Parkway Thai Restaurant's latest introduction to the culinary scene is one that fuses Thai and Spanish cuisine together - Limon, which started operations about a month ago in early August. I believe Limon is a portmanteau of the words lime and lemon, which was also used to market Sprite (the soft drink) a couple of decades ago.
Occupying the former premises of the restaurant turned food centre stall Cilantro along Purvis Street, Limon plays neighbour to more illustrious eateries like Garibaldi, Yhingthai Palace and Gunther's. The first floor of Limon spans out into the wine bar while the restaurant and private dining room sits on the second and third floor respectively. The restaurant's interior is somewhat muted but boasts a cosy sitting arrangement (about 20pax or so) complete with wooden flooring and large olden style post war architecture windows. Personally I liked the private room, which comes with a glass partition that overlooks part of the second floor and also the windows.
Limon's Special Nut Mix & Complimentary Bread - Honestly I thought that the mixture of peanuts, cashew nuts, pecan nuts and walnuts were rather interesting with lemongrass and chilli thrown into the concoction. It provided a nice twist to the usual boring nuts you get.
On the other hand, I found the complimentary bread way too hard and dry for my liking. And the accompanying dips and margarine didn't help, save for the tangy tomato dip.
Cream of Pumpkin & Tom Kha Guy - The cream of pumpkin wasn't your usual excessively sweet and coagulated version, coming across as mildly sweet without forcing the pumpkin taste down your throat.
Personally I prefered the Tom Kha Guy or the coconut base chicken soup, which excited the palates more with its variety of flavours. Mildly sweet yet sourish and creamy with bits of cut chilli padi to give it a light spice. Very much like robust tom yam soup without the spiciness. I appreciated the adequate slices of chicken and mushrooms as well.
Paella with Seafood, Spanish Sausage & Broad Beans - Paella is a Spanish rice dish which involves cooking spanish rice in a specialised pan called paella or paellera, which is round and shallow with splayed sides. I thought that this dish was quite good as the spanish rice was plump and short, absorbing in the sublime garlicky flavours yet didn't come across as too creamy or sticky like risotto. The spattering of fresh seafood definitely helped in enhancing the dish, making it the undisputed star of the day.
Lobster and King Prawns Phad Thai - I was envisioning a baby lobster flanked by 2 king prawns served on a bed of phad thai but woke up to the sad reality when this dish was served. I made out 2 small cubes of lobster playing second fiddle to a lone upright prawn, whose size didn't exactly befit that of a king. Small portions aside, the prawn and the lobster cubes were overly salty but the glass noodles were springy with a hint of tomato sauce and fell into the dry category, which I personally prefer. Could have done with more grounded nuts though.
Caramel Flan - This heart shape dessert came served with a piece of hard sugar, also carved out into a heart. The pudding reminded me of a more robust and rougher version of creme brulee. The egg taste did come across as a little overwhelming and there was a tinge of lemongrass in the sidelines. Interestingly, the sugar heart tasted like 麦芽糖 or Maltose, which brought back childhood memories.
Tom Banana with Pandanus Leaf and Coconut Sauce - Honestly this was the only dish that I didn't quite take to, mainly because of its soft and rather fibrous texture. The banana was boiled till it became limp but not too mashed up and it reminded me of boiled sweet potato. Sorry but this dessert just didn't do it for me.
All thanks to a 1 for 1 set lunch promotion that Limon is currently offering, the 2 of us chalked up only about $41 for a satisfying and rather enjoyable lunch. Service was decent and personally I thought that the iced water they served was rather interesting with the addition of rosemary. To conclude, I honestly don't see much of a fusion in Limon's dishes and those small pockets of fusion would probably be classified under conservative. However, having said that, I do think that Limon's dishes are of a certain quality and for $20/head (after 1 for 1 discount), its definitely a steal. Please note that the set lunch promotion is ongoing for an undefinite period of time and runs from Monday to Saturday.
Had a dinner there with my friend and enjoyed it very much.
We were served by a few very polite service staff and was asked to choose 2 out of 6 soup bases.
We chose Mother Hen Chinese Herbal Soup (Good aphrodisiac tonic soup) and Authentic Tom Yam Soup.
There rest of the soup base options were:
· Fish Bone Chinese Herbal Soup (Good aphrodisiac tonic soup)
· Traditional Chinese (Ma-Lak) Spicy Soup
· Traditional Hot & Spicy Soup
· Traditional Chinese Herbal Pork Belly Soup
The soups were nice, esp the Authentic Tom Yam Soup.
There was also quite a variety of seafood, meat and vegetable to choose.
I guess they were refilled quite fast because I didn't see them run out though there were many customers that night.
Those not at the buffet table (have to choose from the ordering list) were:
Seafood range includes : Live Crab, Fresh Prawn, Sliced Fish, Sea cucumber, Cuttle Fish, Squid (Sotong), Cockle, etc.
Fresh Meat range includes : Sliced Pork, Sliced Chicken, Sliced Beef, Sliced Mutton, etc.
Fresh Organ range includes : Pork Kidney, intestines, Liver, stomach, Beef Tripe
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Many Others at the buffet table include fresh vegetables, ManTou, mushrooms etc.
The staff were a polite and gentle bunch of people.
And I find the price quite reasonable.
Will definitely go there for another steamboat buffet =)
Was planning to have dinner at Amirah's neighbor stall, but was told it was already fully booked for that night. In order not to stay hungry for too long, we decided to give Amirah a try. The place was already packed with customers when we arrived as it was time to break fast.
We quickly ordered our food and thought the food would be served quickly. Well, our drinks did come almost immediately after our orders. But the rest took too long to come.
We ordered Hummus and Moutabel which are served with baskets of pita bread. The dishes were served cold but it took so long! The taste isn't as good as those I'd tasted few nights before at its neighbor's stall. But still not bad. The Moutabel lacked the texture that I wanted, perhaps their onion/garlic was over chopped. The pita bread served was not very good too. Some was either too tough or too soft.
Also ordered the mixed grill main course as seen in the photo. The meat were all rather tough to chew, was rather blunt and lacks in flavor. This only passable imo.
Overall the food is still considered as acceptable. Will probably not return for a next round due to the long waiting time and not so flavorful dishes.
(This review might seem a little unfair as I had a better experience few days before this nearby. Go give it a try and judge it yourself.) :)
Those who like savoury rich food should come to lai lai. Serving authentic taiwanese street fare, Lai Lai is a total Gem...
I love the Lu Ruo Fan the Best. Richly Braised Pork with nuts in a tasty soya sauce and some sour preserved veg... It is THE BEST i have ever eaten. Thinking about it makes my mouth water... They have other food like Red Vermicillia... Is that how u spell Mee Swar... and also their braised beef noodle is also a killer. I like the fact that they use pearl rice.. Its nice tasty and chewy... Very Very Yummy! A good assortments of interesting dishes.. which i will not mention and You will find out for yourself what you like best.
For snacks i prefer the chessy funky prata... It has many ingredients inside yet smaller then the muthabak... Very interesting and yummy.. A MUST TRY!
The drinks are interesting too.. I always love the pearl milk tea and i still do...... the pearl is so QQ so Chewy and have a tinge of honey sweet inside. Another must try is their yoghurt drink. Thats what I call healthy yummy food..
Have a taste of Taiwan.. Come to Lai Lai.. Now we know why Wu Zhong Xian don't want to migrate.... Food is So good... Who wants to leave.........
I love Popiah. I like the crunchy peanuts crush and juicy turnip fillings. It’s hard to find a good one these days. Be it the tried type or the handmade type.
I went to the newly renovated hawker centre in Chinatown for dinner. I found one Popiah stall - An Zhen (安珍).
This stall DIY the Popiah Skin. They also sell Fried Yam roll. But I only tried their Popiah. The skin is crispy. What I like most is the little crispy inside. I duno what it is though. I find that the filling is a bit little. I prefer those FAT and JUICY type. However, my Dear Dear who dun really take Vegetable, surprisingly LOVE this stall’s Popiah very much. He even went for a second helping! Haaaa…. The queue is super long! He said he cannot taste much of the vegetables but alot of the sweet crispy crunch. :D
White Dog Cafe-- Indeed a catchy name to recall. With its funky artistically designed Interior Deco. One cannot help but want to explore this place a bit...
Situated in a not so crowded corner of our really vivo VIVOCITY, is another fun restaurant which serves excellently priced set lunches for all our dear lunch yuppies out there..
The setting is great.. with long tables for your big group of colleagues and nice cosy couches for the shopping break tai tais..... This cafe provides a great view of the viewing deck outside as well as the reconstructing Sentosa.. Our Only NEARBY, CHIC and Most Funnest GETAWAY.. With Beach Hunks and that Ooh so sexy low hanging Board Shorts.. Oops.. Don't get me started on that man..... Well the view is great... and whats better to ease up the mood then a nice cute jug of iccy.... coool... Water with slices of Lemons... I just can't Get Enough Of That.. Healthy and No CALORIES.. BEST OF ALL.... ITS FREE
The set lunches are priced pretty seductively.. with much choices to offer... You've got Pizza.. Sandwiches.. Pasta.. Baked Rice.... Chicken Chops and much much more..
Though the soup of the day didn't really make my day, the Pizza did the job. Thinned Crispy crust with a good deal of ingredients.. Its not to die for but acceptably good for a slim lunch... The baked rice taste Normal however.. the rice beneath the chunky cheese Cover is full of sauce and flavour.. which is what i like....
Interesting place.... Must go at least once in your lifetime.... if not Dog will become Elephant.... White Elephant... heehee!!!
Recommended by a friend, so I went for lunch with some colleagues.
We ordered two items to share:
Gnocchi Di Patate It’s Potato base Pasta which they all it Potato Dumplings (Gnocchi) cooked in tomato sauce with cream and mushroom. Very chewy. I personally like it a lot.
Carnivora I do not take beef. But my colleagues are Carnivores so we order this which is full of meat - bacon, ham, chicken sausage, pepperoni (BEEF). Haaaa… I removed all the pepperoni ate it. I do like the thin crust. It’s good. Not too dry. But too much will kill me coz its too MEATY!
Their service is a bit slow even though there are not many customers. I guess its because they freshly bake everything. They only make the pizza when you order.
Suppose to meet my JC classmates at City Hall for dinner, but the place was too crowded with people going for COMEX, so we switch to Plaza Singapura. She recommended the Curry Omu Rice at Kyoto Sabo AjiTei. Initially I dun really want to go coz its under the same brand of Ajisen. Which I hated their so-called RAMEN. Anyway, as long as I dun order for RAMEN, it should be fine.
Both of us ordered this - Chicken Katsu Curry Omu Rice. It’s not too bad. The chicken katsu is crispy. The curry sauce is not too sweet nor spicy. The egg crepe is thin enough.
The Pork Wrapped Asparagus is delicious! The pork is not too tough. Just right!
This is definitely my FAVOURITE! IKA Tempura with Curry powder! It’s an interesting match! Haaaa… But the batter seems to be too thick. :p
Walked pass this cafe everytime, but din really thought of trying it, until I got the promo flyer about their ECONOMIC set meals. Heeheee…
Though they put up that the 20% discount is until 6pm, I went there around 9pm plus, they still automatically give me a 20% discount. Maybe becoz its a MONDAY. :p Soup of the day - Cream of Asparagus Thick and smooth and not too strong of the asparagus taste. Good.
Roast Chicken with linguine Delicious! But I think the sauce is more for the olive stir fried linguine than for the roast chicken. :p
Chicken Baked Rice Still prefer the White Dog’s Cafe.
Dessert - vanilla ice-cream Haaa… it’s the blue tub - Marigold’s ICE CREAM!
Kopitiam literally translates into 咖啡店 or coffeeshop which is synonymous (to a certain extent) with affordable local food. However, this offering by Swissotel Singapore promises the best of local favourites at a premium price in an air conditioned environment coupled with good service.
Hidden in a corner on the second level of Fairmont, Kopitiam plays neighbour to Cafe Swiss. Decor is kept simple and uncluttered with green wooden top tables and mugs that are reminiscent of kopitiams in the old days. There's even a few push cart type stall fronts where chefs will prepare local favourites like popiah to mimic the days of old.
