Finally I've decided to give Cafe Cartel a try and since this is my first time going to Cafe Cartel for dinner, I expected to be overwhelmed by what they have, judging from the food posters displayed outside their shop entrance. I'd say the choices in their menu wasn't that spectacular as I had expected more choices inside though.
My mother and I chose the Sirloin Steak with Texas Ranch Mushroom Sauce, though the serving doesn't seem like what my mother had described to me (she had went there before with her friends and mentioned that the portions were quite a lot), the Texas Ranch Mushroom Sauce was quite a fresh taste compared to Delifrance.
Then we each ordered an Oreo Espresso and a Cartel Special (coffee drink) respectively and I would dare say the Oreo Espresso was a nice touch, compared to the regular espressos you can find elsewhere although the Cartel Special is just really plain latte with whipped cream and it just seems a little lacklustre since this drink is called the "Cartel Special".
We ended off the meal with a slice of Bitter Chocolate Fudge Cake (I wanted the Jamaican Banana Rum but they were sold out), though I find it weird that they serve the cake on a plate with some weird yellow stain on it. And as expected, the chocolate is bitter, but the bitterness is still within control and tastes quite good. The only grouse here is that the fudge seems a tad too much, but then less fudge means you won't taste the "bitterness" in the chocolate cake.
The only one main complaint I have? That they presumed every customer wanted a complimentary ice cold water. I'd prefer to have a cup of warm water and I would have preferred it if they would ask if I would want ice cold or warm water. But still, service is prompt in a sense that they serve water and bread as soon as you sat down.
I'd still go back to Cafe Cartel again for a good meal, but I figured I have to request for warm water instead.
I got to know about this shop from a renovation forum while doing renovations in my home. I favoured this over the regular Jalan Besar shops cos it's away from all the light-shoppers AND it's much nearer to where I live. Moreover I'm more familiar with Geylang. But I hadn't shopped for lights before then and wasn't sure what to expect.
I liked the shop instantly on sight. It was in a corner of a pretty rundown building. What I liked was that it wasn't one of those big snobbish looking lighting stores (like some others I passed along the way there). It looked exactly like what it was.. a family run business with nice warm friendly smiles. Alex is the young man in charge and he certainly knows his products well! If you see a light that you liked in another shop you can just describe it to him and he will know it instantly.
The shop itself is quite small though they try to cramp as much as possible on display. He knows lights pretty well so he can source for lights which aren't on display in his shop. I think the prices in his shop are very competitive and certainly much cheaper than the bigger fancy stores I went to on the same stretch. He has the same designs too! I think Alex's resourcefulness really makes up for the lack of variety (his shop is small rem?).
On top of that they have ceiling fans of almost every brand there and it's good to talk to Alex about ceiling fans because he can really advise on what size and brand to buy.
I think the best part was that they weren't pushy. We went back three times and only bought on the third trip. AND Alex remembered us and our requirements even after a few days. In fact, he remembered my sister even after a few weeks!
With good prices, prompt delivery and good service, I think this shop is really worth visiting if you're looking for lights!!
Situated right in the centre of Palais Renaissance, you can find this place easily as it's at the foot of the escalator. My galfriend and I went there on a weekday afternoon just before lunch hours so we had the luxury of choosing any seat we wanted. I had expected it to remain quiet save for a few tai-tais but BOY was I wrong. At noon, the whole place filled up.
We sat for quite a bit, chatting and taking a long time going through the menu. Throughout that time, no iced water was served. I thought that this is one of those that refuse to serve water so I commented about it to my friend. She laughed and replied that you have to ASK for it though it's free. That really puzzled me.
Food ordered:
Linguini with crabmeat tomato chllis and pinenuts $22 I had this dish. Don't be fooled but that little lump. It really is quite a filling portion. The pinenuts added a nice crunchy texture to the pasta and the pasta was suitably done. The downside of this dish was the sauce. It tasted fine on the first few bites but halfway I really couldn't stand the fishy taste of the crabmeat anymore. It was also unbearably salty after a while and I didn't finish my pasta.
Scrambled Eggs with Sausage on Toast and Field Mushrooms $18 The description forgot to add that it had fries too. My friend ordered it, thinking it sounded like a great brunch only to be surprised by the large serving of fries that came with it. The combination was a little odd but each item tasted fine on their own. I didn't relish putting them altogether in one mouthful though.
Deluxe Chocolate Pecan Brownie Again, the description failed to include that there was ice cream served with this brownie (although I do know that most places have ice cream but it's not quite polite to assume.) If I had known this, I would have requested for the ice cream to placed on a separate dish. Not to mention if you take a good look at my picture, the ice cream was already melting when it arrived. Since my friend and I had no intention of having the ice cream in the first place we didn't ask for a change. I found the brownie a little too dry for my taste and the chocolate taste wasn't strong enough. It was more like a cake with a hard crust. We chatted for 3 hours and managed to finish this in the end. No easy feat though.
The staff were quite efficient in taking orders and serving but they lack a certain warmth. I guess that's their style.
Would I go back again? Only if a good friend suggested it.
The first time we saw this stall, we thought that maybe we should try it out as my mother and I are always trying out the 牛肉河粉 (Beef Hor Fun) stalls we can find and sadly though, it always disappoint. But 安记 is different in a way that their beef is generous and chunky, and for SGD4.00 I would absolutely say it is worth my money. But be warned that this stall are opened in the morning but closed from afternoon time (roughly from 1pm onwards) and only opened again in the evening to cater to the dinner crowd. But still, it is definitely worth the wait for the 牛肉河粉 (Beef Hor Fun)。 By the way, try their 鱼片生面 (Fish Slice Crispy Noodle) as it's also delicious and their sliced fish is very fresh.
Once again, I got served by cafe staffs who can't be bothered to listen to their customers orders. I've order 2 DOUBLE espressos and a regular black forest ice blend. And like the manager who served me at the Takashimaya branch, this staff repeated my order for me but keyed in 2 SINGLE espressos and a regular black forest ice blended.
I don't understand why the staffs and managers at Coffee Bean & Tea Leafs can repeat the orders which their customer(s) placed, but keyed in something totally different on their cash registers. Is it that hard to give customers what they wanted?
And I'm also sick of the fact that when I ordered a double espresso, they would give me a sorry-ass looking face and proceed to explain to me what are double espressos. I mean, come on, customers are getting more smart nowadays and anyone can google espresso on the Internet before going to a cafe to get their cuppa, alright?
Previously, my family had always bought from the porridge stall right opposite Kee Lin Beef Kway Teow stall. But when the porridge stall started increasing their prices, we ate from Kee Lin Beef Kway Teow and wasn't disappointed in our choice. The prices are affordable and the chilli sauce goes very well with the beef. And we definitely have to go to this stall for breakfast whenever we are eating at Chinatown Complex. The shop owners are also friendly and I'm positively sure that most readers will know that Kee Lin Beef Kway Teow was recommended in newspapers before too.
My family have been patronising this chicken rice stall for many years, ever since I was young, up till now. True that the prices of chicken rice at Chinatown Complex are somewhat similar, due to the competitiveness. But what sets this stall apart from the rest is that, they offer traditional Cantonese soups for their customers too. Unlike most other stalls that you can find art hawker centres, coffee shops and food courts that offer soups that tastes almost the same, Tai Weng Chicken Rice stall is truly unique as they really make the effort to come up with different soups all the time. That’s what keep us coming back to this stall for more!!
Well, every time I visit Chinatown for my family's makan session, it won't be complete without a visit to 115 Dessert Stall. This stall may look simple and the choices might not be as varied as those from your typical foodcourt. But by looking at the crowd of middle-age and elderly customers, it's a sure sign that this dessert stall is a "lao zhi hao". Don't play play, as other desserts stall around Chinatown Complex pales in comparison when it comes to 115 Dessert Stall. Don't believe me, go and try their desserts. You'll be on cloud nine after eating a bowl of their desserts!!
Thanks to a dear friend, I got a chance to enjoy their lunch buffet recently. According to her, the variety of dishes has become lesser as compared to before they renovated and moved up the place. Not sure how long ago was that thou.
When I was there, the crowd were mostly the senior citizens who've retired and has lots of time (and money) to spend. There were also families and taitai look-alike there. If not for the lunch meeting, I would probably never have a chance to dine at such a place.
The food though variety is not plentiful, but the spread was good enough for lunch. And the most important thing is that its fresh and taste very well.
My favorite from that day was the Thai Seafood Curry, Fresh Salmon Sashimi, couple of the appertisers and the hazelnut chocolate cake from the desserts bar.
And the highlight at Rose Veranda is the huge variety of tea available free-flow(!!!) for customers. I spent 15minutes going through and deciding which to try. If I had the time, I would have ordered like few options (one after another) to try more varieties.
Rose Veranda is a great place to spend the afternoon with friends over good quality tea and great food. The setting is very comfortable and they've got very comfy sofa seats too.
If you're planning to give it a try, don't forget to call for reservations! Even if its on a weekday!
Its one of those rare days where you'll find me in a KTV room. But after that night with the crazy bunch, I think I'll be visiting these cosy rooms pretty often! They made KTV so fun and enjoyable! It's the best session I've had in years!
Like all KTV places, there'll be the standard fruit platters and tidbits which you're "forced" to pay for. And imo, the tidbits is to make our throat feel uncomfortable so that we will order more drinks to smoothen it so we can sing more songs/ better. But of course, you can choose not to those these tidbits and let it lao hong (gets soften) over the 4 hours in the air con room.
The collection of songs was great and about 85% of those we selected were of original mtv. The sound system was very good too. Except for one of the mic in our room which couldn't be turned off. The room was just nice for 9 of us, and the sofas were clean and comfortable too.
One thing I learned about singing at KTV rooms is never to go late! If you book the room at 10pm, be there on time. Their clock starts counting from 10pm instead of 10.30pm where we finally got settled in the room. So instead of the full 4 hours of singing time, we sang for only 3.5 hours.
I'm so looking forward to our next session together! Let's try their other outlets too!
1=SGD 0.0587
Finally I've decided to give Cafe Cartel a try and since this is my first time going to Cafe Cartel for dinner, I expected to be overwhelmed by what they have, judging from the food posters displayed outside their shop entrance. I'd say the choices in their menu wasn't that spectacular as I had expected more choices inside though.
My mother and I chose the Sirloin Steak with Texas Ranch Mushroom Sauce, though the serving doesn't seem like what my mother had described to me (she had went there before with her friends and mentioned that the portions were quite a lot), the Texas Ranch Mushroom Sauce was quite a fresh taste compared to Delifrance.
Then we each ordered an Oreo Espresso and a Cartel Special (coffee drink) respectively and I would dare say the Oreo Espresso was a nice touch, compared to the regular espressos you can find elsewhere although the Cartel Special is just really plain latte with whipped cream and it just seems a little lacklustre since this drink is called the "Cartel Special".
We ended off the meal with a slice of Bitter Chocolate Fudge Cake (I wanted the Jamaican Banana Rum but they were sold out), though I find it weird that they serve the cake on a plate with some weird yellow stain on it. And as expected, the chocolate is bitter, but the bitterness is still within control and tastes quite good. The only grouse here is that the fudge seems a tad too much, but then less fudge means you won't taste the "bitterness" in the chocolate cake.
The only one main complaint I have? That they presumed every customer wanted a complimentary ice cold water. I'd prefer to have a cup of warm water and I would have preferred it if they would ask if I would want ice cold or warm water. But still, service is prompt in a sense that they serve water and bread as soon as you sat down.
I'd still go back to Cafe Cartel again for a good meal, but I figured I have to request for warm water instead.
We ordered:
1) Bread: Freeflow
2) Sirloin Steak with Texas Ranch Mushroom Sauce @ SGD17.80
3) Oreo Espresso @ SGD3.80
4) Cartel Special @ SGD4.20
5) Bitter Chocolate Fudge Cake @ SGD5.20
Rating given:
I got to know about this shop from a renovation forum while doing renovations in my home. I favoured this over the regular Jalan Besar shops cos it's away from all the light-shoppers AND it's much nearer to where I live. Moreover I'm more familiar with Geylang. But I hadn't shopped for lights before then and wasn't sure what to expect.
I liked the shop instantly on sight. It was in a corner of a pretty rundown building. What I liked was that it wasn't one of those big snobbish looking lighting stores (like some others I passed along the way there). It looked exactly like what it was.. a family run business with nice warm friendly smiles. Alex is the young man in charge and he certainly knows his products well! If you see a light that you liked in another shop you can just describe it to him and he will know it instantly.
The shop itself is quite small though they try to cramp as much as possible on display. He knows lights pretty well so he can source for lights which aren't on display in his shop. I think the prices in his shop are very competitive and certainly much cheaper than the bigger fancy stores I went to on the same stretch. He has the same designs too! I think Alex's resourcefulness really makes up for the lack of variety (his shop is small rem?).
On top of that they have ceiling fans of almost every brand there and it's good to talk to Alex about ceiling fans because he can really advise on what size and brand to buy.
I think the best part was that they weren't pushy. We went back three times and only bought on the third trip. AND Alex remembered us and our requirements even after a few days. In fact, he remembered my sister even after a few weeks!
With good prices, prompt delivery and good service, I think this shop is really worth visiting if you're looking for lights!!
Rating given:
Situated right in the centre of Palais Renaissance, you can find this place easily as it's at the foot of the escalator. My galfriend and I went there on a weekday afternoon just before lunch hours so we had the luxury of choosing any seat we wanted. I had expected it to remain quiet save for a few tai-tais but BOY was I wrong. At noon, the whole place filled up.
We sat for quite a bit, chatting and taking a long time going through the menu. Throughout that time, no iced water was served. I thought that this is one of those that refuse to serve water so I commented about it to my friend. She laughed and replied that you have to ASK for it though it's free. That really puzzled me.
Food ordered:
Linguini with crabmeat tomato chllis and pinenuts $22
I had this dish. Don't be fooled but that little lump. It really is quite a filling portion. The pinenuts added a nice crunchy texture to the pasta and the pasta was suitably done. The downside of this dish was the sauce. It tasted fine on the first few bites but halfway I really couldn't stand the fishy taste of the crabmeat anymore. It was also unbearably salty after a while and I didn't finish my pasta.
Scrambled Eggs with Sausage on Toast and Field Mushrooms $18
The description forgot to add that it had fries too. My friend ordered it, thinking it sounded like a great brunch only to be surprised by the large serving of fries that came with it. The combination was a little odd but each item tasted fine on their own. I didn't relish putting them altogether in one mouthful though.
Deluxe Chocolate Pecan Brownie
Again, the description failed to include that there was ice cream served with this brownie (although I do know that most places have ice cream but it's not quite polite to assume.) If I had known this, I would have requested for the ice cream to placed on a separate dish. Not to mention if you take a good look at my picture, the ice cream was already melting when it arrived. Since my friend and I had no intention of having the ice cream in the first place we didn't ask for a change. I found the brownie a little too dry for my taste and the chocolate taste wasn't strong enough. It was more like a cake with a hard crust. We chatted for 3 hours and managed to finish this in the end. No easy feat though.
The staff were quite efficient in taking orders and serving but they lack a certain warmth. I guess that's their style.
Would I go back again? Only if a good friend suggested it.
Rating given:
The first time we saw this stall, we thought that maybe we should try it out as my mother and I are always trying out the 牛肉河粉 (Beef Hor Fun) stalls we can find and sadly though, it always disappoint. But 安记 is different in a way that their beef is generous and chunky, and for SGD4.00 I would absolutely say it is worth my money. But be warned that this stall are opened in the morning but closed from afternoon time (roughly from 1pm onwards) and only opened again in the evening to cater to the dinner crowd. But still, it is definitely worth the wait for the 牛肉河粉 (Beef Hor Fun)。 By the way, try their 鱼片生面 (Fish Slice Crispy Noodle) as it's also delicious and their sliced fish is very fresh.
Price:
牛肉河粉 @ SGD4 / SGD5 / SGD8 / SGD12 / SGD15
鱼片生面 @ SGD4 / SGD5 / SGD8 / SGD12 / SGD15
Rating given:
Once again, I got served by cafe staffs who can't be bothered to listen to their customers orders. I've order 2 DOUBLE espressos and a regular black forest ice blend. And like the manager who served me at the Takashimaya branch, this staff repeated my order for me but keyed in 2 SINGLE espressos and a regular black forest ice blended.
I don't understand why the staffs and managers at Coffee Bean & Tea Leafs can repeat the orders which their customer(s) placed, but keyed in something totally different on their cash registers. Is it that hard to give customers what they wanted?
And I'm also sick of the fact that when I ordered a double espresso, they would give me a sorry-ass looking face and proceed to explain to me what are double espressos. I mean, come on, customers are getting more smart nowadays and anyone can google espresso on the Internet before going to a cafe to get their cuppa, alright?
Rating given:
Previously, my family had always bought from the porridge stall right opposite Kee Lin Beef Kway Teow stall. But when the porridge stall started increasing their prices, we ate from Kee Lin Beef Kway Teow and wasn't disappointed in our choice. The prices are affordable and the chilli sauce goes very well with the beef. And we definitely have to go to this stall for breakfast whenever we are eating at Chinatown Complex. The shop owners are also friendly and I'm positively sure that most readers will know that Kee Lin Beef Kway Teow was recommended in newspapers before too.
Rating given:
My family have been patronising this chicken rice stall for many years, ever since I was young, up till now. True that the prices of chicken rice at Chinatown Complex are somewhat similar, due to the competitiveness. But what sets this stall apart from the rest is that, they offer traditional Cantonese soups for their customers too. Unlike most other stalls that you can find art hawker centres, coffee shops and food courts that offer soups that tastes almost the same, Tai Weng Chicken Rice stall is truly unique as they really make the effort to come up with different soups all the time. That’s what keep us coming back to this stall for more!!
Rating given:
Well, every time I visit Chinatown for my family's makan session, it won't be complete without a visit to 115 Dessert Stall. This stall may look simple and the choices might not be as varied as those from your typical foodcourt. But by looking at the crowd of middle-age and elderly customers, it's a sure sign that this dessert stall is a "lao zhi hao". Don't play play, as other desserts stall around Chinatown Complex pales in comparison when it comes to 115 Dessert Stall. Don't believe me, go and try their desserts. You'll be on cloud nine after eating a bowl of their desserts!!
Rating given:
Thanks to a dear friend, I got a chance to enjoy their lunch buffet recently. According to her, the variety of dishes has become lesser as compared to before they renovated and moved up the place. Not sure how long ago was that thou.
When I was there, the crowd were mostly the senior citizens who've retired and has lots of time (and money) to spend. There were also families and taitai look-alike there. If not for the lunch meeting, I would probably never have a chance to dine at such a place.
The food though variety is not plentiful, but the spread was good enough for lunch. And the most important thing is that its fresh and taste very well.
My favorite from that day was the Thai Seafood Curry, Fresh Salmon Sashimi, couple of the appertisers and the hazelnut chocolate cake from the desserts bar.
And the highlight at Rose Veranda is the huge variety of tea available free-flow(!!!) for customers. I spent 15minutes going through and deciding which to try. If I had the time, I would have ordered like few options (one after another) to try more varieties.
Rose Veranda is a great place to spend the afternoon with friends over good quality tea and great food. The setting is very comfortable and they've got very comfy sofa seats too.
If you're planning to give it a try, don't forget to call for reservations! Even if its on a weekday!
Next to find chance to try The Line!
Rating given:
Its one of those rare days where you'll find me in a KTV room. But after that night with the crazy bunch, I think I'll be visiting these cosy rooms pretty often! They made KTV so fun and enjoyable! It's the best session I've had in years!
Like all KTV places, there'll be the standard fruit platters and tidbits which you're "forced" to pay for. And imo, the tidbits is to make our throat feel uncomfortable so that we will order more drinks to smoothen it so we can sing more songs/ better. But of course, you can choose not to those these tidbits and let it lao hong (gets soften) over the 4 hours in the air con room.
The collection of songs was great and about 85% of those we selected were of original mtv. The sound system was very good too. Except for one of the mic in our room which couldn't be turned off. The room was just nice for 9 of us, and the sofas were clean and comfortable too.
One thing I learned about singing at KTV rooms is never to go late! If you book the room at 10pm, be there on time. Their clock starts counting from 10pm instead of 10.30pm where we finally got settled in the room. So instead of the full 4 hours of singing time, we sang for only 3.5 hours.
I'm so looking forward to our next session together! Let's try their other outlets too!
Rating given: