Had the opportunity to partake in a tasting session at Persimmon one Wednesday evening, courtesy of its co owner, Helena, who also co owns the casual eatery Epicurious at Roberston Quay. Persimmon bills itself as a fusion restaurant, incorporating both chinese and western food to blend up its own variety of fusion. Think somewhere along the lines of another Singapore fusion restaurant, Wild Rocket.
Stepping into Persimmon is reminiscent of stepping into a high class coffeeshop, with its checkered tile floors, white top tables and wooden chairs. What it lacks is the spinning ceiling fans which have been replaced by air conditioning units but I'm definitely not complaining. Not with Singapore's heat and humidity. Coupled with a low ceiling and retro music, it made for a soothing and laid back atmosphere.
Mushroom & Sesame Shooter - I liked this inconspicuous little shot glass of warm mushroom soup. Savoury with a hint of sesame and bits of mushroom. There was suppose to be 绍兴酒 in it but that was apparently not evident.
Fisherman's Pie - Persimmon's rendition of the fisherman's pie took a different twist from the norm. Instead of the usual seafood ingredients enveloped within a mould of pastry, this one was more of a soup bowl covered with a puff pastry lid. Another interesting thing was the choice of soup, which was a less oily version of the ubiquitous Laksa gravy. Honestly, I didn't find the soup or the ingredients very outstanding, coming across as decent at best. The pastry also needed some reworking in my humble opinion, probably through the addition of more butter to make it more fragrant and creamier to the tastebuds.
Fried Kway Teow with Wagyu Beef - I'm sorry to say this, but as fragrant and tasty as the kway teow may be, it is still CKT (Char Kway Teow), albeit of a less oily version than the ones you find in hawker centres outside. It came with a poached quail egg and mushrooms but lacked the discernible wok hei taste due to it being pan fried I believe. Did I mention that it was a tad too salty as well?
The accompanying wagyu beef came served atop a bed of beansprouts and was tender, juicy and almost mouthwatering. But being too thinly sliced, it was a little overcooked and I honestly couldn't tell that it was wagyu beef. So much for such an expensive breed of beef.
On a side note, it would definitely be funny if someone called it 牛肉河粉.
Wagyu Beef - As with the wagyu beef from the CKT, this dish of wagyu was thinly sliced and a tad overcooked, but at least portions were more significant and each slice held more bite. I just wonder how much would such a dish cost.
White Pepper Crab Cake with Tunghoon Salad & Scallop - I've never really been a fan of crab cakes and Persimmon's offering wasn't just about to change that. But thats not to say it wasn't good. As a matter of fact, it was quite decent, with lots of shredded crab, but just not outstanding.
The tunghoon salad held quite a few surprises with its overly zesty taste harbouring a spicy aftermath that hits you slowly but surely. And the lone fleshy scallop that came alongside was a little too undercooked, soft and bland.
Pineapple Tart - Now this was one huge unconventional pineapple tart. A scoop of ice cream atop a sweet pineapple ring, covering a layer of caramelised pineapple, all on a huge tart base. I'm a sucker for pineapple tarts so I liked it quite a fair bit with the nice and smooth ice cream but I did think that it could have been better. The tart base lacked the oven baked taste which I personally like and it wasn't crumbly enough. That aside, its really quite worth the eat.
Overall I think the food is pretty decent and probably a few minor tweaks here and there would suffice. As mentioned earlier, it was a complimentary tasting session hence I am unsure of the prices but a quick glance at the regular menu shows most main courses to be in the $20 range. I might do a revisit, just as soon as I am able to ascertain the food prices.
To end, please allow me to extend my thanks to Helena for the invite and for being an excellent host.
Ok, the one for one credit card promotion, is indeed appealing. And, that is why it can make me go all the way to toa payoh and try out their cod fish and abalone set meal. Haha.
Bascially the entire set meal consist of six different small dishes. Although each dish serving is rather small and does not include any rice or noodles kind of carbo food, it still manage to be quite fulfiling towards the end of the course.
The first dish of this set meal includes the shark bone soup. This milky colour soup has a rather strong fishie smell, thus it might be good to add in some pepper or vinegar to neutralize the taste. Taste wise, its pretty good and with the added scallop and fish maw (i think), makes the entire soup taste sweet.
Next that came up is the banana, cod fish and duck combo set. Ok, theres basically three different types of food in the dish, typically the sweet and sour cod fish, the duck slices (cold in taste) as well as the banana and prawn roll.
The banana and prawn roll tasted simply marvellous, imagine the just two very simple ingredient -- banana and prawn, they managed to make it tasted heavenly. And with the added thousand island sauce and the sesame taste on the crepe skin, it will made one to crave for more. But too bad, theres only one roll per person share.
Next coming up is the abalone with seafood stick. Just one single stick per person and it consist of some abalone, mushroom, sea cumcumber and prawn. Their abalone was pretty well cooked with a texture of chewiness and softness.
The ABC sauce chicken was the next dish. The nicely cooked chicken will definitely make one to crave for more. Imagine the skin that can be made comparable with those of bejing duck, a very cripiness skin can be found. Not forgetting the meat tastes juicy and tender.
Next came the carrot cake dish. Ok, i know carrot cake is a pretty normal kind of food. But, somehow they managed to make it tasted like 'chao guay tiao'. Amazing issnt it?
Lastly, not forgetting the double boiled coconut dessert. For this, i was rather disappointed to think that i can only see one small slice of coconut in the dessert. With the additional scoop of ice cream, i find this dessert abit too sweet for my liking.
As for their service wise, their staffs in the outlet were rather friendly and sometimes were 'over' helpful. Imagine, they keep refilling your cup of tea after you seep one mouthful? Haha, this is actually what happen literally at my table.
And not forgetting that during the half time of my eating phase (completion of my third dish), i have to wait for more than 20 minutes before my next dish come up. The first few dishes came quite promptly, but the interval between the third and fourth dish seems abit too long. Well, guess this issnt very good for a customer to wait for that long. However, they manage to mend this with the rest of their dishes coming quite promptly again.
Banking on the concept of nostalgia and old world charm, Jacob's Cafe is all about rediscovery, fresh food and simple, laid back relaxation. Established since September 2000, Jacob's has been serving and belting out tasty country meals for families and couples alike.
Jacob's features an al fresco dining area which makes up the bulk of the seating arrangements and the inner sanctum which has only limited seats of up to 10 people. The seats in the restaurant definitely brings with it a rustic charm and a comfortable atmosphere but the trade off is that after the meal, you'll come out smelling like one yourself. The al fresco seats have no such problem but lighting and visibility will be a little lower.
Pumpkin Soup(Part of the game hen meal), Bread Roll(Part of the game hen meal) - Our first visit there was more of a trial, we wanted to see exactly how good the place was since FZ mentioned the bread roll here has to be the best in Singapore. Thus, we ordered one of the specials on the board. This being the oven baked game hen set meal which came with soup, bread roll, coffee and the game hen of course. For starters, the pumpkin soup was very creamy, a little sweet and definitely opens the pallet. Not the best i had but its decent enough. The bread roll needs a little more description. It will not be immediately apparent why this bread roll is good, but a few bites into it will convince you otherwise. Reason being, its the only bread roll i've had that is completely balanced in having a reasonably hard crust while still maintaining warm and soft inside. You can't even compare it to any other bread roll thus far for that matter. There are no problems with biting into it and separating it as compared to some french loaves you find outside, where eating it is a challenge in itself. Make no mistake, this bread roll is better. Try it to find out.
Oven Baked Game Hen ($25.90) - The game hen came as quite a large portion. Definitely bigger then the spring chickens you can find at the food court. It came with 2 sides, assorted greens and fries. The fries were normal enough while the boiled greens were sauteed with a little butter to enhance the taste while remaining moderately crunchy and soft. The game hen was plump, juicy, tender and very fragrant. The sauce made it slightly salty but it suits the dish well. There's meat enough to go around for 2 people so basically, if you order this, it can be shared for 2 small eaters. I like the way the juices are locked in so that the hen remained tender without being dry. Worth a try.
Jacob's Pizza ($16.90) - Ah yes...Jacob's pizza. I always love ordering food that bears the restaurants namesake because its very important what they put their name on to represent themselves. This pizza, does not disappoint. It came chock full of toppings and cheese with a thin and crispy crust to boot. And the important thing is, you get to see them prepare it fresh before they pop it into the oven and serve to the customers. No issues on freshness here. This is definitely worth a try if you are here. Do note the waiting time for it extends by up to 20 minutes so its wise to order something else while waiting.
Apple Crumble and Vanilla Ice Cream ($7.50) - Having fallen in love with the apple crumble at coffee club, i make it a point to order it when i try out a new place. This is no exception here. However, lo and behold, it turns out to be the first disappointment of the day. Every item up till now has been above average but this sank the experience down quite a bit. To describe how it tastes is easy, its bascially Mcdonald's apple pie with a nicer crust and ice cream thrown into the fray. Definitely leave this out of the meal.
Coffee (Part of the game hen meal) - Our meal came with coffee as well and while its not exactly a gourmet cuppa, i do appreciate them including it and it does complete a meal pretty well.
The total bill for this visit came up to $50.30 with no gst nor service charge. Oh! The service here is really good as well. And the price is definitely justified as the quality of food is of a certain standard.
Barely a week later, me and my gf returned once again to re experience Jacob's and find out if it is still as good as before.
Mushroom Soup (Part of the Ribeye Set) - This time around, i ordered the ribeye set which also came with soup, bread roll and coffee. We had mushroom soup this time and its more watery with chunks of mushroom in it. Its quite bland but still pretty decent. The bread roll is as good as ever though.
Ham and Sausage Combo ($19.90) - My gf ordered the Ham and sausage combo which is actually called the meatloaf on the menu. It arrived as a huge plate with sides of mashed potato and sauerkraut with some mustard for dipping. The mashed potato was pretty good with some peppery taste and a some chunks of potato in it as well. The meatloaf or ham looks like a huge piece of luncheon meat actually and tastes a little like luncheon meat as well but is firmer and juicier. The sausages were definitely fragrant and very tasty.
Ribeye Steak ($28.90) - Another huge serving, the steak came with 3 sides, a tomato with pepper and celery, boiled greens and mashed potatoes. The steak i ordered was done medium rare as i ordered and is very very juicy. Its also a tad salty and had some parts not evenly done as there were portions that were a little too rare. Still, its a decent main dish. However, i probably won't recommend ordering it since Jacob's has other items that are much better.
Pecan Pie ($4.60) - During the first visit, the worst item was the dessert which thankfully isn't the case this time. By recommendation, we ordered the pecan pie which is supposedly a rather rare item in Singapore. This dessert is moderately sweet, crunchy and different in a good way. Its served hot, as in very hot and is something easily recommended. Try it.
Total bill for this visit is $53.40.
And for my third and last visit (so far anyway), we had yet again, a different choice and different items.
Fresh Farm Salad (Part of the Jacob's Chicken Pie Set) - Part of the Jacob's Chicken pie set, this is basically farm fresh salad drenched in balsamic vinegar for good effect. Sour, sweet and fresh, the salad definitely opens your appetite for the meal that follows.
Frankfurters Set ($8.90) - I ordered this thinking that i would be getting the thick and big versions of these little sausages but i was wrong. What was served was extremely small and measly. Taste wise, it doesn't taste any different from the run-of-the-mill sausages you could get outside. This is the second disappointment i've had at Jacob's.
Hungarian Beef Goulash With Bread Roll ($13.50) - I've been wanted to have a go at the Hungarian Goulash ever since i saw it in the menu. Now, i've finally had the chance to try it. For the price, the serving is huge. You get a huge plate of beef, carrots, potatoes and tomatoes in a delectable stew and the choice to have it with either rice or bread roll. I obviously chose the bread roll since its still without a doubt, one of the best bread rolls i've had. The goulash tastes like a cross between beef stew and sardines actually. It doesn't sound very good but in actual fact, it works. Its difficult to describe it further but you'll get a strong beef taste along with a sweet and sour broth which goes really well with the roll. Worth a try.
Jacob's Pie ($16.90) - My gf's Jacob's pie was actually a really small serving given the price but of course, you need to factor in the salad that came before as well. The pastry it came in had a nice buttery taste which i immediately took to and its very crusty and crispy as well. The pie ingredients itself were potatos, green beans, carrots and lots and lots of chicken pieces. The thing i like about the dish was the crust and the fact that the pie is a little bland. Do note that its also superbly hot when served so its important to be careful while eating. Not too bad but not exactly mind blowing either.
Tiramisu with Vanilla Ice Cream ($8.50) - The tiramisu this time was rather good as well. There is a clear distinction on where the cake starts and where the cream ends. The only gripe is that its note evenly done with some portions thicker then the rest. The rum is easily discernible but not overwhelming. I'd say the pecan pie was better though.
The bill this time clocked off at $47.80 for 2 people for a filling and satisfying meal.
Out of 3 meals, i can't say there were no misses. But for what its worth, the experience was still above average and if you asked me, i'd gladly go for another meal. The fact that there's no service charge or gst only serves to sweeten the draw for going back.
Joe’s kitchen may look ordinary on the outside, or even you might totally missed it when you passed by the place at its location at Bukit Merah, just directly opposite Alexander Hospital. I did. Having passed by the area a few times, i didn’t know there was this hidden gem offering authentic thai food experience in our midst of our heartland.
I was given this opportunity for the wonderful Makan experience organized by Leslie of ieatishootipost fame. A total of 47 food punters joined us on this occasion. Some of which were ieat’s old makan kakis, while many like me were first-timers joining ieat on his makan session.
The interior of the place was simple, the place wasn’t very big but it managed to squeeze all 47 of us inside the place. I wondered how all of us managed to eat inside that night. Miracle!
The event was supposed to start at 7pm, i got there around 645pm and there were people there already. Damien was the co-organizer for the outing. Jiawei and Shanice were the earliest there if i’m not wrong, i seated in the same table with them. Also on the same table as me were liverpool, eastcoastlife & hubby, yanti & friend. All of us had a wonderful time chatting taking photos, and savouring the food.
The crowd starts to come in and by around 740pm or thereabouts almost everyone arrived. The menu was to be 14 dishes including some starters, mains, and desserts. All the dishes came in sampling tasting size so that we can have a bit of everything. The female boss, Jamie (chef Joe’s wife) is friendly and attended to us warmly.
Crispy rice cake The Kao Dang Na Dang help to kick-start our makan session. Not commonly found in Singapore. the cripsy rice cake, was supposed to go together with the peanut sauce. I didn’t quite enjoy this appetizer as i found it to be way too dry for my liking.
Prawn Cakes The Thot Man Goong or Prawn Cakes was nice to eat, it was crispy and the prawn taste is just right.
Mango Salad The mango salad is one the appetizer dish that you will not be surprised to find in a Thai restaurant. No doubt about it, th salad is packed with everything. The first taste of it, refreshing. The initial impression was its not as spicy as i thought. But the magical part of it was the longer it gets, the spicier it became. A few more bites and the mango salad got to its “full level”
As most of us waited quite long for everyone to turn up before the dishes to serve, by the time the mango salad came out everybody were famished. We literally “attacked” the salad, and it was until ieat told us to hold our horses, that the salad was supposed to eat together with the sticky rice and chicken which were not out yet then we realized that.
Gai Yang (Grilled Chicken) The grilled chicken was quite good to be honest, everyone got a bite of it. Placing the mango salad and the chicken onto the sticky rice, the taste is very different from eating the three dishes separately.
Grilled Pork Collar This was no doubt for me, the star of the show! The Khaw Mu Yang, or grilled pork collar was somewhat similar to our Chinese char siew, albeit Thai style. Many of the kakis found it to be good too! Its also commonly eaten together with the sticky rice and mango salad. But its so good that we eat it on its own.
Tom Yum soup with fried fish In my personal opinion, how good a Thai restaurant is can be based on the test of their Tom Yum soup. Unquestionably. Tom Yum soup is the first thing that most people will think of when they think of Thai food. Well i say the Tom Yum soup by Chef Joe should passed with flying colours. The soup is really spicy, at least from my perspective. Dipping the crispy fried fish into the soup was quite a experience for me.
Green curry beef The beef was tender, and immersed with the essence of the green curry.
Deep fried Grouper with Thai chili The Thai chili was excellent here, real hot and a little sweet spicy. But i couldn’t help drinking more water so as to have a few more mouthful of the chili with the deep fried grouper.
Red Curry Roasted Duck Having seen the green curry earlier, my first thought was red curry after green? This was followed by roasted duck curry? I have never heard of roasted duck curry, let alone tasting it. But this dish was really not bad, i’m not sure how the roasted duck came about, whether Chef Joe roasted the duck, or he brought it from elsewhere and cook it with the red curry, but nevertheless its good.
And to our astonishment, there were grapes, yes grapes inside the curry! Talk about surprise, first roasted duck in curry, then grapes?
Basil leave minced pork I was never a fan of minced pork in the first place, n’uff said!
Claypot Crab Vermicelli with fatty pork Although the claypot crab was suppose to be the highlight here, but we got into eating the vermicelli instead. After cooking, the essence of the crab and fatty pork all went into the vermicelli, that alone should suffice for eating the vermicelli.
Poom Fy Dang - Kang Kong Thai style Like all the other dishes in Joe’s Kitchen, the first taste was not very spicy, but the second bite was real hot. The Kang Kong got hotter with each bite, i suggested just swallow the veggies!
Mango Stick rice To round off our authentic Thai food experience, we had Mango sticky rice, the mango was real sweet!
Tapioca with Coconut milk I didn’t like tapioca, so this dish was not to my taste bud
Total Bill was $1646 for 47 people, $35 per head for the Authentic Thai food experience at Chef Joe’s place. I love going to Makan outings with big groups because we can get to know more people. Think Yebber Party @ MINT where there were about 50 people, the Social Media Breakfast with around 40 odds people, and now this ieat makan outing with 47 people.
Credits to Leslie (ieat) and Damien whom organized this makan session for everyone to get together and enjoyed food. I looked forward to the many more outings organized by them, to meet more people and eat more food!
The beauty of food, it can bring everyone from all ages, different backgrounds together, for one common purpose that is to savour all the good food. How often do you see strangers getting together and seating down for a meal? I’m going to organised LIC food event soon, do watch out for the post!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my genuine feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or biasness. Please do not feel emotional or distress should you have any violent objections. Kindly click the little X at the upper, extreme right of your screen if negative adjectives would be derived. Otherwise, feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
” Authentic Thai Food experience, in the midst of our heartland “
Finally stepped my foot into this outlet situated in the east! It is located all the way on the top storey of Parkway Parade which is accessible by both the life and the escalator. I took the lift up at first and it is interesting that one has to walk through the multi-storey carpark to get to the club. Yet, it also gives greater privacy and exclusiveness when they have the entire floor to themselves.
The club was big, though second to their 2-storey outlet at Suntec City. The layout of the whole place was pretty much similar to that of Great World City's but here is definitely alot more spacious than Great World. Without any windows overlooking the view outside (just roads & flats anyway), the place was nicely done up with big mirror walls. Most of the equipments are new and have been neatly arranged accordingly.
There were 3 studios, 1 for spinning, another one for mind & soul classes and the last one for high-intensity exercise. All three will not very big, but good enough to hold a class of 30-40 people.
Not forgetting the toilets. At least for the ladies, it was huge & spacious! The individual shower room was big too!
I totally love this outlet and will try to attend more classes here!
Having heard about the pizzas served here, I finally got the opportunity to try! Lucky that my friend & I were early for dinner. The two of us managed to find a 4-seater table in the tiny shop. Hee hee....
Don't judge by the size of this shop. I was surprised by the variety of food that's available on the menu. Besides having a good variety of pizzas, there's pasta and bake rice as well. We were so spoilt for choice! We finally settled on a BBQ chicken personal pizza ($6.80) and a chef's favourite personal pizza ($8.80). Being a big chilli lover, I requested for "4 chilli" for the spicyness (I think the most spicy was "5 chilli") of my chef's favourite pizza. Haha
All you have to do is to write down your order on the memo, go to the cashier and make payment. Oh yes! This shop doesn't charge service charge :)
The pizza was soon served to us, piping hot! One bite on the pizza was good enough to draw the conclusion. GOOD!!!! The crust was thin & crispy and their generous amount of cheese and toppings just make it perfect. Oh yes, the "4 chilli" really made the pizza very spicy but I enjoyed every single bite of it. The 4 slices for the personal pizza was just enough to satisfy my hunger that day. But if you are a big eater, that's definitely not sufficient.
The bill came up to $17.50, which includes the 2 pizzas and a drink and i find it pretty reasonable.
My friends and I wanted to find a place to sit down for a chit chat and also to have some ice cream dessert after a not-satisfying meal. Decided on this place as there are small round tables for us to crowd around to chit chat as well for an ice cream.
Having sat down, my friends and I looked through the menu but because one of my friends and I would need to rush off soon, we decided to get a scoop of ice cream each to be taken away. But then, we were told by their waitress that if we were to take away our orders, we could not occupy the seats meant for dine-in customers only. At that point, my friends who were still at the table were still deciding on their orders. Even though I told them this, my friends were still being chased out of their seats.
What I noticed was that none of the waitress was willing to serve me at the cashier before my friends got chased out. I can't help but wonder if it's because they wanted to make sure that my friends were successfully chased out of the place before they can accept my payment as for take away orders. Just for that 10% service charge & 7% GST, this was what they did to their customers? That's very wrong of them!
After walking around Parkway Parade, my friends and I have came to conclude that this looked like a pretty decent dining place for us and there we went.
We waited at the entrance for quite a while before a waiter came over to bring us to our seats. I thought that it is a standard practice for restaurants to inform their customers of their soup of the day. This place just failed to do so. Not so much that it is important, it took us quite a while again to get the attention of the staff so that we can check out what's the soup of the day. Mind you, this is a not a big restaurant, just a small cafe size eating place with 4-5 staffs around and the place was not even fully packed with customers! Like what my friend had commented, all the staff here put on a long face, hardly any smile on their face with the exception of one waiter.
Oh yes, having said so much, I've not even talked about their food. Besides the ala carte menu, they provide all-day set meals which have been grouped into 3 categories - Executive set ($13.80), Gourmet set ($19.80) and for the last one, I can't recall the name but it costs $20.80. Each set comes with free-flow of bread, soup of the day main course and a coffee or tea.
We ordered 2 seafood pasta, one with tomato sauce while the other aglio olio and a caesar salad.
The bread was available at their bread counter and all for you to cut. There's even a toaster for you to toast your bread. The bread tasted ok, not too dry to eat on its own. In fact, I would say that the bread tasted so much better than their main course. Soup of the day was cream of seafood. I didn't find much seafood in the soup, just alot of potato & carrot. Hmm...
After a long wait, finally came our main course! Too bad, it was a real disappointment! Spaghetti was very salty for both the aglio olio & tomato based pasta. Clams were salty too, prawns & crayfish were overcooked.
During our hour-long stay in the cafe, we met the one & only friendly staff who was concerned with our dining experience there. I guess that's the only saving grace for the cafe which is seriously worthy of that one star from me.
Had dinner at Da Paolo La Terrazza - one of 7 Italian restaurants/bars/gourmet shops that the Da Paolo group has opened up since their early days as Trattoria Da Paolo in Tanjong Pagar.
Located just a stone's throwaway from the ever crowded Holland Village in the quiet, tree lined stretch of Jalan Merah Sage, La Terrazza offers a respite from the hustle and bustle of life as the rat race takes a back seat in this charming little neighbourhood restaurant. The decor is simple yet comfortable, with its rattan chairs and a small alfresco dining area to cater to those who wish to enjoy the humidity of Singapore. Then again, there's only the air curtain to seperate the air conditioned area and the alfresco area so sitting inside doesn't guarantee a cool dinner, which was the case that very night I was there.
The complimentary bread was a good start to the meal. Fragrant, soft and moist on the inside yet crisp on the outside. It would have been better if served warm though.
La Terrazza's offering of the minestrone soup hit some rather flat notes to render it painfully average. I could have gotten the same standard of soup at most decent western restaurants for a lower price. Probably the only interesting thing was that the soup came with a slice of cheese in it, something I've not seen anywhere else. Not that it really made much of a difference to the taste of the soup though.
Cappesante Alle Erbe e Brandy - Sauteed Scallops with Brandy and Herbs - I like scallops hence I tend to have higher expectations of them. And these failed miserably. The scallops were bland and soft, not firm as I would have expected and there was no taste of brandy whatsoever. The only discernible taste came from the ground pepper scattered atop.
Tagliatelle Al Granchio - The Tagliatelle Al Granchio aka crab meat pasta provided a much needed boost to the disappointing dinner thus far. Al dente without being too heavy on the cream or taste. Nice and filling just the way I liked it. Could do with a little more crab meat though.
Crespelle Alla Crema - Caramelised Thin Pancakes with Vanilla Pastry Cream and Vanilla Ice Cream - This is probably one of the very very few times where I order pancakes for dessert. But I'm glad I did. The caramelised pancakes were rather interesting because as the name implies, the pancakes were coated with a hardened layer of caramel, making it sweet. Personally, I would have prefered chocolate cream instead of vanilla cream inside though.
Tiramisu - Undoubtedly the star of the evening, and one of the main reasons why I wanted to eat at La Terrazza - the tiramisu. The not overly wet sponge to mascarpone cheese ratio was quite even and overall the tiramisu came across as light and fluffy with a stronger than usual hint of alcohol. A slice costs $10 and if you want the entire cake, its $60.
$94 for a soup, an appetiser, a main and 2 desserts certainly isn't prohibitively expensive considering the relatively above average quality of food in general. But it isn't cheap either. On the flip side, service is good and efficient but rather mechanical, lacking the personal touch and warmth.
I believe everybody is familiar with the song on television that goes: "Dom Dom Kushinbo" etc etc. And this is my second visit to the place in 4 years if i'm not wrong so there's quite a few new things we can talk about. Here we go>>>
$27.80 per head (Lunch buffet) - Japanese buffets are without a doubt one of my favorite buffets to have. The one offered by Kuishinbo certainly has alot up for offer. As per my previous visit, some things have changed. The interior being one of the changes and the amount of food offerings as well. Not exactly for the better in my opinion, the seats and ambiance seem to have taken a step backwards and just feels less friendly then before. Service and clearing of plates this time seemed to have improved though. On to the food, you get a whole lot of choices to begin with. Cold dishes like sashimi, cha soba, sushi and california rolls are yours for the taking. Then there are the deep fried dishes which had ebi tempura, chicken, hotate and other fried items. There are also soups, paper steamboats and assorted other items which could be cooked on the spot for you. Desserts are piled with cakes, ice cream, fondue, puffs and biscuits. Coffee and tea are also available for the taking.
Basically, the food is decent albeit nothing really stays with you after you finish eating. The sashimi are alright though the quality is definitely questionable. I liked the california rolls they had. The tempura had way too much batter and not enough prawn. The steamboat is simply too sweet for comfort. The miso soup here is the worst i've ever had. The cooked salmon is normal, the dory is nicely sweet and tender while the beef was overcooked and rubbery. Basically, their sushis were moderately decent. The dessert was alright if you simply go for the fondue and the cakes, the puffs, cookies and brownies really need improvement. And that about sums everything up.
Total bill came up to $65.44 for a stuffed stomach and a less then satisfied pallet.
The buffet we had was lunch which meant we didn't get to have any crab. I was told that the crab served during the evenings were much better and worth a try. But as it stands, i'm probably not going to return for another try at least for the next year or so.
1=SGD 0.0587
Had the opportunity to partake in a tasting session at Persimmon one Wednesday evening, courtesy of its co owner, Helena, who also co owns the casual eatery Epicurious at Roberston Quay. Persimmon bills itself as a fusion restaurant, incorporating both chinese and western food to blend up its own variety of fusion. Think somewhere along the lines of another Singapore fusion restaurant, Wild Rocket.
Stepping into Persimmon is reminiscent of stepping into a high class coffeeshop, with its checkered tile floors, white top tables and wooden chairs. What it lacks is the spinning ceiling fans which have been replaced by air conditioning units but I'm definitely not complaining. Not with Singapore's heat and humidity. Coupled with a low ceiling and retro music, it made for a soothing and laid back atmosphere.
Mushroom & Sesame Shooter - I liked this inconspicuous little shot glass of warm mushroom soup. Savoury with a hint of sesame and bits of mushroom. There was suppose to be 绍兴酒 in it but that was apparently not evident.
Fisherman's Pie - Persimmon's rendition of the fisherman's pie took a different twist from the norm. Instead of the usual seafood ingredients enveloped within a mould of pastry, this one was more of a soup bowl covered with a puff pastry lid. Another interesting thing was the choice of soup, which was a less oily version of the ubiquitous Laksa gravy. Honestly, I didn't find the soup or the ingredients very outstanding, coming across as decent at best. The pastry also needed some reworking in my humble opinion, probably through the addition of more butter to make it more fragrant and creamier to the tastebuds.
Fried Kway Teow with Wagyu Beef - I'm sorry to say this, but as fragrant and tasty as the kway teow may be, it is still CKT (Char Kway Teow), albeit of a less oily version than the ones you find in hawker centres outside. It came with a poached quail egg and mushrooms but lacked the discernible wok hei taste due to it being pan fried I believe. Did I mention that it was a tad too salty as well?
The accompanying wagyu beef came served atop a bed of beansprouts and was tender, juicy and almost mouthwatering. But being too thinly sliced, it was a little overcooked and I honestly couldn't tell that it was wagyu beef. So much for such an expensive breed of beef.
On a side note, it would definitely be funny if someone called it 牛肉河粉.
Wagyu Beef - As with the wagyu beef from the CKT, this dish of wagyu was thinly sliced and a tad overcooked, but at least portions were more significant and each slice held more bite. I just wonder how much would such a dish cost.
White Pepper Crab Cake with Tunghoon Salad & Scallop - I've never really been a fan of crab cakes and Persimmon's offering wasn't just about to change that. But thats not to say it wasn't good. As a matter of fact, it was quite decent, with lots of shredded crab, but just not outstanding.
The tunghoon salad held quite a few surprises with its overly zesty taste harbouring a spicy aftermath that hits you slowly but surely. And the lone fleshy scallop that came alongside was a little too undercooked, soft and bland.
Pineapple Tart - Now this was one huge unconventional pineapple tart. A scoop of ice cream atop a sweet pineapple ring, covering a layer of caramelised pineapple, all on a huge tart base. I'm a sucker for pineapple tarts so I liked it quite a fair bit with the nice and smooth ice cream but I did think that it could have been better. The tart base lacked the oven baked taste which I personally like and it wasn't crumbly enough. That aside, its really quite worth the eat.
Overall I think the food is pretty decent and probably a few minor tweaks here and there would suffice. As mentioned earlier, it was a complimentary tasting session hence I am unsure of the prices but a quick glance at the regular menu shows most main courses to be in the $20 range. I might do a revisit, just as soon as I am able to ascertain the food prices.
To end, please allow me to extend my thanks to Helena for the invite and for being an excellent host.
See all pictures here.
Rating given:
Ok, the one for one credit card promotion, is indeed appealing. And, that is why it can make me go all the way to toa payoh and try out their cod fish and abalone set meal. Haha.
Bascially the entire set meal consist of six different small dishes. Although each dish serving is rather small and does not include any rice or noodles kind of carbo food, it still manage to be quite fulfiling towards the end of the course.
The first dish of this set meal includes the shark bone soup. This milky colour soup has a rather strong fishie smell, thus it might be good to add in some pepper or vinegar to neutralize the taste. Taste wise, its pretty good and with the added scallop and fish maw (i think), makes the entire soup taste sweet.
Next that came up is the banana, cod fish and duck combo set. Ok, theres basically three different types of food in the dish, typically the sweet and sour cod fish, the duck slices (cold in taste) as well as the banana and prawn roll.
The banana and prawn roll tasted simply marvellous, imagine the just two very simple ingredient -- banana and prawn, they managed to make it tasted heavenly. And with the added thousand island sauce and the sesame taste on the crepe skin, it will made one to crave for more. But too bad, theres only one roll per person share.
Next coming up is the abalone with seafood stick. Just one single stick per person and it consist of some abalone, mushroom, sea cumcumber and prawn. Their abalone was pretty well cooked with a texture of chewiness and softness.
The ABC sauce chicken was the next dish. The nicely cooked chicken will definitely make one to crave for more. Imagine the skin that can be made comparable with those of bejing duck, a very cripiness skin can be found. Not forgetting the meat tastes juicy and tender.
Next came the carrot cake dish. Ok, i know carrot cake is a pretty normal kind of food. But, somehow they managed to make it tasted like 'chao guay tiao'. Amazing issnt it?
Lastly, not forgetting the double boiled coconut dessert. For this, i was rather disappointed to think that i can only see one small slice of coconut in the dessert. With the additional scoop of ice cream, i find this dessert abit too sweet for my liking.
As for their service wise, their staffs in the outlet were rather friendly and sometimes were 'over' helpful. Imagine, they keep refilling your cup of tea after you seep one mouthful? Haha, this is actually what happen literally at my table.
And not forgetting that during the half time of my eating phase (completion of my third dish), i have to wait for more than 20 minutes before my next dish come up. The first few dishes came quite promptly, but the interval between the third and fourth dish seems abit too long. Well, guess this issnt very good for a customer to wait for that long. However, they manage to mend this with the rest of their dishes coming quite promptly again.
Rating given:
Banking on the concept of nostalgia and old world charm, Jacob's Cafe is all about rediscovery, fresh food and simple, laid back relaxation. Established since September 2000, Jacob's has been serving and belting out tasty country meals for families and couples alike.
Jacob's features an al fresco dining area which makes up the bulk of the seating arrangements and the inner sanctum which has only limited seats of up to 10 people. The seats in the restaurant definitely brings with it a rustic charm and a comfortable atmosphere but the trade off is that after the meal, you'll come out smelling like one yourself. The al fresco seats have no such problem but lighting and visibility will be a little lower.
Pumpkin Soup(Part of the game hen meal), Bread Roll(Part of the game hen meal) - Our first visit there was more of a trial, we wanted to see exactly how good the place was since FZ mentioned the bread roll here has to be the best in Singapore. Thus, we ordered one of the specials on the board. This being the oven baked game hen set meal which came with soup, bread roll, coffee and the game hen of course. For starters, the pumpkin soup was very creamy, a little sweet and definitely opens the pallet. Not the best i had but its decent enough. The bread roll needs a little more description. It will not be immediately apparent why this bread roll is good, but a few bites into it will convince you otherwise. Reason being, its the only bread roll i've had that is completely balanced in having a reasonably hard crust while still maintaining warm and soft inside. You can't even compare it to any other bread roll thus far for that matter. There are no problems with biting into it and separating it as compared to some french loaves you find outside, where eating it is a challenge in itself. Make no mistake, this bread roll is better. Try it to find out.
Oven Baked Game Hen ($25.90) - The game hen came as quite a large portion. Definitely bigger then the spring chickens you can find at the food court. It came with 2 sides, assorted greens and fries. The fries were normal enough while the boiled greens were sauteed with a little butter to enhance the taste while remaining moderately crunchy and soft. The game hen was plump, juicy, tender and very fragrant. The sauce made it slightly salty but it suits the dish well. There's meat enough to go around for 2 people so basically, if you order this, it can be shared for 2 small eaters. I like the way the juices are locked in so that the hen remained tender without being dry. Worth a try.
Jacob's Pizza ($16.90) - Ah yes...Jacob's pizza. I always love ordering food that bears the restaurants namesake because its very important what they put their name on to represent themselves. This pizza, does not disappoint. It came chock full of toppings and cheese with a thin and crispy crust to boot. And the important thing is, you get to see them prepare it fresh before they pop it into the oven and serve to the customers. No issues on freshness here. This is definitely worth a try if you are here. Do note the waiting time for it extends by up to 20 minutes so its wise to order something else while waiting.
Apple Crumble and Vanilla Ice Cream ($7.50) - Having fallen in love with the apple crumble at coffee club, i make it a point to order it when i try out a new place. This is no exception here. However, lo and behold, it turns out to be the first disappointment of the day. Every item up till now has been above average but this sank the experience down quite a bit. To describe how it tastes is easy, its bascially Mcdonald's apple pie with a nicer crust and ice cream thrown into the fray. Definitely leave this out of the meal.
Coffee (Part of the game hen meal) - Our meal came with coffee as well and while its not exactly a gourmet cuppa, i do appreciate them including it and it does complete a meal pretty well.
The total bill for this visit came up to $50.30 with no gst nor service charge. Oh! The service here is really good as well. And the price is definitely justified as the quality of food is of a certain standard.
Barely a week later, me and my gf returned once again to re experience Jacob's and find out if it is still as good as before.
Mushroom Soup (Part of the Ribeye Set) - This time around, i ordered the ribeye set which also came with soup, bread roll and coffee. We had mushroom soup this time and its more watery with chunks of mushroom in it. Its quite bland but still pretty decent. The bread roll is as good as ever though.
Ham and Sausage Combo ($19.90) - My gf ordered the Ham and sausage combo which is actually called the meatloaf on the menu. It arrived as a huge plate with sides of mashed potato and sauerkraut with some mustard for dipping. The mashed potato was pretty good with some peppery taste and a some chunks of potato in it as well. The meatloaf or ham looks like a huge piece of luncheon meat actually and tastes a little like luncheon meat as well but is firmer and juicier. The sausages were definitely fragrant and very tasty.
Ribeye Steak ($28.90) - Another huge serving, the steak came with 3 sides, a tomato with pepper and celery, boiled greens and mashed potatoes. The steak i ordered was done medium rare as i ordered and is very very juicy. Its also a tad salty and had some parts not evenly done as there were portions that were a little too rare. Still, its a decent main dish. However, i probably won't recommend ordering it since Jacob's has other items that are much better.
Pecan Pie ($4.60) - During the first visit, the worst item was the dessert which thankfully isn't the case this time. By recommendation, we ordered the pecan pie which is supposedly a rather rare item in Singapore. This dessert is moderately sweet, crunchy and different in a good way. Its served hot, as in very hot and is something easily recommended. Try it.
Total bill for this visit is $53.40.
And for my third and last visit (so far anyway), we had yet again, a different choice and different items.
Fresh Farm Salad (Part of the Jacob's Chicken Pie Set) - Part of the Jacob's Chicken pie set, this is basically farm fresh salad drenched in balsamic vinegar for good effect. Sour, sweet and fresh, the salad definitely opens your appetite for the meal that follows.
Frankfurters Set ($8.90) - I ordered this thinking that i would be getting the thick and big versions of these little sausages but i was wrong. What was served was extremely small and measly. Taste wise, it doesn't taste any different from the run-of-the-mill sausages you could get outside. This is the second disappointment i've had at Jacob's.
Hungarian Beef Goulash With Bread Roll ($13.50) - I've been wanted to have a go at the Hungarian Goulash ever since i saw it in the menu. Now, i've finally had the chance to try it. For the price, the serving is huge. You get a huge plate of beef, carrots, potatoes and tomatoes in a delectable stew and the choice to have it with either rice or bread roll. I obviously chose the bread roll since its still without a doubt, one of the best bread rolls i've had. The goulash tastes like a cross between beef stew and sardines actually. It doesn't sound very good but in actual fact, it works. Its difficult to describe it further but you'll get a strong beef taste along with a sweet and sour broth which goes really well with the roll. Worth a try.
Jacob's Pie ($16.90) - My gf's Jacob's pie was actually a really small serving given the price but of course, you need to factor in the salad that came before as well. The pastry it came in had a nice buttery taste which i immediately took to and its very crusty and crispy as well. The pie ingredients itself were potatos, green beans, carrots and lots and lots of chicken pieces. The thing i like about the dish was the crust and the fact that the pie is a little bland. Do note that its also superbly hot when served so its important to be careful while eating. Not too bad but not exactly mind blowing either.
Tiramisu with Vanilla Ice Cream ($8.50) - The tiramisu this time was rather good as well. There is a clear distinction on where the cake starts and where the cream ends. The only gripe is that its note evenly done with some portions thicker then the rest. The rum is easily discernible but not overwhelming. I'd say the pecan pie was better though.
The bill this time clocked off at $47.80 for 2 people for a filling and satisfying meal.
Out of 3 meals, i can't say there were no misses. But for what its worth, the experience was still above average and if you asked me, i'd gladly go for another meal. The fact that there's no service charge or gst only serves to sweeten the draw for going back.
Rating given:
Joe’s kitchen may look ordinary on the outside, or even you might totally missed it when you passed by the place at its location at Bukit Merah, just directly opposite Alexander Hospital. I did. Having passed by the area a few times, i didn’t know there was this hidden gem offering authentic thai food experience in our midst of our heartland.
I was given this opportunity for the wonderful Makan experience organized by Leslie of ieatishootipost fame. A total of 47 food punters joined us on this occasion. Some of which were ieat’s old makan kakis, while many like me were first-timers joining ieat on his makan session.
The interior of the place was simple, the place wasn’t very big but it managed to squeeze all 47 of us inside the place. I wondered how all of us managed to eat inside that night. Miracle!
The event was supposed to start at 7pm, i got there around 645pm and there were people there already. Damien was the co-organizer for the outing. Jiawei and Shanice were the earliest there if i’m not wrong, i seated in the same table with them. Also on the same table as me were liverpool, eastcoastlife & hubby, yanti & friend. All of us had a wonderful time chatting taking photos, and savouring the food.
The crowd starts to come in and by around 740pm or thereabouts almost everyone arrived. The menu was to be 14 dishes including some starters, mains, and desserts. All the dishes came in sampling tasting size so that we can have a bit of everything. The female boss, Jamie (chef Joe’s wife) is friendly and attended to us warmly.
Crispy rice cake
The Kao Dang Na Dang help to kick-start our makan session. Not commonly found in Singapore. the cripsy rice cake, was supposed to go together with the peanut sauce. I didn’t quite enjoy this appetizer as i found it to be way too dry for my liking.
Prawn Cakes
The Thot Man Goong or Prawn Cakes was nice to eat, it was crispy and the prawn taste is just right.
Mango Salad
The mango salad is one the appetizer dish that you will not be surprised to find in a Thai restaurant. No doubt about it, th salad is packed with everything. The first taste of it, refreshing. The initial impression was its not as spicy as i thought. But the magical part of it was the longer it gets, the spicier it became. A few more bites and the mango salad got to its “full level”
As most of us waited quite long for everyone to turn up before the dishes to serve, by the time the mango salad came out everybody were famished. We literally “attacked” the salad, and it was until ieat told us to hold our horses, that the salad was supposed to eat together with the sticky rice and chicken which were not out yet then we realized that.
Gai Yang (Grilled Chicken)
The grilled chicken was quite good to be honest, everyone got a bite of it. Placing the mango salad and the chicken onto the sticky rice, the taste is very different from eating the three dishes separately.
Grilled Pork Collar
This was no doubt for me, the star of the show! The Khaw Mu Yang, or grilled pork collar was somewhat similar to our Chinese char siew, albeit Thai style. Many of the kakis found it to be good too! Its also commonly eaten together with the sticky rice and mango salad. But its so good that we eat it on its own.
Tom Yum soup with fried fish
In my personal opinion, how good a Thai restaurant is can be based on the test of their Tom Yum soup. Unquestionably. Tom Yum soup is the first thing that most people will think of when they think of Thai food. Well i say the Tom Yum soup by Chef Joe should passed with flying colours. The soup is really spicy, at least from my perspective. Dipping the crispy fried fish into the soup was quite a experience for me.
Green curry beef
The beef was tender, and immersed with the essence of the green curry.
Deep fried Grouper with Thai chili
The Thai chili was excellent here, real hot and a little sweet spicy. But i couldn’t help drinking more water so as to have a few more mouthful of the chili with the deep fried grouper.
Red Curry Roasted Duck
Having seen the green curry earlier, my first thought was red curry after green? This was followed by roasted duck curry? I have never heard of roasted duck curry, let alone tasting it. But this dish was really not bad, i’m not sure how the roasted duck came about, whether Chef Joe roasted the duck, or he brought it from elsewhere and cook it with the red curry, but nevertheless its good.
And to our astonishment, there were grapes, yes grapes inside the curry! Talk about surprise, first roasted duck in curry, then grapes?
Basil leave minced pork
I was never a fan of minced pork in the first place, n’uff said!
Claypot Crab Vermicelli with fatty pork
Although the claypot crab was suppose to be the highlight here, but we got into eating the vermicelli instead. After cooking, the essence of the crab and fatty pork all went into the vermicelli, that alone should suffice for eating the vermicelli.
Poom Fy Dang - Kang Kong Thai style
Like all the other dishes in Joe’s Kitchen, the first taste was not very spicy, but the second bite was real hot. The Kang Kong got hotter with each bite, i suggested just swallow the veggies!
Mango Stick rice
To round off our authentic Thai food experience, we had Mango sticky rice, the mango was real sweet!
Tapioca with Coconut milk
I didn’t like tapioca, so this dish was not to my taste bud
Total Bill was $1646 for 47 people, $35 per head for the Authentic Thai food experience at Chef Joe’s place. I love going to Makan outings with big groups because we can get to know more people. Think Yebber Party @ MINT where there were about 50 people, the Social Media Breakfast with around 40 odds people, and now this ieat makan outing with 47 people.
Credits to Leslie (ieat) and Damien whom organized this makan session for everyone to get together and enjoyed food. I looked forward to the many more outings organized by them, to meet more people and eat more food!
The beauty of food, it can bring everyone from all ages, different backgrounds together, for one common purpose that is to savour all the good food. How often do you see strangers getting together and seating down for a meal? I’m going to organised LIC food event soon, do watch out for the post!
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my genuine feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or biasness. Please do not feel emotional or distress should you have any violent objections. Kindly click the little X at the upper, extreme right of your screen if negative adjectives would be derived. Otherwise, feel free to furnish me with comments, may it be positive or negative : )
” Authentic Thai Food experience, in the midst of our heartland “
Rating given:
Finally stepped my foot into this outlet situated in the east! It is located all the way on the top storey of Parkway Parade which is accessible by both the life and the escalator. I took the lift up at first and it is interesting that one has to walk through the multi-storey carpark to get to the club. Yet, it also gives greater privacy and exclusiveness when they have the entire floor to themselves.
The club was big, though second to their 2-storey outlet at Suntec City. The layout of the whole place was pretty much similar to that of Great World City's but here is definitely alot more spacious than Great World. Without any windows overlooking the view outside (just roads & flats anyway), the place was nicely done up with big mirror walls. Most of the equipments are new and have been neatly arranged accordingly.
There were 3 studios, 1 for spinning, another one for mind & soul classes and the last one for high-intensity exercise. All three will not very big, but good enough to hold a class of 30-40 people.
Not forgetting the toilets. At least for the ladies, it was huge & spacious! The individual shower room was big too!
I totally love this outlet and will try to attend more classes here!
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Having heard about the pizzas served here, I finally got the opportunity to try! Lucky that my friend & I were early for dinner. The two of us managed to find a 4-seater table in the tiny shop. Hee hee....
Don't judge by the size of this shop. I was surprised by the variety of food that's available on the menu. Besides having a good variety of pizzas, there's pasta and bake rice as well. We were so spoilt for choice! We finally settled on a BBQ chicken personal pizza ($6.80) and a chef's favourite personal pizza ($8.80). Being a big chilli lover, I requested for "4 chilli" for the spicyness (I think the most spicy was "5 chilli") of my chef's favourite pizza. Haha
All you have to do is to write down your order on the memo, go to the cashier and make payment. Oh yes! This shop doesn't charge service charge :)
The pizza was soon served to us, piping hot! One bite on the pizza was good enough to draw the conclusion. GOOD!!!! The crust was thin & crispy and their generous amount of cheese and toppings just make it perfect. Oh yes, the "4 chilli" really made the pizza very spicy but I enjoyed every single bite of it. The 4 slices for the personal pizza was just enough to satisfy my hunger that day. But if you are a big eater, that's definitely not sufficient.
The bill came up to $17.50, which includes the 2 pizzas and a drink and i find it pretty reasonable.
I'll be back again!
Rating given:
Ice cream!!!
My friends and I wanted to find a place to sit down for a chit chat and also to have some ice cream dessert after a not-satisfying meal. Decided on this place as there are small round tables for us to crowd around to chit chat as well for an ice cream.
Having sat down, my friends and I looked through the menu but because one of my friends and I would need to rush off soon, we decided to get a scoop of ice cream each to be taken away. But then, we were told by their waitress that if we were to take away our orders, we could not occupy the seats meant for dine-in customers only. At that point, my friends who were still at the table were still deciding on their orders. Even though I told them this, my friends were still being chased out of their seats.
What I noticed was that none of the waitress was willing to serve me at the cashier before my friends got chased out. I can't help but wonder if it's because they wanted to make sure that my friends were successfully chased out of the place before they can accept my payment as for take away orders. Just for that 10% service charge & 7% GST, this was what they did to their customers? That's very wrong of them!
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After walking around Parkway Parade, my friends and I have came to conclude that this looked like a pretty decent dining place for us and there we went.
We waited at the entrance for quite a while before a waiter came over to bring us to our seats. I thought that it is a standard practice for restaurants to inform their customers of their soup of the day. This place just failed to do so. Not so much that it is important, it took us quite a while again to get the attention of the staff so that we can check out what's the soup of the day. Mind you, this is a not a big restaurant, just a small cafe size eating place with 4-5 staffs around and the place was not even fully packed with customers! Like what my friend had commented, all the staff here put on a long face, hardly any smile on their face with the exception of one waiter.
Oh yes, having said so much, I've not even talked about their food. Besides the ala carte menu, they provide all-day set meals which have been grouped into 3 categories - Executive set ($13.80), Gourmet set ($19.80) and for the last one, I can't recall the name but it costs $20.80. Each set comes with free-flow of bread, soup of the day main course and a coffee or tea.
We ordered 2 seafood pasta, one with tomato sauce while the other aglio olio and a caesar salad.
The bread was available at their bread counter and all for you to cut. There's even a toaster for you to toast your bread. The bread tasted ok, not too dry to eat on its own. In fact, I would say that the bread tasted so much better than their main course. Soup of the day was cream of seafood. I didn't find much seafood in the soup, just alot of potato & carrot. Hmm...
After a long wait, finally came our main course! Too bad, it was a real disappointment! Spaghetti was very salty for both the aglio olio & tomato based pasta. Clams were salty too, prawns & crayfish were overcooked.
During our hour-long stay in the cafe, we met the one & only friendly staff who was concerned with our dining experience there. I guess that's the only saving grace for the cafe which is seriously worthy of that one star from me.
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Had dinner at Da Paolo La Terrazza - one of 7 Italian restaurants/bars/gourmet shops that the Da Paolo group has opened up since their early days as Trattoria Da Paolo in Tanjong Pagar.
Located just a stone's throwaway from the ever crowded Holland Village in the quiet, tree lined stretch of Jalan Merah Sage, La Terrazza offers a respite from the hustle and bustle of life as the rat race takes a back seat in this charming little neighbourhood restaurant. The decor is simple yet comfortable, with its rattan chairs and a small alfresco dining area to cater to those who wish to enjoy the humidity of Singapore. Then again, there's only the air curtain to seperate the air conditioned area and the alfresco area so sitting inside doesn't guarantee a cool dinner, which was the case that very night I was there.
The complimentary bread was a good start to the meal. Fragrant, soft and moist on the inside yet crisp on the outside. It would have been better if served warm though.
La Terrazza's offering of the minestrone soup hit some rather flat notes to render it painfully average. I could have gotten the same standard of soup at most decent western restaurants for a lower price. Probably the only interesting thing was that the soup came with a slice of cheese in it, something I've not seen anywhere else. Not that it really made much of a difference to the taste of the soup though.
Cappesante Alle Erbe e Brandy - Sauteed Scallops with Brandy and Herbs - I like scallops hence I tend to have higher expectations of them. And these failed miserably. The scallops were bland and soft, not firm as I would have expected and there was no taste of brandy whatsoever. The only discernible taste came from the ground pepper scattered atop.
Tagliatelle Al Granchio - The Tagliatelle Al Granchio aka crab meat pasta provided a much needed boost to the disappointing dinner thus far. Al dente without being too heavy on the cream or taste. Nice and filling just the way I liked it. Could do with a little more crab meat though.
Crespelle Alla Crema - Caramelised Thin Pancakes with Vanilla Pastry Cream and Vanilla Ice Cream - This is probably one of the very very few times where I order pancakes for dessert. But I'm glad I did. The caramelised pancakes were rather interesting because as the name implies, the pancakes were coated with a hardened layer of caramel, making it sweet. Personally, I would have prefered chocolate cream instead of vanilla cream inside though.
Tiramisu - Undoubtedly the star of the evening, and one of the main reasons why I wanted to eat at La Terrazza - the tiramisu. The not overly wet sponge to mascarpone cheese ratio was quite even and overall the tiramisu came across as light and fluffy with a stronger than usual hint of alcohol. A slice costs $10 and if you want the entire cake, its $60.
$94 for a soup, an appetiser, a main and 2 desserts certainly isn't prohibitively expensive considering the relatively above average quality of food in general. But it isn't cheap either. On the flip side, service is good and efficient but rather mechanical, lacking the personal touch and warmth.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
I believe everybody is familiar with the song on television that goes: "Dom Dom Kushinbo" etc etc. And this is my second visit to the place in 4 years if i'm not wrong so there's quite a few new things we can talk about. Here we go>>>
$27.80 per head (Lunch buffet) - Japanese buffets are without a doubt one of my favorite buffets to have. The one offered by Kuishinbo certainly has alot up for offer.
As per my previous visit, some things have changed. The interior being one of the changes and the amount of food offerings as well. Not exactly for the better in my opinion, the seats and ambiance seem to have taken a step backwards and just feels less friendly then before. Service and clearing of plates this time seemed to have improved though.
On to the food, you get a whole lot of choices to begin with. Cold dishes like sashimi, cha soba, sushi and california rolls are yours for the taking. Then there are the deep fried dishes which had ebi tempura, chicken, hotate and other fried items. There are also soups, paper steamboats and assorted other items which could be cooked on the spot for you. Desserts are piled with cakes, ice cream, fondue, puffs and biscuits. Coffee and tea are also available for the taking.
Basically, the food is decent albeit nothing really stays with you after you finish eating. The sashimi are alright though the quality is definitely questionable. I liked the california rolls they had. The tempura had way too much batter and not enough prawn. The steamboat is simply too sweet for comfort. The miso soup here is the worst i've ever had. The cooked salmon is normal, the dory is nicely sweet and tender while the beef was overcooked and rubbery. Basically, their sushis were moderately decent. The dessert was alright if you simply go for the fondue and the cakes, the puffs, cookies and brownies really need improvement. And that about sums everything up.
Total bill came up to $65.44 for a stuffed stomach and a less then satisfied pallet.
The buffet we had was lunch which meant we didn't get to have any crab. I was told that the crab served during the evenings were much better and worth a try. But as it stands, i'm probably not going to return for another try at least for the next year or so.
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