Popiah - This has got to be the most expensive popiah that I've eaten in Singapore, standing at $7 a roll. Brimming with ingredients, shreds of slipper lobster inclusive, the popiah looked like it could burst anytime with its thin but hardly chewy and tasteless skin. Honestly, as a whole, the popiah was tasteless. Only the taste of chilli prevailed.
Tahu Telur - Honestly, tahu telur to me is mainly comfort food and Kopitiam's rendition reminded me of those you can get at food courts islandwide - average and not the least bit outstanding. The tofu was rather chunky and I found this dish a little too sweet for my liking. The only thing I thought was quite good was the egg, which was deep fried to a crisp.
Bak Kut Teh - I've always been a fan of bak kut teh, especially the Teochew variant, which this offering didn't fall under. $15.50 got me 5 medium sized ribs, a bowl of dough fritters and rice. The ribs were actually quite good, meaty and coming across as tender with a mild bite. The soup was a tad too sweet for my liking but definitely not as sweet as the one I had at Empire Cafe, probably due to the noticable absence of wolfberries. Did I mention that the dough fritters were crackling but didn't taste fresh?
Hainanese Chicken Rice - One of the most iconic dishes of Singapore and purportedly a signature of this place, the humble Hainanese chicken rice looked disproportionately small for $17. I'm pretty sure you can get the same quantity of chicken at a hawker centre for about $3-$4. That aside, the chicken was succulent and tender without being too fatty or salty. The rice was not too oily and fragrant but a tad undercooked. Definitely not as tasty as I had expected it to be. But then again, I guess you sacrifice taste when you cut down on the oil.
Without discount, the bill came up to a shocking $61.20, which is preposterous in my humble opinion. Street food, even in "high class" restaurants, really shouldn't cost an arm or a leg. Kopi Tiam Singapore Restaurant may be effective in showcasing Singapore's culturally diverse local food to tourists but it certainly doesn't strike a chord with me, not with the prices.
1=SGD 0.0587
Parkway Thai Restaurant's latest introduction to the culinary scene is one that fuses Thai and Spanish cuisine together - Limon, which started operations about a month ago in early August. I believe Limon is a portmanteau of the words lime and lemon, which was also used to market Sprite (the soft drink) a couple of decades ago.
Occupying the former premises of the restaurant turned food centre stall Cilantro along Purvis Street, Limon plays neighbour to more illustrious eateries like Garibaldi, Yhingthai Palace and Gunther's. The first floor of Limon spans out into the wine bar while the restaurant and private dining room sits on the second and third floor respectively. The restaurant's interior is somewhat muted but boasts a cosy sitting arrangement (about 20pax or so) complete with wooden flooring and large olden style post war architecture windows. Personally I liked the private room, which comes with a glass partition that overlooks part of the second floor and also the windows.
Limon's Special Nut Mix & Complimentary Bread - Honestly I thought that the mixture of peanuts, cashew nuts, pecan nuts and walnuts were rather interesting with lemongrass and chilli thrown into the concoction. It provided a nice twist to the usual boring nuts you get.
On the other hand, I found the complimentary bread way too hard and dry for my liking. And the accompanying dips and margarine didn't help, save for the tangy tomato dip.
Cream of Pumpkin & Tom Kha Guy - The cream of pumpkin wasn't your usual excessively sweet and coagulated version, coming across as mildly sweet without forcing the pumpkin taste down your throat.
Personally I prefered the Tom Kha Guy or the coconut base chicken soup, which excited the palates more with its variety of flavours. Mildly sweet yet sourish and creamy with bits of cut chilli padi to give it a light spice. Very much like robust tom yam soup without the spiciness. I appreciated the adequate slices of chicken and mushrooms as well.
Paella with Seafood, Spanish Sausage & Broad Beans - Paella is a Spanish rice dish which involves cooking spanish rice in a specialised pan called paella or paellera, which is round and shallow with splayed sides. I thought that this dish was quite good as the spanish rice was plump and short, absorbing in the sublime garlicky flavours yet didn't come across as too creamy or sticky like risotto. The spattering of fresh seafood definitely helped in enhancing the dish, making it the undisputed star of the day.
Lobster and King Prawns Phad Thai - I was envisioning a baby lobster flanked by 2 king prawns served on a bed of phad thai but woke up to the sad reality when this dish was served. I made out 2 small cubes of lobster playing second fiddle to a lone upright prawn, whose size didn't exactly befit that of a king. Small portions aside, the prawn and the lobster cubes were overly salty but the glass noodles were springy with a hint of tomato sauce and fell into the dry category, which I personally prefer. Could have done with more grounded nuts though.
Caramel Flan - This heart shape dessert came served with a piece of hard sugar, also carved out into a heart. The pudding reminded me of a more robust and rougher version of creme brulee. The egg taste did come across as a little overwhelming and there was a tinge of lemongrass in the sidelines. Interestingly, the sugar heart tasted like 麦芽糖 or Maltose, which brought back childhood memories.
Tom Banana with Pandanus Leaf and Coconut Sauce - Honestly this was the only dish that I didn't quite take to, mainly because of its soft and rather fibrous texture. The banana was boiled till it became limp but not too mashed up and it reminded me of boiled sweet potato. Sorry but this dessert just didn't do it for me.
All thanks to a 1 for 1 set lunch promotion that Limon is currently offering, the 2 of us chalked up only about $41 for a satisfying and rather enjoyable lunch. Service was decent and personally I thought that the iced water they served was rather interesting with the addition of rosemary. To conclude, I honestly don't see much of a fusion in Limon's dishes and those small pockets of fusion would probably be classified under conservative. However, having said that, I do think that Limon's dishes are of a certain quality and for $20/head (after 1 for 1 discount), its definitely a steal. Please note that the set lunch promotion is ongoing for an undefinite period of time and runs from Monday to Saturday.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Had a dinner there with my friend and enjoyed it very much.
We were served by a few very polite service staff and was asked to choose 2 out of 6 soup bases.
We chose Mother Hen Chinese Herbal Soup (Good aphrodisiac tonic soup) and Authentic Tom Yam Soup.
There rest of the soup base options were:
· Fish Bone Chinese Herbal Soup (Good aphrodisiac tonic soup)
· Traditional Chinese (Ma-Lak) Spicy Soup
· Traditional Hot & Spicy Soup
· Traditional Chinese Herbal Pork Belly Soup
The soups were nice, esp the Authentic Tom Yam Soup.
There was also quite a variety of seafood, meat and vegetable to choose.
I guess they were refilled quite fast because I didn't see them run out though there were many customers that night.
Those not at the buffet table (have to choose from the ordering list) were:
Seafood range includes : Live Crab, Fresh Prawn, Sliced Fish, Sea cucumber, Cuttle Fish, Squid (Sotong), Cockle, etc.
Fresh Meat range includes : Sliced Pork, Sliced Chicken, Sliced Beef, Sliced Mutton, etc.
Fresh Organ range includes : Pork Kidney, intestines, Liver, stomach, Beef Tripe
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Many Others at the buffet table include fresh vegetables, ManTou, mushrooms etc.
The staff were a polite and gentle bunch of people.
And I find the price quite reasonable.
Will definitely go there for another steamboat buffet =)
Rating given:
Was planning to have dinner at Amirah's neighbor stall, but was told it was already fully booked for that night. In order not to stay hungry for too long, we decided to give Amirah a try. The place was already packed with customers when we arrived as it was time to break fast.
We quickly ordered our food and thought the food would be served quickly. Well, our drinks did come almost immediately after our orders. But the rest took too long to come.
We ordered Hummus and Moutabel which are served with baskets of pita bread. The dishes were served cold but it took so long! The taste isn't as good as those I'd tasted few nights before at its neighbor's stall. But still not bad. The Moutabel lacked the texture that I wanted, perhaps their onion/garlic was over chopped. The pita bread served was not very good too. Some was either too tough or too soft.
Also ordered the mixed grill main course as seen in the photo. The meat were all rather tough to chew, was rather blunt and lacks in flavor. This only passable imo.
Overall the food is still considered as acceptable. Will probably not return for a next round due to the long waiting time and not so flavorful dishes.
(This review might seem a little unfair as I had a better experience few days before this nearby. Go give it a try and judge it yourself.) :)
Rating given:
Those who like savoury rich food should come to lai lai. Serving authentic taiwanese street fare, Lai Lai is a total Gem...
I love the Lu Ruo Fan the Best. Richly Braised Pork with nuts in a tasty soya sauce and some sour preserved veg... It is THE BEST i have ever eaten. Thinking about it makes my mouth water... They have other food like Red Vermicillia... Is that how u spell Mee Swar... and also their braised beef noodle is also a killer. I like the fact that they use pearl rice.. Its nice tasty and chewy... Very Very Yummy! A good assortments of interesting dishes.. which i will not mention and You will find out for yourself what you like best.
For snacks i prefer the chessy funky prata... It has many ingredients inside yet smaller then the muthabak... Very interesting and yummy.. A MUST TRY!
The drinks are interesting too.. I always love the pearl milk tea and i still do...... the pearl is so QQ so Chewy and have a tinge of honey sweet inside. Another must try is their yoghurt drink. Thats what I call healthy yummy food..
Have a taste of Taiwan.. Come to Lai Lai.. Now we know why Wu Zhong Xian don't want to migrate.... Food is So good... Who wants to leave.........
Rating given:
I love Popiah. I like the crunchy peanuts crush and juicy turnip fillings. It’s hard to find a good one these days. Be it the tried type or the handmade type.
I went to the newly renovated hawker centre in Chinatown for dinner. I found one Popiah stall - An Zhen (安珍).
This stall DIY the Popiah Skin. They also sell Fried Yam roll. But I only tried their Popiah. The skin is crispy. What I like most is the little crispy inside. I duno what it is though. I find that the filling is a bit little. I prefer those FAT and JUICY type. However, my Dear Dear who dun really take Vegetable, surprisingly LOVE this stall’s Popiah very much. He even went for a second helping! Haaaa…. The queue is super long! He said he cannot taste much of the vegetables but alot of the sweet crispy crunch. :D
Rating given:
White Dog Cafe-- Indeed a catchy name to recall. With its funky artistically designed Interior Deco. One cannot help but want to explore this place a bit...
Situated in a not so crowded corner of our really vivo VIVOCITY, is another fun restaurant which serves excellently priced set lunches for all our dear lunch yuppies out there..
The setting is great.. with long tables for your big group of colleagues and nice cosy couches for the shopping break tai tais..... This cafe provides a great view of the viewing deck outside as well as the reconstructing Sentosa.. Our Only NEARBY, CHIC and Most Funnest GETAWAY.. With Beach Hunks and that Ooh so sexy low hanging Board Shorts.. Oops.. Don't get me started on that man..... Well the view is great... and whats better to ease up the mood then a nice cute jug of iccy.... coool... Water with slices of Lemons... I just can't Get Enough Of That.. Healthy and No CALORIES.. BEST OF ALL.... ITS FREE
The set lunches are priced pretty seductively.. with much choices to offer... You've got Pizza.. Sandwiches.. Pasta.. Baked Rice.... Chicken Chops and much much more..
Though the soup of the day didn't really make my day, the Pizza did the job. Thinned Crispy crust with a good deal of ingredients.. Its not to die for but acceptably good for a slim lunch... The baked rice taste Normal however.. the rice beneath the chunky cheese Cover is full of sauce and flavour.. which is what i like....
Interesting place.... Must go at least once in your lifetime.... if not Dog will become Elephant.... White Elephant... heehee!!!
Support the humble restaurants!!!
Rating given:
Recommended by a friend, so I went for lunch with some colleagues.
We ordered two items to share:
Gnocchi Di Patate
It’s Potato base Pasta which they all it Potato Dumplings (Gnocchi) cooked in tomato sauce with cream and mushroom. Very chewy. I personally like it a lot.
Carnivora
I do not take beef. But my colleagues are Carnivores so we order this which is full of meat - bacon, ham, chicken sausage, pepperoni (BEEF). Haaaa… I removed all the pepperoni ate it. I do like the thin crust. It’s good. Not too dry. But too much will kill me coz its too MEATY!
Their service is a bit slow even though there are not many customers. I guess its because they freshly bake everything. They only make the pizza when you order.
Rating given:
Suppose to meet my JC classmates at City Hall for dinner, but the place was too crowded with people going for COMEX, so we switch to Plaza Singapura. She recommended the Curry Omu Rice at Kyoto Sabo AjiTei. Initially I dun really want to go coz its under the same brand of Ajisen. Which I hated their so-called RAMEN. Anyway, as long as I dun order for RAMEN, it should be fine.
Both of us ordered this - Chicken Katsu Curry Omu Rice. It’s not too bad. The chicken katsu is crispy. The curry sauce is not too sweet nor spicy. The egg crepe is thin enough.
The Pork Wrapped Asparagus is delicious! The pork is not too tough. Just right!
This is definitely my FAVOURITE! IKA Tempura with Curry powder! It’s an interesting match! Haaaa… But the batter seems to be too thick. :p
Rating given:
Walked pass this cafe everytime, but din really thought of trying it, until I got the promo flyer about their ECONOMIC set meals. Heeheee…
Though they put up that the 20% discount is until 6pm, I went there around 9pm plus, they still automatically give me a 20% discount. Maybe becoz its a MONDAY. :p
Soup of the day - Cream of Asparagus
Thick and smooth and not too strong of the asparagus taste. Good.
Roast Chicken with linguine
Delicious! But I think the sauce is more for the olive stir fried linguine than for the roast chicken. :p
Chicken Baked Rice
Still prefer the White Dog’s Cafe.
Dessert - vanilla ice-cream
Haaa… it’s the blue tub - Marigold’s ICE CREAM!
Rating given:
Kopitiam literally translates into 咖啡店 or coffeeshop which is synonymous (to a certain extent) with affordable local food. However, this offering by Swissotel Singapore promises the best of local favourites at a premium price in an air conditioned environment coupled with good service.
Hidden in a corner on the second level of Fairmont, Kopitiam plays neighbour to Cafe Swiss. Decor is kept simple and uncluttered with green wooden top tables and mugs that are reminiscent of kopitiams in the old days. There's even a few push cart type stall fronts where chefs will prepare local favourites like popiah to mimic the days of old.
Popiah - This has got to be the most expensive popiah that I've eaten in Singapore, standing at $7 a roll. Brimming with ingredients, shreds of slipper lobster inclusive, the popiah looked like it could burst anytime with its thin but hardly chewy and tasteless skin. Honestly, as a whole, the popiah was tasteless. Only the taste of chilli prevailed.
Tahu Telur - Honestly, tahu telur to me is mainly comfort food and Kopitiam's rendition reminded me of those you can get at food courts islandwide - average and not the least bit outstanding. The tofu was rather chunky and I found this dish a little too sweet for my liking. The only thing I thought was quite good was the egg, which was deep fried to a crisp.
Bak Kut Teh - I've always been a fan of bak kut teh, especially the Teochew variant, which this offering didn't fall under. $15.50 got me 5 medium sized ribs, a bowl of dough fritters and rice. The ribs were actually quite good, meaty and coming across as tender with a mild bite. The soup was a tad too sweet for my liking but definitely not as sweet as the one I had at Empire Cafe, probably due to the noticable absence of wolfberries. Did I mention that the dough fritters were crackling but didn't taste fresh?
Hainanese Chicken Rice - One of the most iconic dishes of Singapore and purportedly a signature of this place, the humble Hainanese chicken rice looked disproportionately small for $17. I'm pretty sure you can get the same quantity of chicken at a hawker centre for about $3-$4. That aside, the chicken was succulent and tender without being too fatty or salty. The rice was not too oily and fragrant but a tad undercooked. Definitely not as tasty as I had expected it to be. But then again, I guess you sacrifice taste when you cut down on the oil.
Without discount, the bill came up to a shocking $61.20, which is preposterous in my humble opinion. Street food, even in "high class" restaurants, really shouldn't cost an arm or a leg. Kopi Tiam Singapore Restaurant may be effective in showcasing Singapore's culturally diverse local food to tourists but it certainly doesn't strike a chord with me, not with the prices.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given: