet some standards, unlike local Japanese chains like Ichiban Sushi. Well, Wakashachiya's version was decent enough with good quality ingredients. If you want double the amount of unagi, you can go for the deluxe version (S$27).
Hitsumabushi is fun because you get to play with your food. There are three different ways of eating it. You can divide the bowl into four portions. The first one you can eat as it is - just eel and rice. The second one you can enjoy with condiments of nori, spring onions and wasabi.
The third method is an ochazuke. Pour the hot dashi stock over your eel, rice and condiments to create a "rice tea". The stock here has a strong charcoal or roasted taste, typical of ochazuke. But I still prefer Unasho's more savoury version.
Service here is polite and the lead waitress spoke some Japanese. She was also very conscientious about details and made sure the tables were all laid out neatly, that nothing was out of place. Enthusiastic commitment to the job! Either that or she is the boss of the place!
Well, for a restaurant chain, Wakashachiya is better than expected. I enjoyed myself and will certainly be back again. In fact, looking at these pictures, I'm craving some curry udon already!
Rating given:
Go to the Camemberu.com review for more photos.
Astons is by now, almost a household name for cheap Western set meals. This "Prime" outlet is its high end foray into more premium offerings. Think of it attempting to bring Lawrie's or Morton's to the masses.
The restaurant with dark wood panels and tall black booth seats is indeed wonderfully cosy with dim incandescent lighting.
There were quite a few negative reviews in its early days, which hinted at teething problems. But now they seem to have gotten their act together. Service that evening was genuine and pleasant. They served us iced and warm water, regularly topped up, and even extra napkins when they saw us needing it. I liked the warm rustic dinner roll with garlic herb butter (unsalted, I think). A good start.
The wild mushroom soup (S$5) was filled with chunky mushroom pieces and clumps of cream but tasted a tad sourish, which didn't do it for us. I detected the scent of evaporated milk too, another thing we didn't fancy. However the clam chowder (not pictured as it looks too similar) was much much better, for the same price. At S$5, we didn't complain. Even a fancy can of Campbell's costs more these days.
Delightful salad of raw spinach and crisp, grilled bacon. A very generous portion for S$12.90. I was delighted by the tangy dressing and mustard seeds which added unusual texture to the salad. I could just have this and be happy!
This is one of the main reasons we came here. Mother-in-law had been craving crab cakes, so we decided to come here and try Astons' version. Apparently they sell out really fast, so we pre-ordered two when we called for reservations. There's only one patty per serving, and it looks like a "bergedil" (the Malay fried potato-and-mince patty). However, tastewise, it was a bit musty and bland. Even the grassy taste of the alfalfa sprouts overpowered the crab cake. Absolutely not worth the S$16.90 it commanded.
The steak was really the star of the show. They ran out of ribeye so we got the striploin. This premium slab of USDA Choice, New York 12oz striploin (S$38.90) here was HUUUGE. And more importantly, delicious. This is their "medium" - just slightly pink in the middle but not bloody - although this itself was too "raw" for my mother-in-law and maid.
Aside from the steak, we also had USDA baby back ribs (S$26.90). Another enormous portion served on warmed plate. It was meaty but a wee bit dry. We almost had trouble finishing this.
With the mains, you get to choose sides for S$3 each. Oh the steakhouse fries (S$3 as side dish to main) are good, so very good. Lightly dusted with paprika and salt, they stayed hot and crispy for quite a long while.
While we've never had a good experience at Astons Specialties, I'd come back to Astons Prime for the steak, spinach salad and fries. Pleasant ambiance and good service round up a nice experience. On the whole, we did feel it was pretty good value-for-money. On top of that, there's no service charge or GST. This goes on my list of good places to indulge Neanderthal cravings.
Rating given:
Banking on the concept of nostalgia and old world charm, Jacob's Cafe is all about rediscovery, fresh food and simple, laid back relaxation. Established since September 2000, Jacob's has been serving and belting out tasty country meals for families and couples alike.
Jacob's features an al fresco dining area which makes up the bulk of the seating arrangements and the inner sanctum which has only limited seats of up to 10 people. The seats in the restaurant definitely brings with it a rustic charm and a comfortable atmosphere but the trade off is that after the meal, you'll come out smelling like one yourself. The al fresco seats have no such problem but lighting and visibility will be a little lower.
Pumpkin Soup(Part of the game hen meal), Bread Roll(Part of the game hen meal) - Our first visit there was more of a trial, we wanted to see exactly how good the place was since FZ mentioned the bread roll here has to be the best in Singapore. Thus, we ordered one of the specials on the board. This being the oven baked game hen set meal which came with soup, bread roll, coffee and the game hen of course. For starters, the pumpkin soup was very creamy, a little sweet and definitely opens the pallet. Not the best i had but its decent enough. The bread roll needs a little more description. It will not be immediately apparent why this bread roll is good, but a few bites into it will convince you otherwise. Reason being, its the only bread roll i've had that is completely balanced in having a reasonably hard crust while still maintaining warm and soft inside. You can't even compare it to any other bread roll thus far for that matter. There are no problems with biting into it and separating it as compared to some french loaves you find outside, where eating it is a challenge in itself. Make no mistake, this bread roll is better. Try it to find out.
Oven Baked Game Hen ($25.90) - The game hen came as quite a large portion. Definitely bigger then the spring chickens you can find at the food court. It came with 2 sides, assorted greens and fries. The fries were normal enough while the boiled greens were sauteed with a little butter to enhance the taste while remaining moderately crunchy and soft. The game hen was plump, juicy, tender and very fragrant. The sauce made it slightly salty but it suits the dish well. There's meat enough to go around for 2 people so basically, if you order this, it can be shared for 2 small eaters. I like the way the juices are locked in so that the hen remained tender without being dry. Worth a try.
Jacob's Pizza ($16.90) - Ah yes...Jacob's pizza. I always love ordering food that bears the restaurants namesake because its very important what they put their name on to represent themselves. This pizza, does not disappoint. It came chock full of toppings and cheese with a thin and crispy crust to boot. And the important thing is, you get to see them prepare it fresh before they pop it into the oven and serve to the customers. No issues on freshness here. This is definitely worth a try if you are here. Do note the waiting time for it extends by up to 20 minutes so its wise to order something else while waiting.
Apple Crumble and Vanilla Ice Cream ($7.50) - Having fallen in love with the apple crumble at coffee club, i make it a point to order it when i try out a new place. This is no exception here. However, lo and behold, it turns out to be the first disappointment of the day. Every item up till now has been above average but this sank the experience down quite a bit. To describe how it tastes is easy, its bascially Mcdonald's apple pie with a nicer crust and ice cream thrown into the fray. Definitely leave this out of the meal.
Coffee (Part of the game hen meal) - Our meal came with coffee as well and while its not exactly a gourmet cuppa, i do appreciate them including it and it does complete a meal pretty well.
The total bill for this visit came up to $50.30 with no gst nor service charge. Oh! The service here is really good as well. And the price is definitely justified as the quality of food is of a certain standard.
Barely a week later, me and my gf returned once again to re experience Jacob's and find out if it is still as good as before.
Mushroom Soup (Part of the Ribeye Set) - This time around, i ordered the ribeye set which also came with soup, bread roll and coffee. We had mushroom soup this time and its more watery with chunks of mushroom in it. Its quite bland but still pretty decent. The bread roll is as good as ever though.
Ham and Sausage Combo ($19.90) - My gf ordered the Ham and sausage combo which is actually called the meatloaf on the menu. It arrived as a huge plate with sides of mashed potato and sauerkraut with some mustard for dipping. The mashed potato was pretty good with some peppery taste and a some chunks of potato in it as well. The meatloaf or ham looks like a huge piece of luncheon meat actually and tastes a little like luncheon meat as well but is firmer and juicier. The sausages were definitely fragrant and very tasty.
Ribeye Steak ($28.90) - Another huge serving, the steak came with 3 sides, a tomato with pepper and celery, boiled greens and mashed potatoes. The steak i ordered was done medium rare as i ordered and is very very juicy. Its also a tad salty and had some parts not evenly done as there were portions that were a little too rare. Still, its a decent main dish. However, i probably won't recommend ordering it since Jacob's has other items that are much better.
Pecan Pie ($4.60) - During the first visit, the worst item was the dessert which thankfully isn't the case this time. By recommendation, we ordered the pecan pie which is supposedly a rather rare item in Singapore. This dessert is moderately sweet, crunchy and different in a good way. Its served hot, as in very hot and is something easily recommended. Try it.
Total bill for this visit is $53.40.
And for my third and last visit (so far anyway), we had yet again, a different choice and different items.
Fresh Farm Salad (Part of the Jacob's Chicken Pie Set) - Part of the Jacob's Chicken pie set, this is basically farm fresh salad drenched in balsamic vinegar for good effect. Sour, sweet and fresh, the salad definitely opens your appetite for the meal that follows.
Frankfurters Set ($8.90) - I ordered this thinking that i would be getting the thick and big versions of these little sausages but i was wrong. What was served was extremely small and measly. Taste wise, it doesn't taste any different from the run-of-the-mill sausages you could get outside. This is the second disappointment i've had at Jacob's.
Hungarian Beef Goulash With Bread Roll ($13.50) - I've been wanted to have a go at the Hungarian Goulash ever since i saw it in the menu. Now, i've finally had the chance to try it. For the price, the serving is huge. You get a huge plate of beef, carrots, potatoes and tomatoes in a delectable stew and the choice to have it with either rice or bread roll. I obviously chose the bread roll since its still without a doubt, one of the best bread rolls i've had. The goulash tastes like a cross between beef stew and sardines actually. It doesn't sound very good but in actual fact, it works. Its difficult to describe it further but you'll get a strong beef taste along with a sweet and sour broth which goes really well with the roll. Worth a try.
Jacob's Pie ($16.90) - My gf's Jacob's pie was actually a really small serving given the price but of course, you need to factor in the salad that came before as well. The pastry it came in had a nice buttery taste which i immediately took to and its very crusty and crispy as well. The pie ingredients itself were potatos, green beans, carrots and lots and lots of chicken pieces. The thing i like about the dish was the crust and the fact that the pie is a little bland. Do note that its also superbly hot when served so its important to be careful while eating. Not too bad but not exactly mind blowing either.
Tiramisu with Vanilla Ice Cream ($8.50) - The tiramisu this time was rather good as well. There is a clear distinction on where the cake starts and where the cream ends. The only gripe is that its note evenly done with some portions thicker then the rest. The rum is easily discernible but not overwhelming. I'd say the pecan pie was better though.
The bill this time clocked off at $47.80 for 2 people for a filling and satisfying meal.
Out of 3 meals, i can't say there were no misses. But for what its worth, the experience was still above average and if you asked me, i'd gladly go for another meal. The fact that there's no service charge or gst only serves to sweeten the draw for going back.
Rating given:
Joe’s kitchen may look ordinary on the outside, or even you might totally missed it when you passed by the place at its location at Bukit Merah, just directly opposite Alexander Hospital. I did. Having passed by the area a few times, i didn’t know there was this hidden gem offering authentic thai food experience in our midst of our heartland.
I was given this opportunity for the wonderful Makan experience organized by Leslie of ieatishootipost fame. A total of 47 food punters joined us on this occasion. Some of which were ieat’s old makan kakis, while many like me were first-timers joining ieat on his makan session.
The interior of the place was simple, the place wasn’t very big but it managed to squeeze all 47 of us inside the place. I wondered how all of us managed to eat inside that night. Miracle!
The event was supposed to start at 7pm, i got there around 645pm and there were people there already. Damien was the co-organizer for the outing. Jiawei and Shanice were the earliest there if i’m not wrong, i seated in the same table with them. Also on the same table as me were liverpool, eastcoastlife & hubby, yanti & friend. All of us had a wonderful time chatting taking photos, and savouring the food.
The crowd starts to come in and by around 740pm or thereabouts almost everyone arrived. The menu was to be 14 dishes including some starters, mains, and desserts. All the dishes came in sampling tasting size so that we can have a bit of everything. The female boss, Jamie (chef Joe’s wife) is friendly and attended to us warmly.
Crispy rice cake
The Kao Dang Na Dang help to kick-start our makan session. Not commonly found in Singapore. the cripsy rice cake, was supposed to go together with the peanut sauce. I didn’t quite enjoy this appetizer as i found it to be way too dry for my liking.
Prawn Cakes
The Thot Man Goong or Prawn Cakes was nice to eat, it was crispy and the prawn taste is just right.
Mango Salad
The mango salad is one the appetizer dish that you will not be surprised to find in a Thai restaurant. No doubt about it, th salad is packed with everything. The first taste of it, refreshing. The initial impression was its not as spicy as i thought. But the magical part of it was the longer it gets, the spicier it became. A few more bites and the mango salad got to its “full level”
As most of us waited quite long for everyone to turn up before the dishes to serve, by the time the mango salad came out everybody were famished. We literally “attacked” the salad, and it was until ieat told us to hold our horses, that the salad was supposed to eat together with the sticky rice and chicken which were not out yet then we realized that.
Gai Yang (Grilled Chicken)
The grilled chicken was quite good to be honest, everyone got a bite of it. Placing the mango salad and the chicken onto the sticky rice, the taste is very different from eating the three dishes separately.
Grilled Pork Collar
This was no doubt for me, the star of the show! The Khaw Mu Yang, or grilled pork collar was somewhat similar to our Chinese char siew, albeit Thai style. Many of the kakis found it to be good too! Its also commonly eaten together with the sticky rice and mango salad. But its so good that we eat it on its own.
Tom Yum soup with fried fish
In my personal opinion, how good a Thai restaurant is can be based on the test of their Tom Yum soup. Unquestionably. Tom Yum soup is the first thing that most people will think of when they think of Thai food. Well i say the Tom Yum soup by Chef Joe should passed with flying colours. The soup is really spicy, at least from my perspective. Dipping the crispy fried fish into the soup was quite a experience for me.
Green curry beef
The beef was tender, and immersed with the essence of the green curry.
Deep fried Grouper with Thai chili
The Thai chili was excellent here, real hot and a little sweet spicy. But i couldn’t help drinking more water so as to have a few more mouthful of the chili with the deep fried grouper.
Red Curry Roasted Duck
Having seen the green curry earlier, my first thought was red curry after green? This was followed by roasted duck curry? I have never heard of roasted duck curry, let alone tasting it. But this dish was really not bad, i’m not sure how the roasted duck came about, whether Chef Joe roasted the duck, or he brought it from elsewhere and cook it with the red curry, but nevertheless its good.
And to our astonishment, there were grapes, yes grapes inside the curry! Talk about surprise, first roasted duck in curry, then grapes?
Basil leave minced pork
I was never a fan of minced pork in the first place, n’uff said!
Claypot Crab Vermicelli with fatty pork
Although the claypot crab was suppose to be the highlight here, but we got into eating the vermicelli instead. After cooking, the essence of the crab and fatty pork all went into the vermicelli, that alone should suffice for eating the vermicelli.
Poom Fy Dang - Kang Kong Thai style
Like all the other dishes in Joe’s Kitchen, the first taste was not very spicy, but the second bite was real hot. The Kang Kong got hotter with each bite, i suggested just swallow the veggies!
Mango Stick rice
To round off our authentic Thai food experience, we had Mango sticky rice, the mango was real sweet!
Tapioca with Coconut milk
I didn’t like tapioca, so this dish was not to my taste bud
Total Bill was $1646 for 47 people, $35 per head for the Authentic Thai food experience at Chef Joe’s place. I love going to Makan outings with big groups because we can get to know more people. Think Yebber Party @ MINT where there were about 50 people, the Social Media Breakfast with around 40 odds people, and now this ieat makan outing with 47 people.
Credits to Leslie (ieat) and Damien whom organized this makan session for everyone to get together and enjoyed food. I looked forward to the many more outings organized by them, to meet more people and eat more food!
The beauty of food, it can bring everyone from all ages, different backgrounds together, for one common purpose that is to savour all the good food. How often do you see strangers getting together and seating down for a meal? I’m going to organised LIC food event soon, do watch out for the post!
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 : )
” Authentic Thai Food experience, in the midst of our heartland “
Rating given:
I believe everybody is familiar with the song on television that goes: "Dom Dom Kushinbo" etc etc. And this is my second visit to the place in 4 years if i'm not wrong so there's quite a few new things we can talk about. Here we go>>>
$27.80 per head (Lunch buffet) - Japanese buffets are without a doubt one of my favorite buffets to have. The one offered by Kuishinbo certainly has alot up for offer.
As per my previous visit, some things have changed. The interior being one of the changes and the amount of food offerings as well. Not exactly for the better in my opinion, the seats and ambiance seem to have taken a step backwards and just feels less friendly then before. Service and clearing of plates this time seemed to have improved though.
On to the food, you get a whole lot of choices to begin with. Cold dishes like sashimi, cha soba, sushi and california rolls are yours for the taking. Then there are the deep fried dishes which had ebi tempura, chicken, hotate and other fried items. There are also soups, paper steamboats and assorted other items which could be cooked on the spot for you. Desserts are piled with cakes, ice cream, fondue, puffs and biscuits. Coffee and tea are also available for the taking.
Basically, the food is decent albeit nothing really stays with you after you finish eating. The sashimi are alright though the quality is definitely questionable. I liked the california rolls they had. The tempura had way too much batter and not enough prawn. The steamboat is simply too sweet for comfort. The miso soup here is the worst i've ever had. The cooked salmon is normal, the dory is nicely sweet and tender while the beef was overcooked and rubbery. Basically, their sushis were moderately decent. The dessert was alright if you simply go for the fondue and the cakes, the puffs, cookies and brownies really need improvement. And that about sums everything up.
Total bill came up to $65.44 for a stuffed stomach and a less then satisfied pallet.
The buffet we had was lunch which meant we didn't get to have any crab. I was told that the crab served during the evenings were much better and worth a try. But as it stands, i'm probably not going to return for another try at least for the next year or so.
Rating given:
ladyironchef finally got his namecard!! Namecards are important, first they tell others your name, and then they also make them remember your contact number. Its a hassle to liase or socialise with people if you don't have one.
Encountering the problem at Yebber first anniversary party at MINT, and at the Social Media Breakfast where LIC got to meet many people but didn't have any namecard to exchange with.
LIC got a friend to design his namecard, the layout is simple and nice (i hope), styled in black background at the front and white background at the back.
And the rest is easy, bringing down the template in thumbdrive saved as the format required. There was two lady when LIC went to Tommy Print. One was cold and had few words, while the other was friendly and helpful.
They guided me to choosing the different things required for my namecard, and it was not much of a problem. I choose the cheapest, but very nice Gloss/Matte Lamination.
As this is my first time printing my own namecards, i chose 200 pieces at $24, instead of the otherwise more worth-it 300 pieces at $30. Its suppose to take them 4-5 working days to print, but i got the call from them on the 3rd day. So i guess they are quite efficient.
The results of the namecard are nice, better than what i expected really. And at $24 for two box, its really very cheap and affordable for anyone and everyone to own their own namecards.
Meet me at the next Yebber outing, i'll pass you one of mine : )
Rating given:
You was not expecting ladyironchef to get his DSLR from challenger after reading all the rantings and praises he had for the different camera shops.
After the complaints against Alan photo, and the praise on John 3:16, you must be wondering why didn't LIC got his DSLR from John 3:16?
Well, first thing first, LIC love canon products, the old camera is a canon ixus 60. But for DSLR, for the budget LIC has now, Canon doesn't seem so viable. Nikon D40 for &750, D60 for $950, Canon 400D for $1080, Canon 450D for $1490.
I'll love to get from John 3:16, but they are not a fan of Nikon, and the model that i wanted to get D40, they are not selling it anymore. End of story.
On the other hand, Challenger is having this promotion for Nikon D40 for $749 which comes with a nikon bag, 2GB SD card. But we hit one snag, the promotion lasted until 30 april only.
As i was there last sunday, but i didn't buy the dslr as i was in rush of time. The sales associate Shawn he remembered me, and despite the promotion is over, he gave me the 2GB SD card. Thats service to me.
After which, i asked him where can i get the screen protector, challenger is selling at $9.90, but then even though its not part of the deal, he say he gave it to me. Its not the freebies, but the service provided by Shawn. Kudos!
And i am proud to annouce Ladyironchef is a owner of the magical DSLR, the Nikon D40!! Thank you for reading through all the previous posts, hope i didn't confuse you where i was buying from : )
Rating given: