Lucardia's Reviews
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Jupiter ($7 )
Strawberry Shortcake ($6.50 )
Price wise, its acceptable given the pedigree and given the brand. However, portion size for both is much smaller then first perceived.
I'd like to talk a little about the service because i felt that the man who started off serving us had a stand offish attitude the moment we mentioned we were only here for dessert. In fact, he took away the menu and for some weird reason, did not bother to take our orders. In the end, i had to flag down another waitress to get the job done. Management take note on this please.
On the plus side, i was informed that Canele does not serve ice water but was pleasantly surprised when we received a glass. That is worth commending.
Jupiter - It looks simply divine but i can't help comparing it to Ambrosia which i had in Ah Teng's Bakery. The glistening chocolate layer looks and tastes similar to Ambrosia with a slightly bitter aftertaste which i enjoyed. The interior is different since Jupiter has a slight crunch in the center layer which was quite enjoyable. However, the sponge layer which forms the base had a weird sourish taste which remained me of spoiled rice. I would have appreciated a sourish tinge of orange on that layer but thats just a suggestion. The beautiful looking top layer was also rather disappointing in that there was minimal taste. Apart from being a decorative piece, it had potential to be so much more.In the end, my gf and i concluded Ah Teng's Ambrosia tasted better for a similar dessert. It helps that it cost lesser as well.
Strawberry Shortcake - Another winner in the looks department, i liked the casual appearance of the wholesome strawberries and the thick pieces they came in. I also like the sponge layer which was moistly soft and mildly sweet. I was more or less in the mood for a mild dessert at this point. The strawberries were juicy but not sweet enough according to my gf. She compared this with Four Leaves version and voted Four Leaves version as the winner in terms of taste and price. For my part, i remember Four Leaves rendition having a stronger strawberry taste on the sponge and cream and the strawberries themselves were sweeter. The sponge on Four Leaves was dryer though. Tough call actually.
Final Score: 6.5/10
Last Word:
For the price, i honestly have to say its a little too expensive. Substitutes for the offerings seem easy enough to come by and seems as though apart from losing to Canele in the looks department, delivers in the taste and quantity department better. Overall, i'd say Canele ain't bad but really, with the price charged, it's natural to expect more and at this point, i'm inclined to say its not up to standard yet.
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Note: This post was also done with the Nikon D60 camera. Do let me know your thoughts on the pictures.
The exterior and the mall itself is nothing to shout about. In fact, its so quiet i was surprised to find the restaurant still having a decent clientele. Is that a testament to its food? I'll find out soon.
The interior is modest with wooden furniture and a sushi counter. The tables are placed rather close together and the restaurant probably seats about 30 to 40 patrons. My first gripe is that the table is a little too small for all the food thats about to be lavished upon it. Its a small gripe but worth mentioning nonetheless.
Japanese Tidbits (Nonbei Course Meal) $40 - The first item to grace our table is the japanese tidbits from the nonbei course. 4 brilliantly presented items comprising of a very well made omelette, japanese sweet seaweed-like thingy and 2 others which i have conveniently forgotten. I do remember my opinion of this dish though. I liked it and so did my gf. Its very appetising and definitely raised expectations of what to expect next.
Wahiro Salmon Satsuma Age ($8.80) - This was not part of the 2 courses we had and honestly, we rather regretted ordering it. The salmon fish cake interesting because i've never seen it anywhere else, but it had an incredibly strong ginger taste and came across as rather dry and spicy. An equivalent in the taste department would be close to a fish-made ngor hiang.
Sashimi - Regardless of which set you chose, it came with a sashimi platter of tasting proportions. This means the portions were rather small but reasonable in the grand scheme of things. The sashimi is generally of a decent quality and fresh. The texture of the fish ranges from melt-in-your-mouth to those were slightly tough depending on the type of fish but were generally good and pleasing.
Tempura (Yuuge Unagi Yanagawa Course) $30 - Their rendition of tempura had a very light and thin batter which was easy to stomach. It helps that the batter did not cover the taste of the prawn as well. Albeit the prawns being of a smaller size then usual.
Kushiyaki (Nonbei course) - Japan is famous for their grilled sticks and this is supposed to be a faithful representation of their much loved art. Despite the small serving, i found the chicken wing and bacon with asparagus nicely done with a smokey taste to it. It also retains its original juices and is still tender despite the grilling. A bigger portion would have helped loads.
Grilled Eel and Burdock Omelette (Yuuge Unagi Yanagawa Course) - Unagi omelette in hotpan. I actually liked this pretty much. It had thin yet generous slices of unagi and a thin later of onions and burdock. The unagi is literally melts in your mouth and is slightly sweet. The omelette did not come across as oily at all. Burdock was added to it which has medicinal and dietery properties which is a plus.
