Visited this place last Sunday with my parents and they have since been relocated to ground level of Liang Court Shopping Centre. Their old outlet has also been taken over by Ichibantei.
My parents had the usual Black Pig Shabu Shabu Ramen, which I believed most people know they are famous for.
But what I was looking forward to was their Black Pig Pork Chop which is heavenly! You have to try it to know it. The texture is so tender and soft that it melts the moment you bite it. The $20 for the pork chop cut into 8 pieces might seems ex but definitely worth it. If you have not try it, I urge you to do so! That alone is worth 4 stars!
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
After sampling the SHIOK Yakader Chicken Briyani a few months back, people all over has been asking me to try the most famous briyani stall at the other side of Tekka Food Centre instead. The queue at this stall meant nothing as I stood there waiting for 20 minutes. For those who still do not know, this stall is none other than Allauddin’s Briyani (no prize for those who guessed it correctly though).
For $4.00, what you get is also another plate of orangey red looking plate of Chicken Briyani that gets zero marks for presentation. At least Yakader’s serving came lined with banana leaf, what you get from Allauddin is just a Styrofoam plate with no achar (spicy pickled salad) in sight (not that I eat them anyway but at least visually it looks better).
In terms of the chicken, I would say they are both pretty similar in terms of taste and texture. So soft and tender was the meat that a simple tear at the lightest pressure of the fork will cause the meat to be easily separated from its bone. However, I will be inclined to find their rice overly moist and mushy from overcooking, as I expect the basmati rice to be slightly more firm and comes with a better bite. Having waited so long, I also decided to add an extra order of what they call “Lamb Cutlet” for additional $1.00 (although I do not see where the cutlet comes from). A nice savoury outer crust that was fried nicely to taste, it was disappointing though to find it soft on the inside with what seems like flour and onions and little of the lamb.
Overall, I felt that Yakader was the better of the two in terms of chicken briyani, however I would not hesitate to try their mutton next, which was ordered by the customers before me, as it looks pliable and succulent just by the sight of it. As Tekka Food Centre will be re-located to the Temporary Market along Race Course Road from May 1 onwards, Allauddin’s Briyani will be relocated to stall unit #01-189 and #01-190.
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Went to Tampines round market last night for dinner because the traffic to the cinema was horrible. Thus, what to do? Try out a 30 star winner stall to save money and have a nice dinner of course! Was it really good though?
Recently featured on the television show for stalls that needed "rescueing" due to extremely bad business, the stall has since been revamped and the chef retrained to serve much better food....or rather, thats the idea anyway.
A note is that basically, the stallholders do not like anyone to take photos so please try to refrain from that. The lady boss is scary when mad.
We basically ordered only 2 items last night.
A plate of stingray ($10) and a plate of vegetables (nai bai $4) and 2 bowls of rice (30 cents). Haven't had a cheap meal in like forever so this is a refreshing start.
They made their name by getting 30 out of 30 votes for their food on zhi ca.
The stingray is actually quite big and theres a lot of chili and meat available to pick through. I'm not too sure about the freshness of the fish since the chili manages to mask the taste overall. No denying that the meat is plenty though. However i did find the chili to need more work as its too dry and not very tasty. Thank goodness for the accompanying sour sauce or something. Which gave it much needed dimension. Overall, not too bad.
I liked the greens for sure. Its pretty much my favorite way of cooking and the greens were fresh. A winner in my books.
Total meal only cost me $14.60 which is like OMG! Dirt cheap.
Whilst studying in Canada, my friends and I used to “Yum Cha” every weekend morning without fail and it was often very fun with all the food and interaction. When I came back to Singapore, no one I knew practised that and thus the habit slowly died down. Up early and feeling nostalgic on a Sunday morning, I decided to visit the long standing Yan Palace Restaurant for some dim sum and roped in my gf to help with the eating.
Finding the place wasn’t too difficult as it was just next to Hong Lim food centre and parking was a breeze with the multi story carpark just next to it. (Its $1/hr even on Sundays though) When we got there at about 1100, the restaurant was almost packed with people. (The restaurant could seat about 100 people easily) The interior looked like that of a typical Chinese restaurant of yester year. As we were only having dim sum, a list was provided for us to tick off the types of dim sum we desired. We ordered the Mini egg tarts, Xiao Long Bao (Steamed Shanghai pork buns), century egg with pork porridge, Char Siew Sou (BBQ pork puff), Har Kaw, Siew Mai, Chee Cheong Fun with BBQ pork and Chee Cheong Fun with prawns.
The mini egg tarts at first glance, looked totally unappealing with its slightly dark crust. But as they say, goodness comes from within. In the case of this egg tart, it was literal. The custard wasn’t too sweet and very smooth. The crust was a little hard and had a little milky and oven-baked taste, just like a cookie. Very good I should say! I like this crust better then Tong Heng’s one, but Tong Heng’s custard still prevails. The Xiao Long Bao was disappointing, being too dry with no hint of juiciness at all.
I’ve never liked century egg and all the variations that come with it. But I tried the century egg with pork porridge after some cajoling by my gf and I liked it. The porridge was very sticky and didn’t have the century egg taste at all. (I avoided the century egg) In fact, it tasted like very good pork porridge with deep fried crispys. Next up was the Char Siew Sou, whose crust I like very much due to the oven baked taste that separates it from its other competitors. However, the char siew filling was not up to the mark. It tasted a little watery and didn’t have the real BBQ pork taste. The Siew Mai was good, not too salty and with lots of prawns and lean meat packed into it. Har Kaw tasted normal, but a little expensive in my opinion, given its size and taste.
Last up was the Chee Chong Fun, one with BBQ pork and other with prawns. I liked the one with prawns a lot better as the BBQ pork was practically tasteless. The Chee Chong Fun itself wasn’t too soft, unlike good Chee Chong Funs.
At about $32 for 2 pax for dim sum, it’s a little on the high side, but take comfort in the fact that quite a few dishes at Yan Palace Restaurant are well worth the money. However, do note that the dim sum range is not extensive and they do not serve the dim sum in pushcarts, unlike Red Star. (I’ll do a formal review soon) Nevertheless, Yan Palace Restaurant has found a fan in me with their egg tarts. I’ll be back to try out their long forgotten Zhu Jiao Chu.
Decor was simple and they had nice looking circular booths, which could seat up to 4 people. Got a seat pretty fast and we proceeded to order a Macau style cheese baked rice with pork chop, chicken porridge and red bean snow ice(or something like that).Our food came within 10 mins and we were quite pleased with the presentation. The food actually looked good. However, imagine our disappointment when the porridge tasted bland and the portion was pathetic. I'm sure the $2.50 porridge at the hawker centre outside my house tasted better then that and with a bigger portion to boot. The baked rice was cold on the inside and hot on the outside (the cheese). The rice was drenched in oil(I could actually see the layer of oil!). The saving grace was the red bean snow ice which was actually an oversized ice kachang, but with just red bean, grass jelly and lots of condensed milk in it. I found it quite ok, probably due to the fact that I kinda like ice kachang.
Damage was $25.55/- which I feel is hardly worth it. One of the worst places I've eaten so far. Service is hardly existent as well. Will not be going back EVER! One other thing to note. They charge 40 cents for their iced water (refillable) and they have this practice of rounding up the bill to the nearest 5 cents.
Brewerkz is the place to go for drinks in the afternoon. Why the afternoon? Because the last i know. A jug of beer in the afternoon cost less then a glass of beer at night.
Its with this information that i visited Brewerkz 3 times and each time. Its was a different experience.
First time i was there was with the guys. Being little boys, we wanted a liltte of everything and ordered the sampler platter which costs somewhere between $21-28 dollars. you get to try every single beer they have on offer and needless to say, some were winners and some tasted horrible. Honorable mentions include their golden ale and fruitbrews which changes everyday.
