Great place for dinner especially when you are early and there's no queue. Serving up authentic Vietnamese cuisine with similar table layouts and payment concepts as NamNam which is just right next door.
We were shown to a corner seat blocked by the divider from NamNam and the sitting area is brightly lit and spacious with huge group seats on a common shared table made available.
Famous for their broken rice which is use to be meant for the poor yet is a delicacy now to many, so we started to fill up the order form. The selection on the menu is pretty straight forward as there are only mains, sides, dessert and drinks.
1) Vietnamese Sizzling chicken broken rice ($10:90) rice was indeed broken with a good mixture of veg and no wow factor.
2) Soft-Shell Crab pancake, ($13.90) is lovely. The Viet pancake is one such dish that is pretty hard to find in Singapore... made with this bean that we chinese use them for dessert locally (tao suan) i think. Came with a good dose of herb like basil and mint. Loved it to the max.
3) Salad Grilled Chicken ($5.90) is one of the great choices for the evening. It was tangy, appetizing and extremely yummy. Great way to start your meal and one serving is hardly enough.
4) Spicy Tomato Soup ($5.00) is nothing to wow about. Really spicy if you ask me and nothing much but some meat and tomato. Its not a great choice for a non-spicy eater like me.
Selections of dessert are few but you should try them coz they mostly tasted yummy, especially the famous viet coffee.
Dinner at the Side Walk Cafe after a day of shopping at Funan IT Mall. Though we usually love the aircon and clean environment of the food court at the higher levels, we decided to venture out to this cafe situated by the side walk overlooking the fire station. Constantly packed with people, there wasn't much stalls open yet its pretty many choices for a small coffee shop like this.
The stall that looked most confusing and has the most selections would have to be this one serving myanmar cuisine and yes the boss and cook is authentically from Myanmar as I could hardly understand their accent and english. They introduced us a few dishes and we decided on their steamboat set with stirred fried veg and a grilled fish. We also wanted to try the infamous Shan Noodles which was not on the menu but is a staple for Burmese.
The steamboat was a thick soup with loads of meat and seafood in a metal pot with rice. Pretty simple and tasty,
The Grilled fish was larger then we expected and tasted coal girlled till its a little burnt, very nice and juicy on the inside.
The Shan Noodles was outstanding yet with all its condiments, it kinda tasted very strong and leaves a strong after taste, especially the fried garlic that got stuck in crevices of your teeth left strong after breaths.
We washed everything down with first a lime juice then some green tea yet it took lots of colgate to get rid of the smell... However its worth it. This meal for 4, set us back by approx $50 and we were so full we could run for days... The food court look crowded and dodgy on the outside yet was pretty comfy on the inside with some aircon.
We found a pretty nice hide-out @Novena Square 2. Newly opened with interesting furnitures and lightings that made this place like a chic living room in a cosmopolitan city. Loved the little details on the wall and the stylish paintings in stark contrast on the bare grey wall.
While we were greeted by the friendly staff behind the counter, we noticed a good spread of cold sandwiches, cakes and pastries, such we ordered a salt beef & carmalized onion sandwich ($9.50) and a yummy carrot cake ($6.00). The drink choices were pretty limited but sufficient and we got ourselves a iced latte ($5.50) and a Monbana Choco ($6.00) while sniffing the aromatic brews emitting from where the barrister stands.
We found a great seat for 3 at the corner which very much hides us from the busy view of the walking corridor and admired the chit-chatting professionals in suits seated at a large round table that could hold at least 6 while the couches opposite the other corner is a good fit for a family of 4 with restless kids. The place is cosy and very condusive for discussion, work, reading and mom's trying to take a breather from their active child.
The food was yummy, salt beef sandwich arrived warm with a crunchy bread and yummy combination of beef and caramelized onion. Portion was just right but beef was a tad too salty. Carrot cake was yummy with a good balance of cheese cream and spongy cake. While the drinks were just regular, nothing to wow at.
Location: 4/5 (Novena MRT) Price: 3.5/5 Food: 3.5/5 Environment: 4/5 (Really nice and cosy) Variety of Selections: 3/5
We wanted something chinese for dinner and we ended up here. Its pretty busy for a workday evening and well noisy like any typical chinese restaurant.
We were shown to our seats pretty quickly as theres no queue (goodness gracious me) and showed the menu. Lady got our drink orders while we decide on what we want to have. The menu was comprehensive with few but good selections of dim sum, porride, noodles, rice and stir-fried dishes and well dessert was typical chinese restaurant goodies like double boiled white fungus kinda nourishing selections.
We decided to go for dim sum and ordered quite a few however many things ran out. No Har Kow, No BBQ Ribs and we were left with some carrot cakes and some other crystal dumplings which were pretty tasty. While we didn't have our full, we wanted to order more and it took a while to get the attention of the waitresses.
We took a pretty long while to get the menu and another pretty long while to order somemore... So if you are here, decide quickly and once your food is on the table, its difficult to get noticed by the staff again. We ordered other food such as porridge and noodles from the chicken and roast pork section. While the chicken and roast pork noodles looked little and pork limp and cold, my century egg porridge did not arrive with any century egg. While I asked the waitress about it (took me a long while again), she just laughed, merely apologised and returned my bowl to the counter and all they did was to add some century egg and return the bowl to me. BTW, i'm expecting them to change the entire thing... I'm not into wasting food but that's service ain't it. I mean i paid premium and expect to be served premium. If I were at the hawker centre, i won't even mind if the porridge didn't come with century eggs yet service was real let down this one.
I was pretty irritated when to call for the bill took me another 5 - 10 mins just to get the attention. The food is acceptable, well service is LOUSY, though the staffs are smiley and friendly but seemed to be very much in their own world, ambience nice but I'm not coming back... I'm sorry. You only get to have bad service when your pricing is dirt cheap and well food damn freaking yummy and you have neither...
Blue Garden Korean BBQ is one of the ancients of Korean BBQ in Singapore. While we were crazy over Japanese Sushi Bars and Grills in which we still are today, Blue Garden is already there at Link Hotel serving guest with an ultimately good spread of Korean BBQ Raw and cooked items that completes with free flow of flavoured drinks and ice-creams.
Though we love Korean BBQ, we absolutely disliked smelling like a char-grilled patty as we leave for our next venue as such, also be prepared to go nowhere but home after your Korean BBQ. The location was good, about 10-15 mins walk from the Outram MRT otherwise there is lots of buses that goes by the road and while you alight from the bus, you could see the large blue Neon sign.
The place is big with tables for big groups and if you would like, a garden outside is available for dining as well. The spread was pretty standard with a good range of various cuts and marinates of poultry, seafood and vegetables. Love the sauce condiments and lots of peeled garlics for me. The cooked food section was pretty good as well and the chicken wings are delicious. Otherwise the other authentic korean traditional stir fries were just so so....
The place was comfy though the fixtures were simple yet its not as oily as the places i go to. Tables were generally clean and we weren't feeling very cramped. Walking space was good as i didn't get squeezed or knocked out of the way at anytime. Love the choice of ice-cream flavours available. A pleasant experience.
1=SGD 0.0587
We were shown to a corner seat blocked by the divider from NamNam and the sitting area is brightly lit and spacious with huge group seats on a common shared table made available.
Famous for their broken rice which is use to be meant for the poor yet is a delicacy now to many, so we started to fill up the order form. The selection on the menu is pretty straight forward as there are only mains, sides, dessert and drinks.
1) Vietnamese Sizzling chicken broken rice ($10:90) rice was indeed broken with a good mixture of veg and no wow factor.
2) Soft-Shell Crab pancake, ($13.90) is lovely. The Viet pancake is one such dish that is pretty hard to find in Singapore... made with this bean that we chinese use them for dessert locally (tao suan) i think. Came with a good dose of herb like basil and mint. Loved it to the max.
3) Salad Grilled Chicken ($5.90) is one of the great choices for the evening. It was tangy, appetizing and extremely yummy. Great way to start your meal and one serving is hardly enough.
4) Spicy Tomato Soup ($5.00) is nothing to wow about. Really spicy if you ask me and nothing much but some meat and tomato. Its not a great choice for a non-spicy eater like me.
Selections of dessert are few but you should try them coz they mostly tasted yummy, especially the famous viet coffee.
Location: 4.5/5 ,
Food: 4/5 ,
Service: 3.5/5 ,
Selection: 4/5 ,
Ambience: 3/5 ,
Will I come back: Yes
Will I bring my friends; Yes
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The stall that looked most confusing and has the most selections would have to be this one serving myanmar cuisine and yes the boss and cook is authentically from Myanmar as I could hardly understand their accent and english. They introduced us a few dishes and we decided on their steamboat set with stirred fried veg and a grilled fish. We also wanted to try the infamous Shan Noodles which was not on the menu but is a staple for Burmese.
The steamboat was a thick soup with loads of meat and seafood in a metal pot with rice. Pretty simple and tasty,
The Grilled fish was larger then we expected and tasted coal girlled till its a little burnt, very nice and juicy on the inside.
The Shan Noodles was outstanding yet with all its condiments, it kinda tasted very strong and leaves a strong after taste, especially the fried garlic that got stuck in crevices of your teeth left strong after breaths.
We washed everything down with first a lime juice then some green tea yet it took lots of colgate to get rid of the smell... However its worth it. This meal for 4, set us back by approx $50 and we were so full we could run for days... The food court look crowded and dodgy on the outside yet was pretty comfy on the inside with some aircon.
Location: 2.5/5
Food: 3.5/5
Price: 3.5/5
Service: 3/5
Selections: 4/5
Will I return: Yes
Will I bring my friends: Yes
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While we were greeted by the friendly staff behind the counter, we noticed a good spread of cold sandwiches, cakes and pastries, such we ordered a salt beef & carmalized onion sandwich ($9.50) and a yummy carrot cake ($6.00). The drink choices were pretty limited but sufficient and we got ourselves a iced latte ($5.50) and a Monbana Choco ($6.00) while sniffing the aromatic brews emitting from where the barrister stands.
We found a great seat for 3 at the corner which very much hides us from the busy view of the walking corridor and admired the chit-chatting professionals in suits seated at a large round table that could hold at least 6 while the couches opposite the other corner is a good fit for a family of 4 with restless kids. The place is cosy and very condusive for discussion, work, reading and mom's trying to take a breather from their active child.
The food was yummy, salt beef sandwich arrived warm with a crunchy bread and yummy combination of beef and caramelized onion. Portion was just right but beef was a tad too salty. Carrot cake was yummy with a good balance of cheese cream and spongy cake. While the drinks were just regular, nothing to wow at.
Location: 4/5 (Novena MRT)
Price: 3.5/5
Food: 3.5/5
Environment: 4/5 (Really nice and cosy)
Variety of Selections: 3/5
Will I return: YES
Will I bring my friends: YES
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We were shown to our seats pretty quickly as theres no queue (goodness gracious me) and showed the menu. Lady got our drink orders while we decide on what we want to have. The menu was comprehensive with few but good selections of dim sum, porride, noodles, rice and stir-fried dishes and well dessert was typical chinese restaurant goodies like double boiled white fungus kinda nourishing selections.
We decided to go for dim sum and ordered quite a few however many things ran out. No Har Kow, No BBQ Ribs and we were left with some carrot cakes and some other crystal dumplings which were pretty tasty. While we didn't have our full, we wanted to order more and it took a while to get the attention of the waitresses.
We took a pretty long while to get the menu and another pretty long while to order somemore... So if you are here, decide quickly and once your food is on the table, its difficult to get noticed by the staff again. We ordered other food such as porridge and noodles from the chicken and roast pork section. While the chicken and roast pork noodles looked little and pork limp and cold, my century egg porridge did not arrive with any century egg. While I asked the waitress about it (took me a long while again), she just laughed, merely apologised and returned my bowl to the counter and all they did was to add some century egg and return the bowl to me. BTW, i'm expecting them to change the entire thing... I'm not into wasting food but that's service ain't it. I mean i paid premium and expect to be served premium. If I were at the hawker centre, i won't even mind if the porridge didn't come with century eggs yet service was real let down this one.
I was pretty irritated when to call for the bill took me another 5 - 10 mins just to get the attention. The food is acceptable, well service is LOUSY, though the staffs are smiley and friendly but seemed to be very much in their own world, ambience nice but I'm not coming back... I'm sorry. You only get to have bad service when your pricing is dirt cheap and well food damn freaking yummy and you have neither...
Location: 4/5
Food Quality: 3.5/5
Service: 1/5
Price: 3/5
Ambience: 3/5
Will I return: Likely not
Will I bring my friends: If i have too, i will bring a loud speaker..... to talk louder so i can break their (in your own world syndrome)
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Though we love Korean BBQ, we absolutely disliked smelling like a char-grilled patty as we leave for our next venue as such, also be prepared to go nowhere but home after your Korean BBQ. The location was good, about 10-15 mins walk from the Outram MRT otherwise there is lots of buses that goes by the road and while you alight from the bus, you could see the large blue Neon sign.
The place is big with tables for big groups and if you would like, a garden outside is available for dining as well. The spread was pretty standard with a good range of various cuts and marinates of poultry, seafood and vegetables. Love the sauce condiments and lots of peeled garlics for me. The cooked food section was pretty good as well and the chicken wings are delicious. Otherwise the other authentic korean traditional stir fries were just so so....
The place was comfy though the fixtures were simple yet its not as oily as the places i go to. Tables were generally clean and we weren't feeling very cramped. Walking space was good as i didn't get squeezed or knocked out of the way at anytime. Love the choice of ice-cream flavours available. A pleasant experience.
Location: 3.5/5
Service: 3.5/5
Food: 4/5
Cleanliness: 3.5/5
Price: 4/5
Will I come back: YES
WIll I bring my friends: YES
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