Oden (Nonbei Course) - Naruto with braised raddish. Naruto is essentially japanese fish-paste cake. This version is rather big but scored fairly low in the taste department as it was basically tasteless. The braised raddish, however, ended up being the one thing that wowed me that night. I'm not someone who likes raddish but this has to be tasted to be believed. It must have been braised for a ridiculously long time to have absorbed the tasty broth it now resembled. Texture was soft and surprisingly tender with it remaining hot throughout the meal. In fact, its perfect for a cold day to warm your body. Very nicely done indeed.
Ochazuke (Nonbei Course) - The perfect way to end a full course japanese meal. Ochazuke is basically rice submerged in either tea or hot water with certain condiments comprising of tsukemono and umeboshi (both pickles). Truth be told, i was not used to having rice as an ending dish but this proved to actually be appetising due to the pickles used. In fact, the pickles were rather overwhelming in huge quantities and gave the rice a sourish taste throughout. This is an example of the traditional methods used by Wahiro which may or may not be agreed upon in Singapore. I found this quite interesting though.
The final bill came up to $90.40 for 2 people for an interesting meal.
The food here really isn't too bad. Its very traditional and honestly, i think the Nonbei course would be perfect as a winter meal for the amount of warmth the meal brings. The quality of food is above average but the portions were indeed small. Still, we left stuffed to the brim in the end and rather satisfied. I actually found my gf's meal more worth the money as opposed to the Nonbei course though. Will i return? Maybe for lunch one of these days for a more budget experience.
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Misc: This post was shot using the Nikon D60 which was recently purchased. Let me know if it looks alright. Cheers.
The restaurant is hidden in an obscure corner of Jalan Kayu with a very small signboard signaling its presence. The interior and exterior is rather small with simple tables and a pizza wood fired counter taking up most of the space. The good part is that you get to see the pizza's being made and the dough knead after you order. The bad part is it usually takes some time before you are served due to that.
Commodo ($11) - Essentially, its salad with grilled portobello mushrooms, cut cherry tomatoes and feta cheese interspersed in between. This was rather well received by my family and the mushroom was juicy and exuded a smokey fragrance. Portion size was rather small for the price and pretty much serves one or two at most.
Suberbo ($11) - This is seafood salad with calamari, prawns, some mussells and topped with lemon dressing. Lemon dressing here is literally unsweetened lemon dressing with seafood. This was less well received and my sisters got sick of the greens in the salad stating that it was too raw for their liking. The seafood was acceptable but once again, portion size was rather pathetic.
Spagghetti in mixed seafood ($16) - Ordered this for my parents as their more traditional chinese and don't really like pizza. I found this rather good with the spaggheti al dente and the seafood the usual freshness. The tomato dressing was balanced but skewed towards the sourish corner.
Sofia ($17) - On towards the pizzas themselves. Sofia is a tomato based seafood pizza with mozerella cheese, shrimps, mussells, basil and scallops. Notice the description stated scallops with an "s". This was the main reason for ordering pizza, in reality, it came with 1 medium sized scallop and about 3 shrimps. That was a real disappointment for me, given its price, i'd expected alot more then the amount of ingredients used. As it was, it felt like i paid $17 for a biscuit with some seafood bits.
To be fair, it tasted pretty good if not for the overly charred edges and the minimal ingredients. The cheese used was also of a higher grade then usual.
Helena ($17) - The star of the day was Helena, despite its charred edges as well. The pizza had grilled pesto chicken, bell peppers and tomato. The pesto chicken was well done and evenly distributed amount the pizza with the bell peppers providing a slight bite to it. With that said, it still felt too expensive for its price though.
Bill: The bill came up $79.20 for 6 people but it was my treat so it was actually just one person.
To be fair, the pizza's were really quite good. I like thin crusted pizzas and the wood firing gives it a crispy and earthly charm. However, giving the choice and budget, i would actually choose Il Piccolo instead of Spizza if the chance presents itself again. At the same price, i could have gotten much much more from Il Piccolo. As it is, the meal was satisfactory but i wont return due to the price quality ratio.
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Upon stepping into Tanglin Mall, its apparent that the mall itself is rather quiet. Being left out on the far edge of Orchard Road, this mall is frequented only by the most discerning customers for specific stores and shops. I'm glad to say that Tetsu has its fair share of returning customers. In fact, its one of the more patronized restaurants in the mall. I believe that says something about the food they offer.
Sampling Platter with Swordfish Tataki - Our sampling session began with some sake and led straight into their appetiser sampling platter. Beginning with the agedashi tofu, the first surprise of the day was that unlike the usual smooth texture which i'm used to, this version was more starchy and wobbly not unlike carrot cake.
The braised pork belly is apparently braised for 2 days and is extremely fatty, i found it interesting because it literally melts in your mouth and didn't repulse me the way i thought it should have.
The swordfish tataki retained a slight smokey taste along with a rather tough texture which gives the impression its similar to sashimi.
Mixed Sashimi - I'm rather impressed with Tetsu's sashimi actually, though i'm not aware of the actual cost of this platter, the sheer variety of sashimi you see here is substantial and fulfillingly fresh. The slices were more on the thin side though.
Teriyaki Chicken - Well, this dish has been done to dath everywhere so i really can't say anything much about it. For what its worth, the teriyaki sauce is moderately sweet and the chicken is tender without being too dry.
Sushi Roll With Avacado and Crab Meat - Dragon roll - Lets make a statement here, Tetsu makes good sushi. For both versions, the rice had just the right amount of sweetness and sourness. The dragon roll came with a plump juicy shrimp in a balanced tempura coating. Loved the generous serving of crab roe on both sushi rolls as well.
Assorted Tempura Platter - Here on, its the onslaught of the rather unhealthy fried items. The assorted tempura was very crispy but had a rather thick batter which makes it rather difficult to stomach. To be fair, i give this a high score for its presentation and portion size which is very generous. The batter does get in the way of the prawn though, rendering it rather tasteless in the end. A little less batter and this would be a winner.
Kire Katsu (Pork Fillet), Rosu Katsu (Pork Loin) - Katsu's are generally a staple in any japanese restaurant due to how it tests the chef's skill in producing a katsu thats crispy and yet preserving the flavors and juices of the subject matter. Tetsu gave us a try of 2 renditions and i'm more favorable for the Rosu Katsu (pork loin). Both versions come in the same batter but the pork fillet version tasted rather dry and more like a kfc chicken then a katsu. The pork loin on the other hand, was juicy and moist without compromising the crispiness. Do note the reason why its moist and juicy is due to the abundance of fat in that particular region though.
Inawani Udon - The udon came as a prelude to the ending of our sampling session and needless to say, we were all stuffed to the brim by then. However, i have to say that this rendition is pleasing and palatte cleansing. Unlike regular udons, this doesn't have the usual starchy and thick udon variety. In fact, its more like a combination of vermicelli, mee pok and spaggheti. This means its al dente, light and easy to finish. Rather surprising actually.
Strawberry mousse - Their rendition is made in house and fresh daily. With real grinded strawberry bits in it, you'll get a full taste of the fruit. The mousse is slightly rough in texture because of it and there's minimal to no sugar added in the mix, leaving it rather sourish.
Our delight with the restaurant probably rests mostly on the chef's appearance and company throughout the meal. The guy's definitely funny and has great pride in his job which is reflected in the quality of his food. I have to say that the food here is above average and worth a try. Of course, this conclusion is based on food quality alone at this point. Give it a chance, you might like it enough to return just like their regulars.
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There were 2 sections to this restaurant. Outdoor and indoor. The indoor section had air conditioning and sofa seats which appealed to me.
Everything went well until i was told i couldn't take photos. Which was fine except it took about 20mins to confirm this fact, i could have happily left had they told me earlier.
What i ordered was:
Hoegarden (bottle) $10 - this is more or less daylight robbery but its to be expected. However, i do think that if they wish to charge ridiculous prices for drinks, at least do it by tap or pour it out of the bottle first to make us feel less stupid. After all, i could have bought 4 bottles of the same drink at $17.50 from NTUC nearby.
The island punch $9 - my gf ordered this mocktail which was rather interested with a minty and sourish taste. Still its $9 and its definitely not worth it.
Golden wings ($10.80) - the grand total of wings came out to be 5 chicken wings...there's really nothing much on it to enhance the taste. I'm guessing salt and lots of oil. To be fair, it doesn't taste too bad but how bad can chicken wings be?
Seafood pasta ($17.80) - another overly priced and poorly executed item. The seafood is moderate but no where near generous. The pasta is soggy and portion size was pathetic. I'm only glad that i didn't order 2 mains to waste my money on.
The total bill came up to $52.36.
The best consolation from this experience is that i didn't have to pay gst. But come on, look at the price and you know where this hidden cost is at.
Sorry if its all just complaining but i honestly think it was a total waste of money. Return to this place? No way. Cheerios.
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