Had been meaning to try out Nanbantei and the chance presented itself one evening when I happened to be at Orchard with my gf. Located on the 5th floor of the hip Far East Plaza, Nanbantei, which specialises in Yakitori, has garnered many accolades and rave reviews including that of Tatler's Singapore's Best Restaurant.
The interior of Nanbantei is rather tiny and cramp and the bulk of the seating comes in the form of counter seats (there are a few tables that can accomodate 4 though), which offer a live view of the chef grilling your orders. When I say cramp, it means almost shoulder to shoulder with the person beside you at the counter, which is really disconcerting to say the least.
The scallop was quite a size and came very well seasoned and grilled. A nice smokey taste lingered, complementing the fibrous texture of the scallop. I did find the salt a little too heavy though.
Asparagus Maki & Nikuzume Shiitake - If I may say, the asparagus maki was nothing short of excellent. It really surpassed all expectations. Soft asparagus covered with a layer of pork grilled till crisp and a sprinkling of salt for that extra flavour. If not for the price($5.70), I would have ordered more.
The Shiitake mushroom stuffed with chicken was average really. The chicken taste overwhelmed the mushroom and it was a tad too salty.
Ebi - At $7 per relatively large prawn, its honestly quite expensive especially when there was no marination or anything, save for the dash of salt sprinkled whilst grilling. To give it credit, the prawns were sweet with a nice grilled taste. But believe me, take away the shells and the meat is minimal.
Tokusei Tsukune - Nanbantei's Tokusei Tsukune or house special meatballs, was essentially 2 skewers of meat merged into one huge and rather unsightly chunk and came served with a single raw quail's egg sliced off at the top. The meat was nicely minced with bits of uneveness but I did find the dish to be very salty probably due to the sauce. A decent dish, but not fantastic.
Shiitake - Yet another overly salty dish, the shiitake didn't come across as too dry though due to the sauce. Not something I would order again for just over $5.
Yaki Onigiri - A Japanese speciality according to the waitress, the Yaki Onigiri was rather interesting and looked very much like a corn cob. Grilled to charred and hard on the outside yet a little soft and sticky on the inside. The flavours were a mix and match of salty and spicy, which honestly was a terrible end to the meal. It definitely didn't help that bits of the charred rice were very prone to getting lodged in between my teeth.
$68 for a meal with such meagre portions is ridiculously expensive in my opinion, even though the food is fairly decent. To be fair, Nanbantei does offer set meals at $32 for 8 sticks of yakitori which does seem a better deal, but going ala carte is definitely a big no no. Drinks are expensive as well and no complimentary iced water is served.
Heard many good things about this tiny little stall serving up handmade beef burgers that were purportedly one of the best around. Apparently its burger is so well known that it featured in one of the recent articles in the Straits Times.
Occupying one of the four F&B units at a small alfresco dining area along Bukit Timah Road, Smok'inn Frogz plays neighbour to an Indian food stall, a Thai food stall and a small bar counter. And that is where its charm lies. Seating on high wooden stools against the backdrop of million dollar homes, all in a fan induced cool environment has a certain laid back charm to it.
Calamari ($8) - At $8 a basket, the calamari wasn't too expensive really and came rather well done. The batter wasn't too thick and didn't come across as too oily while the squid retained some of its elasticity and chewiness. Only thing that I thought could have been improved was the frying time. The batter was deep fried for a little too long, rendering it a darker shade of golden brown.
Homemade Beef Burger ($12)- Being a fan of beef burgers, I was most eager to try out their much raved about homemade beef burger. While the burger was very decent with the texture of the patty uneven and full of bite yet retaining its tenderness, I did find it lacking in the inherent beefy taste, which kinda took some points off the score. $12 gets you the burger and some fries with a small serving of salad as well.
$20 for a meal is rather reasonable for the quantity and quality of food. Drinks can be bought from the neighbouring stall at $1.50 per can of soft drink and if you need a quick Thai or Indian fix, there's the other stalls as well.
Lucardiasaid: Cool, been wanting to try this forever. Too darn far for me however. 31 Aug 2008 at 8:46 am
Renasaid: Must try the satay from DEAN satay at the corner of the shop...tender and tasty...yummyyyy! 07 Nov 2008 at 10:08 am
Uncle Rickysaid: Try their wrap, very tender chicken in soft wrap. Fish and chips are nice and EXTRA crispy. And the duck leg is a must try. 13 Jul 2009 at 12:31 pm
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Yes its Dim Sum for me and my gf on a weekend morning again. This time round, the venue of choice was Wah Lok. Known for its exquisite Dim Sum offerings and excellent Cantonese food, Wah Lok sits on the second floor of Carlton Hotel. Wood, like in many other mainstream Chinese restaurants, plays a main role in bringing out the understated opulence of the interior, especially that of the main dining hall. One can't help but feel very at home in this subtly lavish yet comfortable layout.
The Appetizer of BBQ Pork, Salted Vegetables, Chilli and Sesame Seeds was something that I've honestly never tried before. And it was good. The BBQ pork was sweet while the salted vegetables were salty, naturally. This balanced things out really well and the sesame seeds gave it a nice fragrance while the mild chilli spiced things up a little.
The Steamed Carrot Cake was a great dish to start off with. The carrot cake came piping hot in a small glass bowl and was very smooth without coming across as too soft and mashed up.
I've always been a fan of BBQ Pork Pastry, or better known as Char Siew Sou, so it's no surprise that this dish was in our order list. The BBQ Pork Pastry was quite well done with the pastry being flaky and a little sweet from the exterior glazing. The BBQ Pork filling was held together by a semi thick and sweet gravy, which is very unlike most of the Dim Sum places I've tried that only wraps the meat without any gravy. However, the pork itself lacked the barbequed taste - a flaw that could make or break this dish. But all in all, still an above average eat.
The Baked Egg Tart came across as pretty normal in terms of taste and texture. There was no slightly burnt crust taste which I like, but the egg filling was not too sweet, which was a plus. Other than that, just an average egg tart.
Now this dish came recommended by our server and it proved to be excellent. The fried beancurd skin was brittlely(If there's such a word) crispy with fillings of prawns and some vegetables. Dip it in the accompanying premium grade soya sauce and you get a match made it heaven. The soya sauce gives it the salty yet zesty flavour. And I'm not kidding about the premium soya sauce label. It really is of premium grade. Try it and you'll know what I mean.
Steamed prawn dumplings or better known as Har Gao is one of the de facto dishes of Dim Sum literally. Wah Lok's rendition tasted quite fine, with the shrimps evidently fresh. The skin was also relatively thin and moist.
Like the Steamed prawn dumplings, the Steamed pork dumplings aka Siu Mai, are also another de facto dish of Dim Sum. I found this rather normal, but it didn't come across as too heavy on the palate, which was a change from the nausea inducing ones that I often eat.
Century Egg porridge - This is my gf's favourite dish and although I'm no fan of it, I did find it quite good. The porridge was not too starchy neither was it too watery. I can't quite describe the taste because I honestly know nuts to nothing about Century Egg Porridge.
Shark's fin dumpling - This was the most expensive dish we ordered ($7.80 per serving) but it was well worth the money. The shark's fin soup was light and sweet and came with a few strands of inferior quality shark's fin(hey its $7.80, what do you expect?). I did find the dumpling's skin a little too soft though, probably from soaking in the soup for too long.
Fried Ice Cream - This is one rare dessert. I can't really tell you where to find this delicacy anymore. Wah Lok's rendition is different from all the others that I've tried. Here, the Mango Ice Cream is coated with a layer of Coconut shreds and flour before deep frying. The result is a crispy Coconut exterior encompassing a rather pleasant Mango Ice Cream. Quite good!
Had another bout of Thai food craving and didn't fancy braving the terrible parking(and exorbitant drink prices) at First Thai so decided to try out P&P Thai Food, which is just a 15 min drive from my house. Formerly located at a coffeeshop along Veerasamy Road in Little India, P&P's claim to fame is its authentic Thai food and the various newspaper writeups are a testament to that.
Located under a block of HDBs at Geylang Bahru, P&P occupies a rather small and inconspicuous unit which faces the main road. The place is done up simply with white washed wall and limited tables, probably at about 10 tops, including those placed along the pavement. Air conditioning here is at a premium, with barely cool air whispering out of 2 air conditioning units.
Mango Salad - A nice appetiser would have started the meal just right, but the mango salad, though spicy, didn't taste out of the ordinary. Everything was overwhelmed by the spiciness. Also, 6 bucks does seem a tad pricey for just some shredded vegetables and fruit.
Tom Yam Soup - Served up in a small claypot, the tom yam soup was actually quite good. Clear spicy broth with an overhanging heavy dosage of zest that didn't weigh down too much on the palate. One thing I found odd about the soup was the inclusion of slices of hotdog - a sign of cost cutting?
Phad Thai - I found P&P's Phad Thai comparable to the one I had at First Thai just a couple of weeks back except that the glass noodles used in the former were slightly finer than usual. Both were of the wet variant but the prawns in P&P's offering weren't exactly fresh and that marred the experience for me. I still stand by the Phad Thai from Sweet Salty Spicy.
Olive Fried Rice - The undisputed star of our meal, the humble olive fried rice. Served with sides of egg, cashew nuts and a mixture of what seemed like dried shrimp and pork, the rice was fragrant and very well fried sans the oil with a lingering tinge of olive. I would have gone for seconds if not for the rather steep pricing ($7 for 1 scoop).
Fried Kang Kong - What looked like an ordinary dish turned out to be something rather top notch. The Kang Kong had a wok hei taste to it and was rather spicy although it didn't look the part. Only gripe I had was the excessive salt content, which can be a little overwhelming.
P&P Crispy Pork - I would have expected more from a dish bearing the name of the restaurant but sadly it came across as rather normal, if not on the salty side. The flour was crispy without being too oily but the meat did seem a little too fatty at certain parts, which made me a tad nervous about my health.
Durian Sticky Rice - I was looking forward to this delectable dessert and all hopes for a humongous portion were dashed when it came served in a small leaf shaped plate. The glutinous rice was a tad savoury with lots of bite while the durian flesh was sweet but rather runny. Drizzled with coconut milk, the entire dish made for a very nice ending. However $10 for such a small portion is a rip off in my humble opinion.
$57 for 3 pax isn't exactly expensive but I wouldn't deem it cheap either. Food quality is actually quite decent and personally I prefer it to First Thai. Price wise, both are comparable but service and ambience at P&P is definitely better. When we finished my dinner at about 7pm on a Sunday evening, there were still a few tables empty so I guess having no queues is a plus point too. One thing to note though, P&P doesn't serve free ice water. Its 50 cents for a refillable cup.
1=SGD 0.0587
The interior of Nanbantei is rather tiny and cramp and the bulk of the seating comes in the form of counter seats (there are a few tables that can accomodate 4 though), which offer a live view of the chef grilling your orders. When I say cramp, it means almost shoulder to shoulder with the person beside you at the counter, which is really disconcerting to say the least.
The scallop was quite a size and came very well seasoned and grilled. A nice smokey taste lingered, complementing the fibrous texture of the scallop. I did find the salt a little too heavy though.
Asparagus Maki & Nikuzume Shiitake - If I may say, the asparagus maki was nothing short of excellent. It really surpassed all expectations. Soft asparagus covered with a layer of pork grilled till crisp and a sprinkling of salt for that extra flavour. If not for the price($5.70), I would have ordered more.
The Shiitake mushroom stuffed with chicken was average really. The chicken taste overwhelmed the mushroom and it was a tad too salty.
Ebi - At $7 per relatively large prawn, its honestly quite expensive especially when there was no marination or anything, save for the dash of salt sprinkled whilst grilling. To give it credit, the prawns were sweet with a nice grilled taste. But believe me, take away the shells and the meat is minimal.
Tokusei Tsukune - Nanbantei's Tokusei Tsukune or house special meatballs, was essentially 2 skewers of meat merged into one huge and rather unsightly chunk and came served with a single raw quail's egg sliced off at the top. The meat was nicely minced with bits of uneveness but I did find the dish to be very salty probably due to the sauce. A decent dish, but not fantastic.
Shiitake - Yet another overly salty dish, the shiitake didn't come across as too dry though due to the sauce. Not something I would order again for just over $5.
Yaki Onigiri - A Japanese speciality according to the waitress, the Yaki Onigiri was rather interesting and looked very much like a corn cob. Grilled to charred and hard on the outside yet a little soft and sticky on the inside. The flavours were a mix and match of salty and spicy, which honestly was a terrible end to the meal. It definitely didn't help that bits of the charred rice were very prone to getting lodged in between my teeth.
$68 for a meal with such meagre portions is ridiculously expensive in my opinion, even though the food is fairly decent. To be fair, Nanbantei does offer set meals at $32 for 8 sticks of yakitori which does seem a better deal, but going ala carte is definitely a big no no. Drinks are expensive as well and no complimentary iced water is served.
See all my pictures here.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!U should just hoff it a little more to wasabi tei. Absolutely tasty food there.
31 Aug 2008 at 8:46 am
Occupying one of the four F&B units at a small alfresco dining area along Bukit Timah Road, Smok'inn Frogz plays neighbour to an Indian food stall, a Thai food stall and a small bar counter. And that is where its charm lies. Seating on high wooden stools against the backdrop of million dollar homes, all in a fan induced cool environment has a certain laid back charm to it.
Calamari ($8) - At $8 a basket, the calamari wasn't too expensive really and came rather well done. The batter wasn't too thick and didn't come across as too oily while the squid retained some of its elasticity and chewiness. Only thing that I thought could have been improved was the frying time. The batter was deep fried for a little too long, rendering it a darker shade of golden brown.
Homemade Beef Burger ($12)- Being a fan of beef burgers, I was most eager to try out their much raved about homemade beef burger. While the burger was very decent with the texture of the patty uneven and full of bite yet retaining its tenderness, I did find it lacking in the inherent beefy taste, which kinda took some points off the score. $12 gets you the burger and some fries with a small serving of salad as well.
$20 for a meal is rather reasonable for the quantity and quality of food. Drinks can be bought from the neighbouring stall at $1.50 per can of soft drink and if you need a quick Thai or Indian fix, there's the other stalls as well.
See all my pictures here.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!Cool, been wanting to try this forever. Too darn far for me however.
31 Aug 2008 at 8:46 am
Must try the satay from DEAN satay at the corner of the shop...tender and tasty...yummyyyy!
07 Nov 2008 at 10:08 am
Try their wrap, very tender chicken in soft wrap. Fish and chips are nice and EXTRA crispy. And the duck leg is a must try.
13 Jul 2009 at 12:31 pm
The Appetizer of BBQ Pork, Salted Vegetables, Chilli and Sesame Seeds was something that I've honestly never tried before. And it was good. The BBQ pork was sweet while the salted vegetables were salty, naturally. This balanced things out really well and the sesame seeds gave it a nice fragrance while the mild chilli spiced things up a little.
The Steamed Carrot Cake was a great dish to start off with. The carrot cake came piping hot in a small glass bowl and was very smooth without coming across as too soft and mashed up.
I've always been a fan of BBQ Pork Pastry, or better known as Char Siew Sou, so it's no surprise that this dish was in our order list. The BBQ Pork Pastry was quite well done with the pastry being flaky and a little sweet from the exterior glazing. The BBQ Pork filling was held together by a semi thick and sweet gravy, which is very unlike most of the Dim Sum places I've tried that only wraps the meat without any gravy. However, the pork itself lacked the barbequed taste - a flaw that could make or break this dish. But all in all, still an above average eat.
The Baked Egg Tart came across as pretty normal in terms of taste and texture. There was no slightly burnt crust taste which I like, but the egg filling was not too sweet, which was a plus. Other than that, just an average egg tart.
Now this dish came recommended by our server and it proved to be excellent. The fried beancurd skin was brittlely(If there's such a word) crispy with fillings of prawns and some vegetables. Dip it in the accompanying premium grade soya sauce and you get a match made it heaven. The soya sauce gives it the salty yet zesty flavour. And I'm not kidding about the premium soya sauce label. It really is of premium grade. Try it and you'll know what I mean.
Steamed prawn dumplings or better known as Har Gao is one of the de facto dishes of Dim Sum literally. Wah Lok's rendition tasted quite fine, with the shrimps evidently fresh. The skin was also relatively thin and moist.
Like the Steamed prawn dumplings, the Steamed pork dumplings aka Siu Mai, are also another de facto dish of Dim Sum. I found this rather normal, but it didn't come across as too heavy on the palate, which was a change from the nausea inducing ones that I often eat.
Century Egg porridge - This is my gf's favourite dish and although I'm no fan of it, I did find it quite good. The porridge was not too starchy neither was it too watery. I can't quite describe the taste because I honestly know nuts to nothing about Century Egg Porridge.
Shark's fin dumpling - This was the most expensive dish we ordered ($7.80 per serving) but it was well worth the money. The shark's fin soup was light and sweet and came with a few strands of inferior quality shark's fin(hey its $7.80, what do you expect?). I did find the dumpling's skin a little too soft though, probably from soaking in the soup for too long.
Fried Ice Cream - This is one rare dessert. I can't really tell you where to find this delicacy anymore. Wah Lok's rendition is different from all the others that I've tried. Here, the Mango Ice Cream is coated with a layer of Coconut shreds and flour before deep frying. The result is a crispy Coconut exterior encompassing a rather pleasant Mango Ice Cream. Quite good!
See all my pictures here.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!how old is this review? haha
10 Aug 2008 at 3:47 pm
Definitely not in recent times. Read mine for a true update.
31 Aug 2008 at 8:47 am
this review was for feb 2007 lol
31 Aug 2008 at 12:02 pm
Located under a block of HDBs at Geylang Bahru, P&P occupies a rather small and inconspicuous unit which faces the main road. The place is done up simply with white washed wall and limited tables, probably at about 10 tops, including those placed along the pavement. Air conditioning here is at a premium, with barely cool air whispering out of 2 air conditioning units.
Mango Salad - A nice appetiser would have started the meal just right, but the mango salad, though spicy, didn't taste out of the ordinary. Everything was overwhelmed by the spiciness. Also, 6 bucks does seem a tad pricey for just some shredded vegetables and fruit.
Tom Yam Soup - Served up in a small claypot, the tom yam soup was actually quite good. Clear spicy broth with an overhanging heavy dosage of zest that didn't weigh down too much on the palate. One thing I found odd about the soup was the inclusion of slices of hotdog - a sign of cost cutting?
Phad Thai - I found P&P's Phad Thai comparable to the one I had at First Thai just a couple of weeks back except that the glass noodles used in the former were slightly finer than usual. Both were of the wet variant but the prawns in P&P's offering weren't exactly fresh and that marred the experience for me. I still stand by the Phad Thai from Sweet Salty Spicy.
Olive Fried Rice - The undisputed star of our meal, the humble olive fried rice. Served with sides of egg, cashew nuts and a mixture of what seemed like dried shrimp and pork, the rice was fragrant and very well fried sans the oil with a lingering tinge of olive. I would have gone for seconds if not for the rather steep pricing ($7 for 1 scoop).
Fried Kang Kong - What looked like an ordinary dish turned out to be something rather top notch. The Kang Kong had a wok hei taste to it and was rather spicy although it didn't look the part. Only gripe I had was the excessive salt content, which can be a little overwhelming.
P&P Crispy Pork - I would have expected more from a dish bearing the name of the restaurant but sadly it came across as rather normal, if not on the salty side. The flour was crispy without being too oily but the meat did seem a little too fatty at certain parts, which made me a tad nervous about my health.
Durian Sticky Rice - I was looking forward to this delectable dessert and all hopes for a humongous portion were dashed when it came served in a small leaf shaped plate. The glutinous rice was a tad savoury with lots of bite while the durian flesh was sweet but rather runny. Drizzled with coconut milk, the entire dish made for a very nice ending. However $10 for such a small portion is a rip off in my humble opinion.
$57 for 3 pax isn't exactly expensive but I wouldn't deem it cheap either. Food quality is actually quite decent and personally I prefer it to First Thai. Price wise, both are comparable but service and ambience at P&P is definitely better. When we finished my dinner at about 7pm on a Sunday evening, there were still a few tables empty so I guess having no queues is a plus point too. One thing to note though, P&P doesn't serve free ice water. Its 50 cents for a refillable cup.
See all my pictures here.
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