We also ordered the chilli cheese fries which were really really big.And honestly, it tasted good. Very much better then i thought. Thick creamy melting cheese accompanied with red hot chilli sauce and thick french fries. It was good enough to recommend.
Second time and third time around, we were there just to drink and have a meal. My gf had the beer braised salmon which was terribly bitter and just plain bad with a fishy aftertaste and i had a beer braised beef which was also....quite badly done. But the golden ale and fruit beer saved the day and heck, they were cheaper then the darn main course.
I don't see that offer on the website anymore though. So i'm not sure if they still have the happy hour charges for noon. Give them a call though. I remembered that a JUG of beer, cost my $9.90 when i went. Now thats value for money.
Ever since it started selling Nasi Lemak, you hear it everywhere with people saying how tasty the chicken wings are. How wonderful the ikan billis is and even how special and fragrant the rice is. Is it even justified to do so i wonder.
Living pretty close to the store, i've patronized is a few times with my parents in tow to get a few packets of the coveted Nasi Lemak. The problem is the horrendous queue that never seems to diminish regardless of the time. So its wait wait wait and finally eat. Something i detest doing by the way.
When we finally did get to eat the Nasi lemak. My only question is: How did they ever get a reputation that good? the rice is fragrant but not too special. The chicken wing is normal enough to find somewhere else and basically, the only thing to justify the long wait is the sheer number of packets bought by people in front and the slow movement of the staff...
The prices aren't cheap either. Calling @ $6 for a simple packet of coconut rice. I'm amazed people still throng the place.
As for me, i'd rather settle for the Kovan market across the street if i need food. You readers can try and make your own conclusion.
Been to Gmax to try the ride out when i was getting super bored with what i could do in Singapore. Basically, its just a little too boring.
So it was this fine day when a few friends and myself stepped out to visit the place after having some food at Sushi Tei and some drinks and cheese fries at Brewerkz when the crazy idea hit us to try the Gmax experience which was simply nearby.
Me, being a timid freak in terms of rides, was forced to go on it so that i could commit to my oath of changing my life. Haha. Well, it wasn't that serious but it was a start.
Anyway, it wasn't cheap. The ride costs somewhere between $35-50 depending on what kind of package you wanted to take up. And thats on a per person basis. You get the choice to either do a ride with the video of yourself and a T shirt and other memorabilia depending on your preference. either way, i think its just fun.
The ride is short. Lasting only 5 mins but slightly more due to the safety precautions and such. Its quite a rush and its different for everybody. But for my and my friend, we screamed like girls, not to mention expletives galore. My take is that it was fun as hell.
Especially when you are plummeting to earth and feels like dying. Damn its fun!!
Try it now. There are new rides which look like a swing and stuff. Try it with friends and maybe after beer. Either way, try it to escape from the oh so mundane lives.
I used to patronise this place when I was a kid and when they were still located at an old shophouse along Tampines Road. Even then, the prices were steep, coming in at $3 - $4 instead of the usual $1.50 for nasi lemak then. But back then, the food was good and queues of more than 20 people could be seen.
Tried them out again after they moved to their current location. The queue is still there, the prices are still higher then average but the food quality has dipped. Prices are like $6 now which is ridiculous. I rather walk 3 bus stops down Hougang Ave 1 for better and cheaper nasi lemak.
Dome or Olio Dome held many memories for me because when i was a kid, the most expensive meal i could afford was either Swenson's or Olio Dome with a friend. Being kindred souls, we also only liked a few things in those places. Basically, all we liked were the fries and potato wedges and that was all we frequented the place for. Now, he's a manager so he can obviously afford better but its because of a coupon i got from purchasing books that i decided to have my lunch at this nostalgic place.
Chocolate Cake ($5.90) - The first item i ordered was the chocolate cake because thats what the voucher said, order any cake and get a complimentary coffee. And honestly, the reason why i used the voucher was because i was pretty darn sure i'll never make a trip simply to Dome just to use it again and also factor in the fact that it was lunch time. On to the cake, this was a recommendation from the waitress who was quite friendly. The cake was average at best though. The top layer was really hard while the sponge and cream layer was quite lackluster. There's a certain bitterness to the cake that hints at either coffee or good cocoa beans but i'm going with the former. Not too bad since it was served before the main meal but i wouldn't recommend it as a must order when visiting the place.
Long Black (Complimentary) - The complimentary coffee is a long black (espresso plus water) which was decidedly bitter but not as fragrant as i would like. Almost definitely not premium beans used but a grade above general coffee in coffee shops.
Beef burger with Bacon, Cheese and Egg With Fries ($13.90) - And since it was lunch time, my order was completed with a beef burger yet again. This version is a no nonsense and totally huge beef patty that turned out to be surprisingly tough. Its like the beef is squashed to the point there was little or no moisture within. More or less, it means the patty wasn't freshly made but ordered. However, i honestly found it a whee bit above acceptable. It came with melted cheese and a sunny side up and some stringy fried bacon for good effect. The overall appearance was nice but the bread was just bad. It was also hard, maybe because it was toasted, but its hardly suitable for a burger of this size. Overall, i found this edible but probably will not repeat my order again.
Surprise surprise. A lazy afternoon alone at the bookstore left me poorer by $90 worth of Science Fiction novels and an additional $23.30 more for a supposedly 'cheap' lunch. I happened to be one of the few scoundrels who sipped a coffee for 1 hour just to read my books as well.
Its not a bad place per se. The feeling is decent for a book cum cafe combination and nobody chases you out of the place when you simply sit and read and drink coffee. They could do with better coffee and cakes however and the mains need to have freshly made patties. Once they get that down, we may get a little bit of France's reading atmosphere and culture in Singapore after all.
1=SGD 0.0587
Visited this place last Sunday with my parents and they have since been relocated to ground level of Liang Court Shopping Centre. Their old outlet has also been taken over by Ichibantei.
My parents had the usual Black Pig Shabu Shabu Ramen, which I believed most people know they are famous for.
But what I was looking forward to was their Black Pig Pork Chop which is heavenly! You have to try it to know it. The texture is so tender and soft that it melts the moment you bite it. The $20 for the pork chop cut into 8 pieces might seems ex but definitely worth it. If you have not try it, I urge you to do so! That alone is worth 4 stars!
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Rating given:
After sampling the SHIOK Yakader Chicken Briyani a few months back, people all over has been asking me to try the most famous briyani stall at the other side of Tekka Food Centre instead. The queue at this stall meant nothing as I stood there waiting for 20 minutes. For those who still do not know, this stall is none other than Allauddin’s Briyani (no prize for those who guessed it correctly though).
For $4.00, what you get is also another plate of orangey red looking plate of Chicken Briyani that gets zero marks for presentation. At least Yakader’s serving came lined with banana leaf, what you get from Allauddin is just a Styrofoam plate with no achar (spicy pickled salad) in sight (not that I eat them anyway but at least visually it looks better).
In terms of the chicken, I would say they are both pretty similar in terms of taste and texture. So soft and tender was the meat that a simple tear at the lightest pressure of the fork will cause the meat to be easily separated from its bone. However, I will be inclined to find their rice overly moist and mushy from overcooking, as I expect the basmati rice to be slightly more firm and comes with a better bite. Having waited so long, I also decided to add an extra order of what they call “Lamb Cutlet” for additional $1.00 (although I do not see where the cutlet comes from). A nice savoury outer crust that was fried nicely to taste, it was disappointing though to find it soft on the inside with what seems like flour and onions and little of the lamb.
Overall, I felt that Yakader was the better of the two in terms of chicken briyani, however I would not hesitate to try their mutton next, which was ordered by the customers before me, as it looks pliable and succulent just by the sight of it. As Tekka Food Centre will be re-located to the Temporary Market along Race Course Road from May 1 onwards, Allauddin’s Briyani will be relocated to stall unit #01-189 and #01-190.
You can view more photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.
Rating given:
Went to Tampines round market last night for dinner because the traffic to the cinema was horrible. Thus, what to do? Try out a 30 star winner stall to save money and have a nice dinner of course! Was it really good though?
Recently featured on the television show for stalls that needed "rescueing" due to extremely bad business, the stall has since been revamped and the chef retrained to serve much better food....or rather, thats the idea anyway.
A note is that basically, the stallholders do not like anyone to take photos so please try to refrain from that. The lady boss is scary when mad.
We basically ordered only 2 items last night.
A plate of stingray ($10) and a plate of vegetables (nai bai $4) and 2 bowls of rice (30 cents). Haven't had a cheap meal in like forever so this is a refreshing start.
They made their name by getting 30 out of 30 votes for their food on zhi ca.
The stingray is actually quite big and theres a lot of chili and meat available to pick through. I'm not too sure about the freshness of the fish since the chili manages to mask the taste overall. No denying that the meat is plenty though. However i did find the chili to need more work as its too dry and not very tasty. Thank goodness for the accompanying sour sauce or something. Which gave it much needed dimension. Overall, not too bad.
I liked the greens for sure. Its pretty much my favorite way of cooking and the greens were fresh. A winner in my books.
Total meal only cost me $14.60 which is like OMG! Dirt cheap.
Wouldn't mind returning for the good value.
Rating given:
Whilst studying in Canada, my friends and I used to “Yum Cha” every weekend morning without fail and it was often very fun with all the food and interaction. When I came back to Singapore, no one I knew practised that and thus the habit slowly died down. Up early and feeling nostalgic on a Sunday morning, I decided to visit the long standing Yan Palace Restaurant for some dim sum and roped in my gf to help with the eating.
Finding the place wasn’t too difficult as it was just next to Hong Lim food centre and parking was a breeze with the multi story carpark just next to it. (Its $1/hr even on Sundays though) When we got there at about 1100, the restaurant was almost packed with people. (The restaurant could seat about 100 people easily) The interior looked like that of a typical Chinese restaurant of yester year. As we were only having dim sum, a list was provided for us to tick off the types of dim sum we desired. We ordered the Mini egg tarts, Xiao Long Bao (Steamed Shanghai pork buns), century egg with pork porridge, Char Siew Sou (BBQ pork puff), Har Kaw, Siew Mai, Chee Cheong Fun with BBQ pork and Chee Cheong Fun with prawns.
The mini egg tarts at first glance, looked totally unappealing with its slightly dark crust. But as they say, goodness comes from within. In the case of this egg tart, it was literal. The custard wasn’t too sweet and very smooth. The crust was a little hard and had a little milky and oven-baked taste, just like a cookie. Very good I should say! I like this crust better then Tong Heng’s one, but Tong Heng’s custard still prevails. The Xiao Long Bao was disappointing, being too dry with no hint of juiciness at all.
I’ve never liked century egg and all the variations that come with it. But I tried the century egg with pork porridge after some cajoling by my gf and I liked it. The porridge was very sticky and didn’t have the century egg taste at all. (I avoided the century egg) In fact, it tasted like very good pork porridge with deep fried crispys. Next up was the Char Siew Sou, whose crust I like very much due to the oven baked taste that separates it from its other competitors. However, the char siew filling was not up to the mark. It tasted a little watery and didn’t have the real BBQ pork taste. The Siew Mai was good, not too salty and with lots of prawns and lean meat packed into it. Har Kaw tasted normal, but a little expensive in my opinion, given its size and taste.
Last up was the Chee Chong Fun, one with BBQ pork and other with prawns. I liked the one with prawns a lot better as the BBQ pork was practically tasteless. The Chee Chong Fun itself wasn’t too soft, unlike good Chee Chong Funs.
At about $32 for 2 pax for dim sum, it’s a little on the high side, but take comfort in the fact that quite a few dishes at Yan Palace Restaurant are well worth the money. However, do note that the dim sum range is not extensive and they do not serve the dim sum in pushcarts, unlike Red Star. (I’ll do a formal review soon) Nevertheless, Yan Palace Restaurant has found a fan in me with their egg tarts. I’ll be back to try out their long forgotten Zhu Jiao Chu.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
Decor was simple and they had nice looking circular booths, which could seat up to 4 people. Got a seat pretty fast and we proceeded to order a Macau style cheese baked rice with pork chop, chicken porridge and red bean snow ice(or something like that).Our food came within 10 mins and we were quite pleased with the presentation. The food actually looked good. However, imagine our disappointment when the porridge tasted bland and the portion was pathetic. I'm sure the $2.50 porridge at the hawker centre outside my house tasted better then that and with a bigger portion to boot. The baked rice was cold on the inside and hot on the outside (the cheese). The rice was drenched in oil(I could actually see the layer of oil!). The saving grace was the red bean snow ice which was actually an oversized ice kachang, but with just red bean, grass jelly and lots of condensed milk in it. I found it quite ok, probably due to the fact that I kinda like ice kachang.
Damage was $25.55/- which I feel is hardly worth it. One of the worst places I've eaten so far. Service is hardly existent as well. Will not be going back EVER! One other thing to note. They charge 40 cents for their iced water (refillable) and they have this practice of rounding up the bill to the nearest 5 cents.
Rating given:
Brewerkz is the place to go for drinks in the afternoon. Why the afternoon? Because the last i know. A jug of beer in the afternoon cost less then a glass of beer at night.
Its with this information that i visited Brewerkz 3 times and each time. Its was a different experience.
First time i was there was with the guys. Being little boys, we wanted a liltte of everything and ordered the sampler platter which costs somewhere between $21-28 dollars. you get to try every single beer they have on offer and needless to say, some were winners and some tasted horrible. Honorable mentions include their golden ale and fruitbrews which changes everyday.
We also ordered the chilli cheese fries which were really really big.And honestly, it tasted good. Very much better then i thought. Thick creamy melting cheese accompanied with red hot chilli sauce and thick french fries. It was good enough to recommend.
Second time and third time around, we were there just to drink and have a meal. My gf had the beer braised salmon which was terribly bitter and just plain bad with a fishy aftertaste and i had a beer braised beef which was also....quite badly done. But the golden ale and fruit beer saved the day and heck, they were cheaper then the darn main course.
I don't see that offer on the website anymore though. So i'm not sure if they still have the happy hour charges for noon. Give them a call though. I remembered that a JUG of beer, cost my $9.90 when i went. Now thats value for money.
Rating given:
This food stall is legendary.
Ever since it started selling Nasi Lemak, you hear it everywhere with people saying how tasty the chicken wings are. How wonderful the ikan billis is and even how special and fragrant the rice is. Is it even justified to do so i wonder.
Living pretty close to the store, i've patronized is a few times with my parents in tow to get a few packets of the coveted Nasi Lemak. The problem is the horrendous queue that never seems to diminish regardless of the time. So its wait wait wait and finally eat. Something i detest doing by the way.
When we finally did get to eat the Nasi lemak. My only question is: How did they ever get a reputation that good? the rice is fragrant but not too special. The chicken wing is normal enough to find somewhere else and basically, the only thing to justify the long wait is the sheer number of packets bought by people in front and the slow movement of the staff...
The prices aren't cheap either. Calling @ $6 for a simple packet of coconut rice. I'm amazed people still throng the place.
As for me, i'd rather settle for the Kovan market across the street if i need food. You readers can try and make your own conclusion.
Rating given:
Been to Gmax to try the ride out when i was getting super bored with what i could do in Singapore. Basically, its just a little too boring.
So it was this fine day when a few friends and myself stepped out to visit the place after having some food at Sushi Tei and some drinks and cheese fries at Brewerkz when the crazy idea hit us to try the Gmax experience which was simply nearby.
Me, being a timid freak in terms of rides, was forced to go on it so that i could commit to my oath of changing my life. Haha. Well, it wasn't that serious but it was a start.
Anyway, it wasn't cheap. The ride costs somewhere between $35-50 depending on what kind of package you wanted to take up. And thats on a per person basis. You get the choice to either do a ride with the video of yourself and a T shirt and other memorabilia depending on your preference. either way, i think its just fun.
The ride is short. Lasting only 5 mins but slightly more due to the safety precautions and such. Its quite a rush and its different for everybody. But for my and my friend, we screamed like girls, not to mention expletives galore. My take is that it was fun as hell.
Especially when you are plummeting to earth and feels like dying. Damn its fun!!
Try it now. There are new rides which look like a swing and stuff. Try it with friends and maybe after beer. Either way, try it to escape from the oh so mundane lives.
Rating given:
I used to patronise this place when I was a kid and when they were still located at an old shophouse along Tampines Road. Even then, the prices were steep, coming in at $3 - $4 instead of the usual $1.50 for nasi lemak then. But back then, the food was good and queues of more than 20 people could be seen.
Tried them out again after they moved to their current location. The queue is still there, the prices are still higher then average but the food quality has dipped. Prices are like $6 now which is ridiculous. I rather walk 3 bus stops down Hougang Ave 1 for better and cheaper nasi lemak.
Rating given:
Dome or Olio Dome held many memories for me because when i was a kid, the most expensive meal i could afford was either Swenson's or Olio Dome with a friend. Being kindred souls, we also only liked a few things in those places. Basically, all we liked were the fries and potato wedges and that was all we frequented the place for. Now, he's a manager so he can obviously afford better but its because of a coupon i got from purchasing books that i decided to have my lunch at this nostalgic place.
Chocolate Cake ($5.90) - The first item i ordered was the chocolate cake because thats what the voucher said, order any cake and get a complimentary coffee. And honestly, the reason why i used the voucher was because i was pretty darn sure i'll never make a trip simply to Dome just to use it again and also factor in the fact that it was lunch time. On to the cake, this was a recommendation from the waitress who was quite friendly. The cake was average at best though. The top layer was really hard while the sponge and cream layer was quite lackluster. There's a certain bitterness to the cake that hints at either coffee or good cocoa beans but i'm going with the former. Not too bad since it was served before the main meal but i wouldn't recommend it as a must order when visiting the place.
Long Black (Complimentary) - The complimentary coffee is a long black (espresso plus water) which was decidedly bitter but not as fragrant as i would like. Almost definitely not premium beans used but a grade above general coffee in coffee shops.
Beef burger with Bacon, Cheese and Egg With Fries ($13.90) - And since it was lunch time, my order was completed with a beef burger yet again. This version is a no nonsense and totally huge beef patty that turned out to be surprisingly tough. Its like the beef is squashed to the point there was little or no moisture within. More or less, it means the patty wasn't freshly made but ordered. However, i honestly found it a whee bit above acceptable. It came with melted cheese and a sunny side up and some stringy fried bacon for good effect. The overall appearance was nice but the bread was just bad. It was also hard, maybe because it was toasted, but its hardly suitable for a burger of this size. Overall, i found this edible but probably will not repeat my order again.
Surprise surprise. A lazy afternoon alone at the bookstore left me poorer by $90 worth of Science Fiction novels and an additional $23.30 more for a supposedly 'cheap' lunch. I happened to be one of the few scoundrels who sipped a coffee for 1 hour just to read my books as well.
Its not a bad place per se. The feeling is decent for a book cum cafe combination and nobody chases you out of the place when you simply sit and read and drink coffee. They could do with better coffee and cakes however and the mains need to have freshly made patties. Once they get that down, we may get a little bit of France's reading atmosphere and culture in Singapore after all.
Rating given: