Was rather intrigued by the name, "The Sleeping Rhino", so decided to drop by one evening with the missus for dinner. It definitely helped that there was a 50% discount courtesy of my palate card.
Located on the ground floor of Klapsons The Boutique Hotel at Tanjong Pagar, The Sleeping Rhino offers a view of the surrounding pedestrian walkway and vehicular roads through towering floor to ceiling windows. For a little more privacy, opt for the booth seats furthest away from the windows.
Complimentary Bread - The complimentary bread roll came a little crusty and warm. Together with a small container of store bought butter, it made for a nice and simple way to start off.
Pomodoro Penne with Cajun Smoked Chicken - Al dente penne tossed in a mildly tart pomodoro sauce and topped with chunks of savoury cajun chicken - simple yet satisfying. The only gripe I had was the lack of smokiness in the chicken.
Wagyu Beef Burger - The beef patty was done up to medium well but seemed a little drier than expected. Flavours were decent and I liked the addition of the runny yolk sunny side up atop, which gave the burger an overall smooth and rich finish. Unfortunately the bun was crisp but dry and tasteless.
Tiramisu - Circular in shape, the tiramisu's portion was rather small with the sponge fingers a little too soaked in kahlua. The mascarpone cheese seemed a little diluted which definitely didn't help matters. All in all a very average rendition of this Italian classic dessert.
Dinner for 2 pax came to almost $38 with a 50% discount ($75.33 without). Overall food quality hovered around the average mark and prices were honestly on the high side for the corresponding quality. Service was good though but that could be due to the fact that we were the only table that evening (although another couple did come in when we were just about to leave).
Leenie Pigssaid: Location Location Location! But good location with not so price worthy food is such a spoil sport. Name is cute :) 20 Aug 2013 at 9:48 am
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!
A new steakhouse, Bull & Butcher, recently opened up in town and I had the opportunity to drop by to sample a couple of its signature dishes, courtesy of the restaurant. The eatery attempts to differentiate itself from the other steakhouses by offering diners a view of the butchers in the kitchen (dressed in traditional chain mail aprons, no less) slicing up their choice of meat. And in case you are wondering if it is in the same league as the big boys (Morton's, Ruth Chris etc), no it definitely isn't. Price wise at least.
Occupying a rather prominent unit just next to the main entrance of Plaza Singapura along Orchard Road, Bull & Butcher doesn't come across as very big but there is an outdoor alfresco area if you prefer Singapore's humidity and heat (not to mention cigarette smoke). Inside, tables are spaced decently apart which makes for relaxing conversation but the overall design isn't much to rave about - very much like your typical western restaurant.
Prawn Cocktail ($14) - Dinner kick started with a prawn cocktail, which featured huge, crunchy prawns amidst an avalanche of thousand island sauce. Decent.
Roast Whole Garlic ($8) - This was actually a side and although I do like garlic, I don't quite relish the experience of eating it whole with skin and all. But that's just a personal preference.
Crab Cake, Sundried Tomato Sauce ($16) - The crab cake had a generous amount of crab meat but the breaded coating probably wasn't the best way to encapsulate the crab meat due to the absorption of oil. And the sundried tomato sauce failed to capture the intense burst of tangy, mildly sweet flavour that I had hoped for. Instead, it had a mild curry tinge to it for an Asian slant. Fusion maybe? Personally I still prefer the renditions from Morton's and Ruth's Chris.
Australian Wagyu Bolognaise Pasta ($26) - I'm of the humble opinion that good beef should never be minced because it would affect the texture and taste of the beef. And this pasta dish wasn't about to change my mind. Minced beef coupled with a rather mild tomato based sauce and less than al dente tagliatelle made for an average, carbohydrate laden dish.
Braised Australian Wagyu Beef Cheek ($38) - Melt in the mouth tender beef cheek sitting on a bed of charmingly smooth mashed potato and a stock that's not overwhelmingly sweet - what's not to like? Well maybe the price to portion ratio. But that aside, this was easily one of the best dishes of the evening in my humble opinion.
Petit Tender - The petit tender or "beef shoulder tender" is a small centre cut beef tenderloin which lies below the flat iron steak and is known to be of similar quality to the filet mignon. This cut isn't used much as it apparently requires a certain level of skill to extract. And it is currently exclusive to Bull & Butcher (off the menu though!).
First looks, the medallion shaped piece of meat was of reasonable thickness and done up medium rare. Natural flavours were drool worthy and accentuated through the use of a little salt seasoning. The only gripe I had was that the meat came across as a tad too dry for my liking.
Pear and Chocolate Crumble, Vanilla Ice Cream ($12) - And for desserts, pear and chocolate crumble served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The crust lacked the oven baked taste whilst the chocolate came across as a little underwhelming. But on the bright side, I loved the little wayward chunks of crumble.
Popped by Bistro Du Vin's original outlet one sunny weekday afternoon for lunch with a couple of my colleagues. Promising to serve up honest to goodness classical French food, the restaurant is one of the many brand names under the Les Amis umbrella.
Located on the 2nd floor of Shaw Centre, Bistro Du Vin plays neighbour to a Vietnamese Restaurant and of course it's upmarket sibling, Les Amis. The interior is reminiscent of a typical French brasserie, from the red walls right down to the tiled floor. However, tables are spaced a little too close for comfort which makes normal conversations a tad difficult. Proper sound proofing is also lacking and the entire place sounds like a market when running at full capacity.
Complimentary Bread - The bread was a simple and simple crusty baguette served with orange butter. Pretty nice and a great way to stave off the hunger pangs.
White Asparagus Velouté - I honestly didn't quite take to the white asparagus veloute, which was a little too runny for my liking. There was also a bitter aftertaste to it - something which I certainly didn't appreciate.
Char Grilled Australian Angus Ribeye - This required a top up of $10 to the price of the set lunch but it was well worth it in my humble opinion. Done up medium as per my request, the meat was flavourful and juicy with hints of smokiness from the char grilling. The accompanying truffle mash ( $3 ) was smooth and fragrant as well and the truffle honestly helped elevate what would have been a boring, bland side of mash.
However, in a subsequent visit, I had the exact same thing and it was still good, just that the salt content was a little too high for my liking.
Walnut Tart - And for desserts I had a pretty good walnut tart - solid tart base with walnuts set amidst rich chocolate and caramel filling. Between this and the Pink Tiramisu which I had on my subsequent visit, I honestly preferred this (though the pink tiramisu was something different). Served up with a scoop of real vanilla bean ice cream.
The standard lunch set is a reasonable $30 but it is the top ups that really "upsize" the bill. Still, food quality is pretty decent and I especially like their steaks. Service is rather clinical and lacks warmth though - an area that the restaurant might want to look into.
Twas the weekend before Mother's day so we decided to beat the crowds (not to mention the ridiculously priced menus) and celebrate beforehand. A decision was made to try out Majestic Restaurant this year and honestly, my expectations were high as many people have raved about it.
The place wasn't big and the interior leaned towards western influences rather than Chinese, with a huge open kitchen and booth seats. We had a corner booth to ourselves which was pretty nice and cosy although I must say that the air conditioning that evening was underwhelming.
Wasabi Chips - Things got off to a good start with the wasabi chips - lightly salted, thin and crisp chips with a mild wasabi kick. Pretty addictive.
Pan Seared Foie Gras - Served up on a slice of watermelon, the foie gras's crisp, well seared exterior belied a soft quivery composition whose sweetness was complemented by that of the watermelon. One of the best foie gras dishes I've ever eaten in a Chinese restaurant.
Double Boiled Sea Treasures with Superior Shark's Fin and Black Truffle - I thought that the soup was deliciously sweet yet light. It definitely helped that there was a plethora of ingredients, from baby abalone to sea cucumber, fish maw, dried scallops, chicken etc. I'm usually not much of a soup person but this was one soup that had me yearning for more. One question though, where is the truffle taste?
Deep Fried Brinjal with Pork Floss - I actually dislike brinjal but this dish was surprisingly quite palatable, with a crisp coating of flour and pork floss, very much like tempura. What I didn't quite take to was the oil content though.
Scallops Wrapped with Bacon - Looks can be deceiving and the scallops wrapped with bacon was one prime example of that. The scallops were huge and the bacon looked like it had nice charred bits along the edges. Alas, the scallops weren't sweet and had a flour like texture whilst the bacon came across as soft and limp. Seriously seriously disappointing.
Salted Egg Yolk Prawn - A seemingly common dish in most Chinese restaurants these days, Majestic's variation came with slices of watermelon and chopped mango. The prawns were quite a size but I couldn't make out any taste or texture of egg yolk. Decent but there are probably loads of restaurants that do this dish better.
Zhejiang Spare Ribs - This was another disappointing dish, with the meat coming across as too hard. But at least the zhejiang vinegar was nicely tart with a hint of sweetness.
Signature Stewed Mee Sua with Baby Abalone - As much as I would like to understand the hype behind this signature dish, I am afraid I fail to comprehend. For starters, the baby abalone was, well, tiny and the soup base wasn't flavourful enough nor was the Mee Sua (面线) silky enough. Overall, a rather average dish in my humble opinion.
Signature Claypot Chicken Rice - Another signature dish from Majestic - the Claypot Chicken Rice. I can't say that I was wowed by it as it was evidently high class chicken rice. Sure, the rice was more fragrant than usual and less oily while the chicken was tender and reasonably plentiful. But seriously?
Durian Paste - We opted for the Mao Shan Wang (猫山王) durian paste to end off our meal and whilst rich, it didn't taste any different from eating straight out of the fruit as the gula melaka taste was non existent. Maybe I should have gone for the fried durian ice cream instead.
One word. Overrated. Dinner was a case of more misses than hits and wasn't cheap by any yardstick, standing at about $577 for 6 pax ($96/pax). Service was very good but I don't think that justifies the high price tag and less than stellar quality of food. I am pretty sure with $96/pax, I can get seriously better food elsewhere. Also, the choice of music played in the restaurant is pretty weird. Why would you play English pop music in a Chinese restaurant?
Popped by Canton Paradise @ I12 Katong one weekday afternoon for some dim sum to chase away the weekday blues. I honestly would have preferred Wah Lok but didn't quite fancy jostling with the CBD crowd and it definitely helped that the porridge at Canton Paradise had a certain allure. Just for the record, as at time of writing, I've been to Canton Paradise a total of 9 times in 3 months, but this is probably going to be my only post on Canton Paradise (I am usually too famished during lunch to bother taking photos). And yes, I'm that crazy about dim sum.
The place is huge and sports a rather "ancient Chinese" decor with its uneven brick walls and wooden decorative panels. If you can stand the cold air conditioning, ask for a booth seat (2-4 pax) because the other tables are spaced a tad too close for comfortable conversation.
BBQ Combination - We had the combination platter of BBQ pork belly with honey sauce and roasted pork, of which the former was sinfully better with a high fat to meat ratio and smothered in gooey honey marinade. I personally like to eat the BBQ pork belly with the salted peanuts that are served alongside. Makes for a nice contrast in both areas of taste and texture. Unfortunately, the BBQ pork's skin wasn't crisp enough and I think they need to add in a wee bit more salt for flavouring.
Steamed Cheong Fun with BBQ Pork - The cheong fun featured translucent but rather limp skin with a reasonable amount of BBQ pork filling. Decent but no great shakes. And remember to eat immediately when served, lest it turns cold and clammy.
Steamed Prawn Dumplings - Fresh, crunchy prawns coupled with translucent but mildly elastic skin. Pretty decent.
Steamed Pork Dumplings - The "porkyness" of the siew mai wasn't too overwhelming and the fat to lean meat ratio was reasonable. As with most dim sum items, eat them while they are hot.
Century Egg Porridge with Lean Meat - I personally think the porridge, especially the 皮蛋瘦肉粥, at Canton Paradise is quite good and this is one of the main reasons why I keep coming back. Consistently sticky with visible rice grains and a subtle, savoury aftertaste. And that's coming from someone who doesn't take century egg. The meatball porridge is nice as well but a little on the bland side.
Baked BBQ Honey Pork Bun - This is reminiscent of the one I had at Tim Ho Wan in HK. Unfortunately, the standards did not quite match up. For starters, the base was overly oily and the BBQ pork wasn't gooey enough. Decent but try the real thing from Tim Ho Wan when it opens in Singapore!
If my memory serves me correct, the bill for this lunch came up to around $50, which is pretty much the range you pay for decent quality dim sum these days. However the staff did seem a little overwhelmed with the place running at almost full capacity, which naturally led to slower service and forgotten requests.
1=SGD 0.0587
Located on the ground floor of Klapsons The Boutique Hotel at Tanjong Pagar, The Sleeping Rhino offers a view of the surrounding pedestrian walkway and vehicular roads through towering floor to ceiling windows. For a little more privacy, opt for the booth seats furthest away from the windows.
Complimentary Bread - The complimentary bread roll came a little crusty and warm. Together with a small container of store bought butter, it made for a nice and simple way to start off.
Pomodoro Penne with Cajun Smoked Chicken - Al dente penne tossed in a mildly tart pomodoro sauce and topped with chunks of savoury cajun chicken - simple yet satisfying. The only gripe I had was the lack of smokiness in the chicken.
Wagyu Beef Burger - The beef patty was done up to medium well but seemed a little drier than expected. Flavours were decent and I liked the addition of the runny yolk sunny side up atop, which gave the burger an overall smooth and rich finish. Unfortunately the bun was crisp but dry and tasteless.
Tiramisu - Circular in shape, the tiramisu's portion was rather small with the sponge fingers a little too soaked in kahlua. The mascarpone cheese seemed a little diluted which definitely didn't help matters. All in all a very average rendition of this Italian classic dessert.
Dinner for 2 pax came to almost $38 with a 50% discount ($75.33 without). Overall food quality hovered around the average mark and prices were honestly on the high side for the corresponding quality. Service was good though but that could be due to the fact that we were the only table that evening (although another couple did come in when we were just about to leave).
See all my pictures here.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!Location Location Location! But good location with not so price worthy food is such a spoil sport. Name is cute :)
20 Aug 2013 at 9:48 am
Occupying a rather prominent unit just next to the main entrance of Plaza Singapura along Orchard Road, Bull & Butcher doesn't come across as very big but there is an outdoor alfresco area if you prefer Singapore's humidity and heat (not to mention cigarette smoke). Inside, tables are spaced decently apart which makes for relaxing conversation but the overall design isn't much to rave about - very much like your typical western restaurant.
Prawn Cocktail ($14) - Dinner kick started with a prawn cocktail, which featured huge, crunchy prawns amidst an avalanche of thousand island sauce. Decent.
Roast Whole Garlic ($8) - This was actually a side and although I do like garlic, I don't quite relish the experience of eating it whole with skin and all. But that's just a personal preference.
Crab Cake, Sundried Tomato Sauce ($16) - The crab cake had a generous amount of crab meat but the breaded coating probably wasn't the best way to encapsulate the crab meat due to the absorption of oil. And the sundried tomato sauce failed to capture the intense burst of tangy, mildly sweet flavour that I had hoped for. Instead, it had a mild curry tinge to it for an Asian slant. Fusion maybe? Personally I still prefer the renditions from Morton's and Ruth's Chris.
Australian Wagyu Bolognaise Pasta ($26) - I'm of the humble opinion that good beef should never be minced because it would affect the texture and taste of the beef. And this pasta dish wasn't about to change my mind. Minced beef coupled with a rather mild tomato based sauce and less than al dente tagliatelle made for an average, carbohydrate laden dish.
Braised Australian Wagyu Beef Cheek ($38) - Melt in the mouth tender beef cheek sitting on a bed of charmingly smooth mashed potato and a stock that's not overwhelmingly sweet - what's not to like? Well maybe the price to portion ratio. But that aside, this was easily one of the best dishes of the evening in my humble opinion.
Petit Tender - The petit tender or "beef shoulder tender" is a small centre cut beef tenderloin which lies below the flat iron steak and is known to be of similar quality to the filet mignon. This cut isn't used much as it apparently requires a certain level of skill to extract. And it is currently exclusive to Bull & Butcher (off the menu though!).
First looks, the medallion shaped piece of meat was of reasonable thickness and done up medium rare. Natural flavours were drool worthy and accentuated through the use of a little salt seasoning. The only gripe I had was that the meat came across as a tad too dry for my liking.
Pear and Chocolate Crumble, Vanilla Ice Cream ($12) - And for desserts, pear and chocolate crumble served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The crust lacked the oven baked taste whilst the chocolate came across as a little underwhelming. But on the bright side, I loved the little wayward chunks of crumble.
Thanks to Bull & Butcher for the invite!
See all my pictures here
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!
Located on the 2nd floor of Shaw Centre, Bistro Du Vin plays neighbour to a Vietnamese Restaurant and of course it's upmarket sibling, Les Amis. The interior is reminiscent of a typical French brasserie, from the red walls right down to the tiled floor. However, tables are spaced a little too close for comfort which makes normal conversations a tad difficult. Proper sound proofing is also lacking and the entire place sounds like a market when running at full capacity.
Complimentary Bread - The bread was a simple and simple crusty baguette served with orange butter. Pretty nice and a great way to stave off the hunger pangs.
White Asparagus Velouté - I honestly didn't quite take to the white asparagus veloute, which was a little too runny for my liking. There was also a bitter aftertaste to it - something which I certainly didn't appreciate.
Char Grilled Australian Angus Ribeye - This required a top up of $10 to the price of the set lunch but it was well worth it in my humble opinion. Done up medium as per my request, the meat was flavourful and juicy with hints of smokiness from the char grilling. The accompanying truffle mash ( $3 ) was smooth and fragrant as well and the truffle honestly helped elevate what would have been a boring, bland side of mash.
However, in a subsequent visit, I had the exact same thing and it was still good, just that the salt content was a little too high for my liking.
Walnut Tart - And for desserts I had a pretty good walnut tart - solid tart base with walnuts set amidst rich chocolate and caramel filling. Between this and the Pink Tiramisu which I had on my subsequent visit, I honestly preferred this (though the pink tiramisu was something different). Served up with a scoop of real vanilla bean ice cream.
The standard lunch set is a reasonable $30 but it is the top ups that really "upsize" the bill. Still, food quality is pretty decent and I especially like their steaks. Service is rather clinical and lacks warmth though - an area that the restaurant might want to look into.
See my pictures here.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!
The place wasn't big and the interior leaned towards western influences rather than Chinese, with a huge open kitchen and booth seats. We had a corner booth to ourselves which was pretty nice and cosy although I must say that the air conditioning that evening was underwhelming.
Wasabi Chips - Things got off to a good start with the wasabi chips - lightly salted, thin and crisp chips with a mild wasabi kick. Pretty addictive.
Pan Seared Foie Gras - Served up on a slice of watermelon, the foie gras's crisp, well seared exterior belied a soft quivery composition whose sweetness was complemented by that of the watermelon. One of the best foie gras dishes I've ever eaten in a Chinese restaurant.
Double Boiled Sea Treasures with Superior Shark's Fin and Black Truffle - I thought that the soup was deliciously sweet yet light. It definitely helped that there was a plethora of ingredients, from baby abalone to sea cucumber, fish maw, dried scallops, chicken etc. I'm usually not much of a soup person but this was one soup that had me yearning for more. One question though, where is the truffle taste?
Deep Fried Brinjal with Pork Floss - I actually dislike brinjal but this dish was surprisingly quite palatable, with a crisp coating of flour and pork floss, very much like tempura. What I didn't quite take to was the oil content though.
Scallops Wrapped with Bacon - Looks can be deceiving and the scallops wrapped with bacon was one prime example of that. The scallops were huge and the bacon looked like it had nice charred bits along the edges. Alas, the scallops weren't sweet and had a flour like texture whilst the bacon came across as soft and limp. Seriously seriously disappointing.
Salted Egg Yolk Prawn - A seemingly common dish in most Chinese restaurants these days, Majestic's variation came with slices of watermelon and chopped mango. The prawns were quite a size but I couldn't make out any taste or texture of egg yolk. Decent but there are probably loads of restaurants that do this dish better.
Zhejiang Spare Ribs - This was another disappointing dish, with the meat coming across as too hard. But at least the zhejiang vinegar was nicely tart with a hint of sweetness.
Signature Stewed Mee Sua with Baby Abalone - As much as I would like to understand the hype behind this signature dish, I am afraid I fail to comprehend. For starters, the baby abalone was, well, tiny and the soup base wasn't flavourful enough nor was the Mee Sua (面线) silky enough. Overall, a rather average dish in my humble opinion.
Signature Claypot Chicken Rice - Another signature dish from Majestic - the Claypot Chicken Rice. I can't say that I was wowed by it as it was evidently high class chicken rice. Sure, the rice was more fragrant than usual and less oily while the chicken was tender and reasonably plentiful. But seriously?
Durian Paste - We opted for the Mao Shan Wang (猫山王) durian paste to end off our meal and whilst rich, it didn't taste any different from eating straight out of the fruit as the gula melaka taste was non existent. Maybe I should have gone for the fried durian ice cream instead.
One word. Overrated. Dinner was a case of more misses than hits and wasn't cheap by any yardstick, standing at about $577 for 6 pax ($96/pax). Service was very good but I don't think that justifies the high price tag and less than stellar quality of food. I am pretty sure with $96/pax, I can get seriously better food elsewhere. Also, the choice of music played in the restaurant is pretty weird. Why would you play English pop music in a Chinese restaurant?
See my entire review here.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!great review :) now looking forward to your father's day review :)
15 Jun 2013 at 10:10 pm
The place is huge and sports a rather "ancient Chinese" decor with its uneven brick walls and wooden decorative panels. If you can stand the cold air conditioning, ask for a booth seat (2-4 pax) because the other tables are spaced a tad too close for comfortable conversation.
BBQ Combination - We had the combination platter of BBQ pork belly with honey sauce and roasted pork, of which the former was sinfully better with a high fat to meat ratio and smothered in gooey honey marinade. I personally like to eat the BBQ pork belly with the salted peanuts that are served alongside. Makes for a nice contrast in both areas of taste and texture. Unfortunately, the BBQ pork's skin wasn't crisp enough and I think they need to add in a wee bit more salt for flavouring.
Steamed Cheong Fun with BBQ Pork - The cheong fun featured translucent but rather limp skin with a reasonable amount of BBQ pork filling. Decent but no great shakes. And remember to eat immediately when served, lest it turns cold and clammy.
Steamed Prawn Dumplings - Fresh, crunchy prawns coupled with translucent but mildly elastic skin. Pretty decent.
Steamed Pork Dumplings - The "porkyness" of the siew mai wasn't too overwhelming and the fat to lean meat ratio was reasonable. As with most dim sum items, eat them while they are hot.
Century Egg Porridge with Lean Meat - I personally think the porridge, especially the 皮蛋瘦肉粥, at Canton Paradise is quite good and this is one of the main reasons why I keep coming back. Consistently sticky with visible rice grains and a subtle, savoury aftertaste. And that's coming from someone who doesn't take century egg. The meatball porridge is nice as well but a little on the bland side.
Baked BBQ Honey Pork Bun - This is reminiscent of the one I had at Tim Ho Wan in HK. Unfortunately, the standards did not quite match up. For starters, the base was overly oily and the BBQ pork wasn't gooey enough. Decent but try the real thing from Tim Ho Wan when it opens in Singapore!
If my memory serves me correct, the bill for this lunch came up to around $50, which is pretty much the range you pay for decent quality dim sum these days. However the staff did seem a little overwhelmed with the place running at almost full capacity, which naturally led to slower service and forgotten requests.
See all my pictures here.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!