Hidden in an obscure corner of the Changi Market is a lesser known western bar cum restaurant. Recommended by Makansutra as "Don't try, regret ah!", i made it my personal agenda to pay the place a visit. Charlie's corner has always been more of a 'watering hole' location to me as they serve an astonishing variety of beer. Pretty close to 80 different beers from around the world can be found here, though not on tap. This time however, i was there for the food.
There's really nothing much to say about the interior nor exterior really, its just a make shift corner with cheap metal chairs and alfresco dining qualities in an Asian way. Thats not to say its without it charm of course, and honestly, after a few beers, it doesn't matter where you are at.
Kilkenny ($10.90), Hoegarden ($9) - My 2 favorite sins. Kilkenny and Hoegarden. Both are bottled and served in their respective glasses but i really do find the price a little too steep. I can get a pint of Hoegarden at $7 and triple the volume shown here. That said, how can you fault a smooth and melt in your mouth Kilkenny and an ice cold sweet Hoegarden? Regardless of the price, its still going to be good.
Charlie's Famous Fish and Chips ($13.90) - Charlie's famous fish and chips is kind of an overstatement if you ask me. First of all, it really doesn't look like much. At first glance, i thought its was breaded fried fish which isn't too far from the truth. The good thing about the fish and chips is that its thick and juicy and has a light sweetness. The crust is also nicely done and well fried for a crumbling crispy finish. However, i still think its overpriced.
Chicken Chop ($12.90) - The chicken chop was a joke really. The meat was quite tender to its merit but tasteless even with the mushroom sauce accompaniment which basically renders it salty. My gf commented that its very average and just not satisfying. And at this price, i could have gotten 2 chicken chops from the market just around the corner.
Spicy Chicken Wings ($7.50) - The spicy chicken wings were served only with the central portion of the wing which is touted and the most tender and meaty portion of a chicken wing. This version came in 6 pieces but i really would have preferred having the entire wing given the price. The thing is, these wings were the best items we had that night (aside from the beer of course). Fried to perfection and still retaining its meat juices inside, the wings were delectable. Add the fact that the sauce is a mix between chili and rodeo sauce and its basically a fragrant juicy and tender experience. Have it piping hot with an ice cold beer for best effect.
This below average meal cost me $54.20 which really shocked my socks off.
Somehow, its either i ordered the wrong items or the Makansutra guy got special treatment. To me, the place is good for lazy gatherings and quiet drink sessions but the food offerings, in terms of main courses, needed much improvement. At this stage, it still feels like a bonafide rip off. And honestly, the drinks were overpriced as well. Its difficult for me to find a reason to return sadly.
I have heard of this brand of donuts for sometime especially from those who had been to Indonesia. They had been saying that this brand of donuts one of the best there. Some even say it is better than Krispy Kreme. Wah. This is a very big thing to say. Finally I had the chance to taste it when they open their first flagship store in the newly create Raffles City Basement. No need to search for it, just follow the smell, you are able to find the store already.
I was there and have to say that Singaporeans are quick to try all things new. There was a long queue going on, people trying out their new donuts. Other then selling their donuts, they also open a café where you can drink their drinks while eating and smelling their donuts. Wahahaha. Their café is a bit small, can only seat a small number of people.
Well you can read from the above post on how they sell/pack their donuts. A person is in charge of a few flavors of donuts, so you inform him/her what you want then she will grab whatever is within reach, if not, they will pass it to the next person to get the donuts from you. This will go on until you reach the cashier at the end of the line. I did not have to wait long but I did not managed to get ot buy all the flavors that I want.
They got quite a number of different flavors of donuts, at least 10 plus over flavors. From the normal almond glazed one to special ones that have crème inside the donuts. I tried a few and I shall use the almond glazed donuts as comparison. From the outlook, it does look like any other donuts (the same kind) that are selling from other donuts shops. My first bite into it, the donut is soft and simply melts in the mouth. The almond glazed is not too sweet. Pretty good. I dare say one of the best. For other flavors like
Alcapone which got lots of almond nuts with white chocolate, but my mum prefer Donut Factory version.
Tiramisu which is loaded with tiramisu cream inside. A bit sweet, not for those who don’t like cream.
Whynut which inside is filled with peanut butter and the donut is topped with white and milk chocolate.
Well after tasting a few times, I think some of the donuts are actually quite good while some of them are just average. To me it is just another donut company that came into Singapore to grab a slice of the pie. I will still go back to eat the almond glazes provided there is no queue. I think it is sooner or later you will see that they will pop up all over the little island of ours.
This place is a well hidden café in an ulu location. If HFB is not here to mention about it, I think I will never discover a place like this. Hee… Thks bro. All thks to him, FZ and bobo, I got the chance to visit this place. It is inside this building, Balmoral Plaza along Bukit Timah Road. Well I least I know I got a direct bus from my house now. Hee….
When we reached, I got this brought back to the 80s feeling, because everything there is so retro (as put by Claudia). They got both outdoor (read: smoking) and indoor seats. Outdoor seats can be very noisy as it is next to the road where traffic can get quite heavy and noisy at times. For the indoor decoration, it is a very spacious with quite a number of seats and a few seats in the middle of a room. The counter and the kitchen took up half of the space there. Very simple designed. I loved the seats there. How should I put it? Hmm…. It is very “A&W” if you understand what I meant. Wahahahaha.
Since it is called Wafflestown, they have to sell waffles, all different kinds of waffles and of course they also sell fried chicken as well. Yum Yum! We ordered 2 piece fried chicken set and 2 waffles.
2 pieces fried chicken set @ $6.70 per set: When it came to our table, it looks like those chicken sets that are sold across all the western stalls in those coffee shops. It looks simple and I have to say not impressive on presentation. On the plate, there were 2 pieces of medium sized fried chicken, with 2 side dishes of coleslaw and French fries. I have to say that looks can be deceiving. The fried chicken came piping hot, once I tear the meat apart, the steam can be seen. Even though, some people did complain that it is a bit oily, but hey, it is fried chicken, supposed to be oily. Wahahahaha! I always like fried chicken. I liked their fried chicken; it is crispy on the outside, but moist and juicy on the meat inside. The chicken is also seasoned slightly, making the chicken tasty as well. The coleslaw is average; however it has all the big chucks of vegetables inside, making it very crunchy. The fries are normal, nothing fanciful.
Now to the stars of the day, WAFFLES @ $4.90 each! We ordered Blueberry waffles and Blackberry waffles. Instead of the normal round waffles, both came in rectangular shapes. With a scoop of ice cream on top and covered with blue and black berrys and whipped cream along the sides. First on the waffles, they are FANTASTIC! One of the best I ever tasted! It is crispy on the outside but soft in the inside. It had big squares in it so that can hold the ice cream inside as well. The blueberries and blackberries are also good on their own. They are not too sweet but full of their own flavors, they came in big sized berries as well. Together they are a great combination. Based on the waffles alone, it is enough to make me come back for more!
Expect for the bit ulu location which is my only complain. I think I will be back for more if possible! Go and give it a try!
Many would have known by now that I've been suffering from teeth problems for a few weeks now. I had been the patient of a popular dental chain until recently when the last job by them was poorly done and was very painful.
The last job started to give me problems and I asked around for recommendations. My colleague gave me the address of this clinic and I booked an appointment. There are four inhouse dentists so it's quite easy to get an appointment.
I went for my first visit which was pretty normal. A Dr. Chan (I think), a lady dentist, tended to me and she explained that she needed to do a re-filling. She was gentle and professional but certainly didn't waste any time with me. I was out in a jiffy so that she could move on to the next patient. No complaints I guess. But she did mention that the refilling might not help things as the damage might be too bad. So she told me to go back if the pain continues.
True enough, the pain came back fast and more furious. So I called them and managed to get an appointment with Dr. Leonard Tan in a few days.
Dr. Tan is the reason why I'm writing this review really. With the pain I was having I was really afraid when I went into the room as my gums and teeth were really sensitive at that point. But Dr. Tan was really gentle and I felt at ease in the chair. He was really careful when probing the affected area and didn't poke too hard until he was sure I wouldn't scream. (heh) Then he took me over for an X-ray and while waiting for the X-ray results, he patiently explained to me my options if the results were BAD.
He clearly explained what the root canal treatment was and told me exactly how much it cost. He didn't harp on it and told me I have other options like having the problem extracted.
When the results came back and were not conclusive, he advised me to tolerate the pain a bit and told me to do a number of things to see if they spark off unbearable pain which will point to damaged nerves.
What I really liked was how he wasn't money-minded and gave me my options and let me make the choice. He didn't charge me for this consultation and he gave me painkillers for free too. He only charged me $15 for the X-ray. Very reasonable isn't it?
Immensely happy with the service, I think I will make Dr. Tan my regular dentist. My colleague also recommended Dr. Zhou whom she said had plenty of experience.
While waiting for a couple of friends to arrive for lunch this afternoon, another lunch kaki and me decided to go for a sip of a much needed drink on a hot Sunday afternoon. Since scheduled lunch was around Katong/East Coast area, we settled on iced coffee @ Coffee Master Café in Katong Mall.
Situated right beside Awfully Chocolate, coffee lovers have a choice of al fresco seating right at the entrance of Katong Mall, or the simple and quaint indoors which seemed to bring time to a standstill while you are at it.
My kaki had a special order of Iced Mocha Mint Latte that was meant to be hot coffee. The mint flavour was barely delicate, which explains why this combination should only be drunk hot.
The Iced Hazelnut Mocha I had though was absolutely great! In the vein of the rest that I have drank before, the drink came with enough punch of the hazelnut essence, but what sets it apart from the rest was the smooth aftertaste that is gentle to your palate, that was lacking in most.
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Absolute Haven pride itself in serving Modern European Cuisine. Barely one years old, the restaurant has attracted numerous food-lovers and had rave reviews about the place. Thus its no wonder LIC must make a visit to Absolute Haven for a dinner.
Located at Prinsep street, the area has seen the entry of many new restaurants and has become a dining spot positioned within walking distance to Orchard. Absolute Haven is probably the crown among the many restaurants there, with the others not really being competitiors to it, but as complements which help to build Prinsep street as a place to dine.
Entering through the gates of Absolute Haven, there is the alfresco dining area where you can chill out with your friends. Otherwise, if you are on a romantic date and do not want to be seen sweating while enjoying your meal, step inside, to the cozy and chic environment of Absolute Haven.
When my friend and i reached the place at 7pm, the place was not full yet, but the crowd starts to come in subsequently. Being brought to our seats, we browse through the menu and placed our orders.
Mushroom Soup ($5.80) A very mushroom mushroom soup, made from portobello mushrooms, shitake mushrooms, and button mushroom. The rendition here is quite similar to the ones I had at Friends @ Jelita, except this one comes up stronger in the "mushroom taste"
Soup of the day ($5.80) We begin our delightful meal with the soup of the day. I'm not really a soup person while dining out so my view may not paint an accurate picture.
Oriental Cod-Fish ($24.0) Steamed cod-fish done in oriental style topped with wolfberries, shitake mushrooms and bacon, served on a bed of asparagus.
This is truly an fusion where East meet West. You will never expect a dish like Oriental steamed cod fish to appear in a modish European restaurant like Absolute Haven.
Wolfberries as a ingredient, are by far rarely found in European restaurant, it further emphasized the oriental-ness of the dish. The use of bacon added flavoring which enhance the taste of the fish.
It does seems slightly weird to have a oriental steamed cod fish as a main course as usually it is more common to find it in Chinese restaurants. Nevertheless we enjoyed the unique experience, there's always a first for everything.But from what we gathered from Phyllis (Absolute's Manager), some customers find it to be too fishy, and the fish will be taken off the new menu which will commerce on 9th April.
Chef's Special Norwergian Salmon ($32) Herb oil confit Norwergian Salmon drizzled with Vanilla cream sauce, walnut & black olive pilaf rice, accompanied with organic butternut pumpkin braised in Earl grey tea.
The food at Absolute Haven are all presented very well, the chef really does put in effort in making the dishes look nice. After all, a good appearance of the food does makes it taste better. Applause to the chefs for their hard work!
Having try quite a few Salmons recently, the version here is slightly different to the ones i had before which are mostly grilled or pan-fried. The herb oil confit salmon is a nice change, and i dutifully finish every bit of it.
The walnut & black olive pilaf rice is good, without a doubt. The organic butternut pumpkin braised in Earl grey tea isn't really to my liking, but i do appreciated the effort put into making this side dish.
Tira Mi Su ($9) A classical Italian dessert served with espresso coffee and liqueur in light mascarpone cheese mousse. The Tira Mi Su here simply melts in my mouth, the liqueur was not too strong which does well for me. The slight hint of cheese in the mousse also provides a variation from the normal Tiramisu.
The thought of the Tira Mi Su dissolving at the tip of my tongue is enough to make me visit Absolute Haven again.
Passion Fruit Panna Cotta ($9) This dessert wasn't on the menu when we visited Absolute Haven on the 22th March. There was another choice, lavender Panna Cotta, which offers a sweet version instead of the slightly more sour flavor of the passion fruit panna cotta. My friend preferred sour to sweet, so we got the Passion Fruit.
Total Bill came up to around $100.15 for two person. I got two Absolute Haven vouchers (entitled to two free soup and main course). But do not let this fact spoils the review. I deliberately left this fact for the end so that my share-readers can read through this review without any hint of biasness. Absolute Haven is excellent, and i'm not saying this because i got a free meal.
We paid $13.30 for this excellent dinner for the Tiramisu, the Panna Cotta was on the house, courtesy of Phyllis. Absolute Haven promise romantic fine-dining at an affordable price, without burning a hole in your pocket, you can bring your dates there for special occasions. Even for normal events, it's a great place to chill out with your family and friends. The price of their mains ranges from $16 to $32, and desserts are valued at $9-$12.
The friendly manager, Phyllis came up and spoke to us about our meal halfway through. She is a real nice person. You could feel her earnest and sincerity while she was talking to us. There are few managers or bosses in the local food & beverage industry that come across to me as genuine as her. Do call her 9766 3798 or even drop her a sms (which i did) to make your reservations.
The service staff there are polite and quick to help out if we got any inquiries, and my friend note that most of them are good-looking. Anyway thats not the main point, the service at Absolute Haven is indeed what other new start-ups should learn from. Excellent services can never go wrong!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my geniune 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 : )
Hungering for buffets? Want to show your friends from overseas what local cuisine tastes like? Well, look no further then Straits Kitchen. At one small(read: big) price, your friends will get to try everything they've ever wanted to try in Singaporean cuisine while enjoying a relaxed and comfortable ambiance within the confines of the Grant Hyatt.
Located on the first floor of the Grand Hyatt, Straits Kitchen is the restaurant encased in glass and partitioned with bottles, tea pots and soft lighting. Tables are of the wood variety as are the chairs in certain portions of the restaurant. The table we sat at comprised of wooden tables and chairs which look great until you realise how cramped and difficult it is to stand up and move around. Air conditioning in the restaurant is quite powerful while the music played ranges from classic malay, chinese and indian songs to suit the theme of the restaurant. An overall aesthetically pleasing presentation.
Being a buffet, counters are separated according to cuisine. There'll be separate counters for Malay food, Indian food, Chinese, Dessert and drinks. The range of items can be quite daunting and bascially, there are so many choices, your stomach will never be the same again. I'll just name the few i've come into contact with that day. These range from Laksa, Mee Soto, Fish Soup, Chicken and duck rice, Chili Crab, Mini Buddha Jump over the wall, Fried buns, Keropok, Fried carrot Cake, Prata, Prawns and Asparagus, Fried Kway Teow, Dory fish with Beancurd, Satay, Fried rice, Ayam Pengat, Rojak, Yam Paste, Durian Ice Cream and all manners of cakes and cookies to name a few. Even with an extensive list like this, i still may have missed out on quite a few items they had to offer. Needless to say, they have alot to offer.
Reviewing a buffet is never akin to reviewing actual fine dining establishments because first of all, its impossible to put much heart into food preparation when mass producing items and secondly, even if there were good items, the trouble with too much selection is that the customer might not get to try the better items. My colleagues mentioned that the food here was heavy as compared to carousal in Royal Scotts. They were right. With selections like fish soup noodles, fried rice, chicken rice, roti prata and laksa (that doesn't even finish covering the heavy items btw), its a killer to eat everything. In fact, eat 2 bowls of the above and you'll be stuffed enough to go home. The food is of a certain standard of course. The better items i had were the Mini Buddha jump over the wall which came with a scallop (boiled to death and very crumbly, no sweetness whatsoever) and a piece of abalone (which may or may not be actual abalone, i'm quite sure its either low quality or fake altogether). The broth itself should be double boiled which explains why its quite salty but overall, i'd say it was still passable. The carrot cake was pretty decent albeit being extremely oily. Pair it with some chili sauce and it'll do just fine. The prawns and asparagus were quite tasteless but the prawns themselves were big and crunchy, i'm disputing a little on the freshness because after 4 prawns, it started to feel generic and all of them strangely lacked any taste of sweetness in them. The satay was pretty good as the chicken (the only one i tried because all the other meats were quickly snapped up) was tender and the satay dip was authentic enough to be good. I had the yam paste for dessert which honestly wasn't too good. It was too sweet while the coconut milk portion too watery and lacking in taste to be even slightly decent. The best item i figured for that night? Probably the prawn crackers or the satay but thats just me.
I'd like to thank my boss again for the treat. She's really too kind and too generous. Wonderful boss i should say and i'm not even trying to flatter her. The experience was a good one although i can't say the same for the food offering but hey, its a buffet. A word of fairness is that it did not taste too bad actually, just that its not exactly grade A stuff. A good place to show overseas friends local food without braving the heat and oil of the real hawkers though. Straits kitchen is an interesting concept with decent grub. If only they could include the fresh juices as part of the buffet again to make it more attractive.
This is a long overdue post. It's been so long that I even got rid of the pictures I took at this place unknowingly.
I dropped by one weekday afternoon with two other friends for an early lunch and was pretty excited to try out the more upmarket version of Aston's Specialties.
I ordered the King Salmon Steak ($22.90) whilst my two friends had steak. You can get their opinion of the steaks above. I tried a couple of bites from their steak and wasn't impressed. They asked for their steaks to be done medium rare... but didn't get medium rare....
My Salmon turned out to be medium rare instead. One end was even uncooked. I've never tasted salmon so horribly done really. Somewhere in between the salmon was mushy and I couldn't tell whether it's because of the way it was done or that it wasn't fresh. I struggled to finish and in the end I couldn't bear to finish it anymore.
The only thing I really liked was the fries. They were the fat sort I liked and were lightly seasoned, making them tasty on their own without sauces. *yums*
The service was reasonable with the people talking to us before the cameras were whipped out. But when they did notice the cameras, I reckoned we got more attention than other patrons.
I seriously think I would really consder before going back again.
I'd never really been a fan of U.R.S but I was on a hunt for shoes that day and have exhausted all other options. So into this shop I went looking for the right shoes.
I was surprised to see the very similiar designs... almost identical to the ones I've seen in the other shops. They also have the designs I wanted in more acceptable colours like white brown and black. They also seem to have a larger range of working class shoes.
At first when I walked in, I was ignored by the staff nearest to the door. We looked at each other eye to eye and she turned away quickly. I had expected at least a smile or a "welcome" but was given none. I was tempted to walk out but knowing that I didn't have any other shops to go, I stayed a bit more.
Then I spotted them. The shoes I wanted in simple brown colour and they were on sale! I picked up the shoes and immediately a sweet young sales assistant appeared by my side. She offered to get the shoes in two different sizes as I wasn't sure what size I would wear. She also recommended some others which were similiar and I happily agreed to try.
After trying on about 7-9 pairs of shoes I finally bought three. The same lady served me throughout while serving some other customers. I found her to be very approachable, unlike her colleague. But later on when I was paying I found out that all of them were trainees. Apparently they are all studying and this is like attachment for them. So the other girl was very nervous which was why she turned away. I guess it's relatively forgivable then. The prices of the shoes are reasonable. An alternative to Charles and Keith I guess... despite U.R.S being around much longer than them.
Sweet Indulgence is a quaint little place found in the CBD maze. It was a challenge for a few of us that night but everyone managed to turn up in the end.
Due to the way the restaurant is built (lengthwise) our table had to be long and the area inside was pretty crammed. People sitting inside daren't move about too much for the fear of being too troublesome.
But the decor of the place was quite nice. I was initially worried it would be a little warm for some but it wasn't. The lighting was a little dim for photo-taking but we still managed. I like the bar counter and the little piano at the side. The boss even invited people to play on the piano in exchange for a glass of wine.
Food Served:Complimentary bread I was hungry when I had this so I'm probably not a very good judge. It had a slight taste of herbs to it but that was all. It wasn't warm nor soft enough. But it's reasonable I guess.
Salad A very simple salad. period.
Cream of Broccoli Most of the others said it was salty but my brother and I felt it was fine. Odd isn't it. We actually finished everything and were quite pleased with it. Maybe it's because we're broccoli lovers. The odd thing about this soup was that it was served AFTER the main course.
Garlic Prawns Thank goodness for the prawns. 4 bowls of prawns were plonked on the table to be shared by the people surrounding iit. Ours were shared by 5. The prawns came the same time as the salad and saved the day. They were fresh and had just enough bite. They were also in a flavourful dressing/sauce which I found to be quite special.
Poached Salmon with White Sauce & Herbs, served with Pasta and Seasonal Vegetables Firstly, I have to say that every plate of salmon was different. Ours was without the fishy taste/smell though my neighbour's had. We thought it could be due to the fact that ours was slightly smaller. The pasta was slightly overcooked and tasteless.
Oven Baked Chicken Thigh Steak with Crisp Skin served with Chef Sauce & Potato Mash infused with Vanilla and Cream I only liked the potato mash really. The chicken wasn't fantastic. I refused to eat the skin as it was quite soggy not crisp and the meat inside though marinated, wasn't very tasty.
Strawberry Cheesecake I didn't even know what it was when I was eating it. We were arguing about what it was. Some said it was Strawberry shortcake whilst others said it was just a cake. I didn't like it at all and didn't finish mine. It had a very odd smell to it, which I wasn't accustomed to.
Warm Choco Lava Indulgence We had to share this among the 5 of us as a complimentary dessert. Although I liked the taste of the chocolate oozing out and the taste of the crust but I can't help but dislike the texture of the crust. I don't like the whole thing to crumble into bits the moment one takes a stab at it.
Each of us paid $33 that night. We were full but weren't overly so. I guess it's reasonable as it includes a drink but I had certainly expected more. Not worth a planned visit but if you're nearby I guess it's alright.
I was thinking that they were very unprepared for a mini-crowd like us and maybe they would do better if there were less people? I was just thinking. Ah well.
1=SGD 0.0587
Hidden in an obscure corner of the Changi Market is a lesser known western bar cum restaurant. Recommended by Makansutra as "Don't try, regret ah!", i made it my personal agenda to pay the place a visit. Charlie's corner has always been more of a 'watering hole' location to me as they serve an astonishing variety of beer. Pretty close to 80 different beers from around the world can be found here, though not on tap. This time however, i was there for the food.
There's really nothing much to say about the interior nor exterior really, its just a make shift corner with cheap metal chairs and alfresco dining qualities in an Asian way. Thats not to say its without it charm of course, and honestly, after a few beers, it doesn't matter where you are at.
Kilkenny ($10.90), Hoegarden ($9) - My 2 favorite sins. Kilkenny and Hoegarden. Both are bottled and served in their respective glasses but i really do find the price a little too steep. I can get a pint of Hoegarden at $7 and triple the volume shown here. That said, how can you fault a smooth and melt in your mouth Kilkenny and an ice cold sweet Hoegarden? Regardless of the price, its still going to be good.
Charlie's Famous Fish and Chips ($13.90) - Charlie's famous fish and chips is kind of an overstatement if you ask me. First of all, it really doesn't look like much. At first glance, i thought its was breaded fried fish which isn't too far from the truth. The good thing about the fish and chips is that its thick and juicy and has a light sweetness. The crust is also nicely done and well fried for a crumbling crispy finish. However, i still think its overpriced.
Chicken Chop ($12.90) - The chicken chop was a joke really. The meat was quite tender to its merit but tasteless even with the mushroom sauce accompaniment which basically renders it salty. My gf commented that its very average and just not satisfying. And at this price, i could have gotten 2 chicken chops from the market just around the corner.
Spicy Chicken Wings ($7.50) - The spicy chicken wings were served only with the central portion of the wing which is touted and the most tender and meaty portion of a chicken wing. This version came in 6 pieces but i really would have preferred having the entire wing given the price. The thing is, these wings were the best items we had that night (aside from the beer of course). Fried to perfection and still retaining its meat juices inside, the wings were delectable. Add the fact that the sauce is a mix between chili and rodeo sauce and its basically a fragrant juicy and tender experience. Have it piping hot with an ice cold beer for best effect.
This below average meal cost me $54.20 which really shocked my socks off.
Somehow, its either i ordered the wrong items or the Makansutra guy got special treatment. To me, the place is good for lazy gatherings and quiet drink sessions but the food offerings, in terms of main courses, needed much improvement. At this stage, it still feels like a bonafide rip off. And honestly, the drinks were overpriced as well. Its difficult for me to find a reason to return sadly.
Rating given:
I have heard of this brand of donuts for sometime especially from those who had been to Indonesia. They had been saying that this brand of donuts one of the best there. Some even say it is better than Krispy Kreme. Wah. This is a very big thing to say. Finally I had the chance to taste it when they open their first flagship store in the newly create Raffles City Basement. No need to search for it, just follow the smell, you are able to find the store already.
I was there and have to say that Singaporeans are quick to try all things new. There was a long queue going on, people trying out their new donuts. Other then selling their donuts, they also open a café where you can drink their drinks while eating and smelling their donuts. Wahahaha. Their café is a bit small, can only seat a small number of people.
Well you can read from the above post on how they sell/pack their donuts. A person is in charge of a few flavors of donuts, so you inform him/her what you want then she will grab whatever is within reach, if not, they will pass it to the next person to get the donuts from you. This will go on until you reach the cashier at the end of the line. I did not have to wait long but I did not managed to get ot buy all the flavors that I want.
They got quite a number of different flavors of donuts, at least 10 plus over flavors. From the normal almond glazed one to special ones that have crème inside the donuts. I tried a few and I shall use the almond glazed donuts as comparison. From the outlook, it does look like any other donuts (the same kind) that are selling from other donuts shops. My first bite into it, the donut is soft and simply melts in the mouth. The almond glazed is not too sweet. Pretty good. I dare say one of the best. For other flavors like
Alcapone which got lots of almond nuts with white chocolate, but my mum prefer Donut Factory version.
Tiramisu which is loaded with tiramisu cream inside. A bit sweet, not for those who don’t like cream.
Whynut which inside is filled with peanut butter and the donut is topped with white and milk chocolate.
Well after tasting a few times, I think some of the donuts are actually quite good while some of them are just average. To me it is just another donut company that came into Singapore to grab a slice of the pie. I will still go back to eat the almond glazes provided there is no queue. I think it is sooner or later you will see that they will pop up all over the little island of ours.
Rating given:
This place is a well hidden café in an ulu location. If HFB is not here to mention about it, I think I will never discover a place like this. Hee… Thks bro. All thks to him, FZ and bobo, I got the chance to visit this place. It is inside this building, Balmoral Plaza along Bukit Timah Road. Well I least I know I got a direct bus from my house now. Hee….
When we reached, I got this brought back to the 80s feeling, because everything there is so retro (as put by Claudia). They got both outdoor (read: smoking) and indoor seats. Outdoor seats can be very noisy as it is next to the road where traffic can get quite heavy and noisy at times. For the indoor decoration, it is a very spacious with quite a number of seats and a few seats in the middle of a room. The counter and the kitchen took up half of the space there. Very simple designed. I loved the seats there. How should I put it? Hmm…. It is very “A&W” if you understand what I meant. Wahahahaha.
Since it is called Wafflestown, they have to sell waffles, all different kinds of waffles and of course they also sell fried chicken as well. Yum Yum! We ordered 2 piece fried chicken set and 2 waffles.
2 pieces fried chicken set @ $6.70 per set: When it came to our table, it looks like those chicken sets that are sold across all the western stalls in those coffee shops. It looks simple and I have to say not impressive on presentation. On the plate, there were 2 pieces of medium sized fried chicken, with 2 side dishes of coleslaw and French fries. I have to say that looks can be deceiving. The fried chicken came piping hot, once I tear the meat apart, the steam can be seen. Even though, some people did complain that it is a bit oily, but hey, it is fried chicken, supposed to be oily. Wahahahaha! I always like fried chicken. I liked their fried chicken; it is crispy on the outside, but moist and juicy on the meat inside. The chicken is also seasoned slightly, making the chicken tasty as well. The coleslaw is average; however it has all the big chucks of vegetables inside, making it very crunchy. The fries are normal, nothing fanciful.
Now to the stars of the day, WAFFLES @ $4.90 each! We ordered Blueberry waffles and Blackberry waffles. Instead of the normal round waffles, both came in rectangular shapes. With a scoop of ice cream on top and covered with blue and black berrys and whipped cream along the sides. First on the waffles, they are FANTASTIC! One of the best I ever tasted! It is crispy on the outside but soft in the inside. It had big squares in it so that can hold the ice cream inside as well. The blueberries and blackberries are also good on their own. They are not too sweet but full of their own flavors, they came in big sized berries as well. Together they are a great combination. Based on the waffles alone, it is enough to make me come back for more!
Expect for the bit ulu location which is my only complain. I think I will be back for more if possible! Go and give it a try!
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Many would have known by now that I've been suffering from teeth problems for a few weeks now. I had been the patient of a popular dental chain until recently when the last job by them was poorly done and was very painful.
The last job started to give me problems and I asked around for recommendations. My colleague gave me the address of this clinic and I booked an appointment. There are four inhouse dentists so it's quite easy to get an appointment.
I went for my first visit which was pretty normal. A Dr. Chan (I think), a lady dentist, tended to me and she explained that she needed to do a re-filling. She was gentle and professional but certainly didn't waste any time with me. I was out in a jiffy so that she could move on to the next patient. No complaints I guess. But she did mention that the refilling might not help things as the damage might be too bad. So she told me to go back if the pain continues.
True enough, the pain came back fast and more furious. So I called them and managed to get an appointment with Dr. Leonard Tan in a few days.
Dr. Tan is the reason why I'm writing this review really. With the pain I was having I was really afraid when I went into the room as my gums and teeth were really sensitive at that point. But Dr. Tan was really gentle and I felt at ease in the chair. He was really careful when probing the affected area and didn't poke too hard until he was sure I wouldn't scream. (heh) Then he took me over for an X-ray and while waiting for the X-ray results, he patiently explained to me my options if the results were BAD.
He clearly explained what the root canal treatment was and told me exactly how much it cost. He didn't harp on it and told me I have other options like having the problem extracted.
When the results came back and were not conclusive, he advised me to tolerate the pain a bit and told me to do a number of things to see if they spark off unbearable pain which will point to damaged nerves.
What I really liked was how he wasn't money-minded and gave me my options and let me make the choice. He didn't charge me for this consultation and he gave me painkillers for free too. He only charged me $15 for the X-ray. Very reasonable isn't it?
Immensely happy with the service, I think I will make Dr. Tan my regular dentist. My colleague also recommended Dr. Zhou whom she said had plenty of experience.
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While waiting for a couple of friends to arrive for lunch this afternoon, another lunch kaki and me decided to go for a sip of a much needed drink on a hot Sunday afternoon. Since scheduled lunch was around Katong/East Coast area, we settled on iced coffee @ Coffee Master Café in Katong Mall.
Situated right beside Awfully Chocolate, coffee lovers have a choice of al fresco seating right at the entrance of Katong Mall, or the simple and quaint indoors which seemed to bring time to a standstill while you are at it.
My kaki had a special order of Iced Mocha Mint Latte that was meant to be hot coffee. The mint flavour was barely delicate, which explains why this combination should only be drunk hot.
The Iced Hazelnut Mocha I had though was absolutely great! In the vein of the rest that I have drank before, the drink came with enough punch of the hazelnut essence, but what sets it apart from the rest was the smooth aftertaste that is gentle to your palate, that was lacking in most.
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
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Absolute Haven pride itself in serving Modern European Cuisine. Barely one years old, the restaurant has attracted numerous food-lovers and had rave reviews about the place. Thus its no wonder LIC must make a visit to Absolute Haven for a dinner.
Located at Prinsep street, the area has seen the entry of many new restaurants and has become a dining spot positioned within walking distance to Orchard. Absolute Haven is probably the crown among the many restaurants there, with the others not really being competitiors to it, but as complements which help to build Prinsep street as a place to dine.
Entering through the gates of Absolute Haven, there is the alfresco dining area where you can chill out with your friends. Otherwise, if you are on a romantic date and do not want to be seen sweating while enjoying your meal, step inside, to the cozy and chic environment of Absolute Haven.
When my friend and i reached the place at 7pm, the place was not full yet, but the crowd starts to come in subsequently. Being brought to our seats, we browse through the menu and placed our orders.
Mushroom Soup ($5.80)
A very mushroom mushroom soup, made from portobello mushrooms, shitake mushrooms, and button mushroom. The rendition here is quite similar to the ones I had at Friends @ Jelita, except this one comes up stronger in the "mushroom taste"
Soup of the day ($5.80)
We begin our delightful meal with the soup of the day. I'm not really a soup person while dining out so my view may not paint an accurate picture.
Oriental Cod-Fish ($24.0)
Steamed cod-fish done in oriental style topped with wolfberries, shitake mushrooms and bacon, served on a bed of asparagus.
This is truly an fusion where East meet West. You will never expect a dish like Oriental steamed cod fish to appear in a modish European restaurant like Absolute Haven.
Wolfberries as a ingredient, are by far rarely found in European restaurant, it further emphasized the oriental-ness of the dish. The use of bacon added flavoring which enhance the taste of the fish.
It does seems slightly weird to have a oriental steamed cod fish as a main course as usually it is more common to find it in Chinese restaurants. Nevertheless we enjoyed the unique experience, there's always a first for everything.But from what we gathered from Phyllis (Absolute's Manager), some customers find it to be too fishy, and the fish will be taken off the new menu which will commerce on 9th April.
Chef's Special Norwergian Salmon ($32)
Herb oil confit Norwergian Salmon drizzled with Vanilla cream sauce, walnut & black olive pilaf rice, accompanied with organic butternut pumpkin braised in Earl grey tea.
The food at Absolute Haven are all presented very well, the chef really does put in effort in making the dishes look nice. After all, a good appearance of the food does makes it taste better. Applause to the chefs for their hard work!
Having try quite a few Salmons recently, the version here is slightly different to the ones i had before which are mostly grilled or pan-fried. The herb oil confit salmon is a nice change, and i dutifully finish every bit of it.
The walnut & black olive pilaf rice is good, without a doubt. The organic butternut pumpkin braised in Earl grey tea isn't really to my liking, but i do appreciated the effort put into making this side dish.
Tira Mi Su ($9)
A classical Italian dessert served with espresso coffee and liqueur in light mascarpone cheese mousse. The Tira Mi Su here simply melts in my mouth, the liqueur was not too strong which does well for me. The slight hint of cheese in the mousse also provides a variation from the normal Tiramisu.
The thought of the Tira Mi Su dissolving at the tip of my tongue is enough to make me visit Absolute Haven again.
Passion Fruit Panna Cotta ($9)
This dessert wasn't on the menu when we visited Absolute Haven on the 22th March. There was another choice, lavender Panna Cotta, which offers a sweet version instead of the slightly more sour flavor of the passion fruit panna cotta. My friend preferred sour to sweet, so we got the Passion Fruit.
Total Bill came up to around $100.15 for two person. I got two Absolute Haven vouchers (entitled to two free soup and main course). But do not let this fact spoils the review. I deliberately left this fact for the end so that my share-readers can read through this review without any hint of biasness. Absolute Haven is excellent, and i'm not saying this because i got a free meal.
We paid $13.30 for this excellent dinner for the Tiramisu, the Panna Cotta was on the house, courtesy of Phyllis. Absolute Haven promise romantic fine-dining at an affordable price, without burning a hole in your pocket, you can bring your dates there for special occasions. Even for normal events, it's a great place to chill out with your family and friends. The price of their mains ranges from $16 to $32, and desserts are valued at $9-$12.
The friendly manager, Phyllis came up and spoke to us about our meal halfway through. She is a real nice person. You could feel her earnest and sincerity while she was talking to us. There are few managers or bosses in the local food & beverage industry that come across to me as genuine as her. Do call her 9766 3798 or even drop her a sms (which i did) to make your reservations.
The service staff there are polite and quick to help out if we got any inquiries, and my friend note that most of them are good-looking. Anyway thats not the main point, the service at Absolute Haven is indeed what other new start-ups should learn from. Excellent services can never go wrong!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my geniune 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 : )
" Romantic Fine Dining at an affordable price "
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Hungering for buffets? Want to show your friends from overseas what local cuisine tastes like? Well, look no further then Straits Kitchen. At one small(read: big) price, your friends will get to try everything they've ever wanted to try in Singaporean cuisine while enjoying a relaxed and comfortable ambiance within the confines of the Grant Hyatt.
Located on the first floor of the Grand Hyatt, Straits Kitchen is the restaurant encased in glass and partitioned with bottles, tea pots and soft lighting. Tables are of the wood variety as are the chairs in certain portions of the restaurant. The table we sat at comprised of wooden tables and chairs which look great until you realise how cramped and difficult it is to stand up and move around. Air conditioning in the restaurant is quite powerful while the music played ranges from classic malay, chinese and indian songs to suit the theme of the restaurant. An overall aesthetically pleasing presentation.
Being a buffet, counters are separated according to cuisine. There'll be separate counters for Malay food, Indian food, Chinese, Dessert and drinks. The range of items can be quite daunting and bascially, there are so many choices, your stomach will never be the same again.
I'll just name the few i've come into contact with that day. These range from Laksa, Mee Soto, Fish Soup, Chicken and duck rice, Chili Crab, Mini Buddha Jump over the wall, Fried buns, Keropok, Fried carrot Cake, Prata, Prawns and Asparagus, Fried Kway Teow, Dory fish with Beancurd, Satay, Fried rice, Ayam Pengat, Rojak, Yam Paste, Durian Ice Cream and all manners of cakes and cookies to name a few. Even with an extensive list like this, i still may have missed out on quite a few items they had to offer. Needless to say, they have alot to offer.
Reviewing a buffet is never akin to reviewing actual fine dining establishments because first of all, its impossible to put much heart into food preparation when mass producing items and secondly, even if there were good items, the trouble with too much selection is that the customer might not get to try the better items.
My colleagues mentioned that the food here was heavy as compared to carousal in Royal Scotts. They were right. With selections like fish soup noodles, fried rice, chicken rice, roti prata and laksa (that doesn't even finish covering the heavy items btw), its a killer to eat everything. In fact, eat 2 bowls of the above and you'll be stuffed enough to go home.
The food is of a certain standard of course. The better items i had were the Mini Buddha jump over the wall which came with a scallop (boiled to death and very crumbly, no sweetness whatsoever) and a piece of abalone (which may or may not be actual abalone, i'm quite sure its either low quality or fake altogether). The broth itself should be double boiled which explains why its quite salty but overall, i'd say it was still passable. The carrot cake was pretty decent albeit being extremely oily. Pair it with some chili sauce and it'll do just fine. The prawns and asparagus were quite tasteless but the prawns themselves were big and crunchy, i'm disputing a little on the freshness because after 4 prawns, it started to feel generic and all of them strangely lacked any taste of sweetness in them. The satay was pretty good as the chicken (the only one i tried because all the other meats were quickly snapped up) was tender and the satay dip was authentic enough to be good. I had the yam paste for dessert which honestly wasn't too good. It was too sweet while the coconut milk portion too watery and lacking in taste to be even slightly decent.
The best item i figured for that night? Probably the prawn crackers or the satay but thats just me.
I'd like to thank my boss again for the treat. She's really too kind and too generous. Wonderful boss i should say and i'm not even trying to flatter her. The experience was a good one although i can't say the same for the food offering but hey, its a buffet. A word of fairness is that it did not taste too bad actually, just that its not exactly grade A stuff. A good place to show overseas friends local food without braving the heat and oil of the real hawkers though. Straits kitchen is an interesting concept with decent grub. If only they could include the fresh juices as part of the buffet again to make it more attractive.
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This is a long overdue post. It's been so long that I even got rid of the pictures I took at this place unknowingly.
I dropped by one weekday afternoon with two other friends for an early lunch and was pretty excited to try out the more upmarket version of Aston's Specialties.
I ordered the King Salmon Steak ($22.90) whilst my two friends had steak. You can get their opinion of the steaks above. I tried a couple of bites from their steak and wasn't impressed. They asked for their steaks to be done medium rare... but didn't get medium rare....
My Salmon turned out to be medium rare instead. One end was even uncooked. I've never tasted salmon so horribly done really. Somewhere in between the salmon was mushy and I couldn't tell whether it's because of the way it was done or that it wasn't fresh. I struggled to finish and in the end I couldn't bear to finish it anymore.
The only thing I really liked was the fries. They were the fat sort I liked and were lightly seasoned, making them tasty on their own without sauces. *yums*
The service was reasonable with the people talking to us before the cameras were whipped out. But when they did notice the cameras, I reckoned we got more attention than other patrons.
I seriously think I would really consder before going back again.
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I'd never really been a fan of U.R.S but I was on a hunt for shoes that day and have exhausted all other options. So into this shop I went looking for the right shoes.
I was surprised to see the very similiar designs... almost identical to the ones I've seen in the other shops. They also have the designs I wanted in more acceptable colours like white brown and black. They also seem to have a larger range of working class shoes.
At first when I walked in, I was ignored by the staff nearest to the door. We looked at each other eye to eye and she turned away quickly. I had expected at least a smile or a "welcome" but was given none. I was tempted to walk out but knowing that I didn't have any other shops to go, I stayed a bit more.
Then I spotted them. The shoes I wanted in simple brown colour and they were on sale! I picked up the shoes and immediately a sweet young sales assistant appeared by my side. She offered to get the shoes in two different sizes as I wasn't sure what size I would wear. She also recommended some others which were similiar and I happily agreed to try.
After trying on about 7-9 pairs of shoes I finally bought three. The same lady served me throughout while serving some other customers. I found her to be very approachable, unlike her colleague. But later on when I was paying I found out that all of them were trainees. Apparently they are all studying and this is like attachment for them. So the other girl was very nervous which was why she turned away. I guess it's relatively forgivable then. The prices of the shoes are reasonable. An alternative to Charles and Keith I guess... despite U.R.S being around much longer than them.
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Sweet Indulgence is a quaint little place found in the CBD maze. It was a challenge for a few of us that night but everyone managed to turn up in the end.
Due to the way the restaurant is built (lengthwise) our table had to be long and the area inside was pretty crammed. People sitting inside daren't move about too much for the fear of being too troublesome.
But the decor of the place was quite nice. I was initially worried it would be a little warm for some but it wasn't. The lighting was a little dim for photo-taking but we still managed. I like the bar counter and the little piano at the side. The boss even invited people to play on the piano in exchange for a glass of wine.
Food Served:Complimentary bread
I was hungry when I had this so I'm probably not a very good judge. It had a slight taste of herbs to it but that was all. It wasn't warm nor soft enough. But it's reasonable I guess.
Salad
A very simple salad. period.
Cream of Broccoli
Most of the others said it was salty but my brother and I felt it was fine. Odd isn't it. We actually finished everything and were quite pleased with it. Maybe it's because we're broccoli lovers. The odd thing about this soup was that it was served AFTER the main course.
Garlic Prawns
Thank goodness for the prawns. 4 bowls of prawns were plonked on the table to be shared by the people surrounding iit. Ours were shared by 5. The prawns came the same time as the salad and saved the day. They were fresh and had just enough bite. They were also in a flavourful dressing/sauce which I found to be quite special.
Poached Salmon with White Sauce & Herbs, served with Pasta and Seasonal Vegetables
Firstly, I have to say that every plate of salmon was different. Ours was without the fishy taste/smell though my neighbour's had. We thought it could be due to the fact that ours was slightly smaller. The pasta was slightly overcooked and tasteless.
Oven Baked Chicken Thigh Steak with Crisp Skin served with Chef Sauce & Potato Mash infused with Vanilla and Cream
I only liked the potato mash really. The chicken wasn't fantastic. I refused to eat the skin as it was quite soggy not crisp and the meat inside though marinated, wasn't very tasty.
Strawberry Cheesecake
I didn't even know what it was when I was eating it. We were arguing about what it was. Some said it was Strawberry shortcake whilst others said it was just a cake. I didn't like it at all and didn't finish mine. It had a very odd smell to it, which I wasn't accustomed to.
Warm Choco Lava Indulgence
We had to share this among the 5 of us as a complimentary dessert. Although I liked the taste of the chocolate oozing out and the taste of the crust but I can't help but dislike the texture of the crust. I don't like the whole thing to crumble into bits the moment one takes a stab at it.
Each of us paid $33 that night. We were full but weren't overly so. I guess it's reasonable as it includes a drink but I had certainly expected more. Not worth a planned visit but if you're nearby I guess it's alright.
I was thinking that they were very unprepared for a mini-crowd like us and maybe they would do better if there were less people? I was just thinking. Ah well.
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