Read quite a bit about Melvados and its famous brownies so dropped by one sunny afternoon to try them out.
Opened just slightly over a year ago in end 2006, Melvados is located within the upmarket residential enclave of Bukit Timah, playing neighbours to only a clinic and a pub. The decor is simple, with cheap looking wooden tables and chairs sparsely populating the granite floor. There are cosy sofas too but those are of the limited variety. The entire place is small, probably fitting in about 20 pax at most. With huge floor to ceiling windows, the place exudes a nice cosy feeling, just perfect for a lazy afternoon tea session.
Seafood Platter - I'm not exactly a fan of seafood platters as they usually consist of alot of deep fried stuff that tend to make me nauseous after a while. This one was no exception. Served with onion rings, fries, calamari and fish/prawn cakes, the platter was, if I may say, off the charts. Not that I mean it in a good way though. Everything (save for the fries) was rather tasteless and too filled with thick batter that tasted exactly like deep fried flour.
Black & White Kisses - Billed as Melvados's signature brownie, the Black & White Kisses was actually quite good. Moist and not too rich with a nice wholesome baked taste and topped with black and white hershey's kisses. The only bone I had was the consistently smooth homogeneous texture of the brownie, which made it seem a little weird. However such gripes are forgotten when the brownie is paired with the vanilla ice cream, making for a sweet and delightful dessert without the chocolate overload.
Sizzling Brownies Sensation - Ever heard of hotplate brownie? No? Neither have I. It was that curiosity that prompted us to order this dessert. In retrospect, it wasn't such a good idea after all. A brownie served on a hot plate with a scoop of rapidly melting ice cream. How special is that? I did a quick calculation and the novelty of a hotplate cost us an additional $2.10 with the exact same ingredients as their signature Black & White Kisses. There's another problem with serving brownies on a hotplate. The underside of the brownie will harden and stick to the base and the ice cream melts so fast that its a little more than just flavoured cream after a while.
Chocolate Madness - I didn't quite take to this brownie as it was a tad hard and dry when served. Not exactly my cup of tea. And for the record, it didn't really taste that strongly of chocolate as inferred by its name.
I'm really not sure about the going prices for brownies because I don't eat enough of them to know but I'm guessing $18.50 for 3 brownies is a wee bit on the high side. Meldavos serves mains like pasta and sandwiches as well but sticking to just the brownies might just be a safer bet.
Shokudo is a name that you can get familiar with in a hurry. Why? Firstly, it has 2 branches already counting this one, being a Marche-like concept and the other located nearby in CityLink which specialized in Pizza and Pasta. We'll be reviewing the Marche lookalike this time around on the food quality.
Upon queuing and entering the premises, you'll be greeted by friendly serving staff who'll provide you with 2 items. Firstly, you'll receive a card thats basically your best friend, losing the card results in a penalty fee of $100 which is rather absurd if you ask me. The second item you'll receive is a round wooden placeholder thats supposed to reserve a seat for you whereever you put it. However, this simply did not work because our first reservation chip was stolen from our table and some other lady managed to get in our reserved seat... So i'm saying the system may work elsewhere, but apparently not in Singapore. The interior of the Bazaar is split into several different themes with a food court like design in the middle, more colorful lighting and cushy seats in other areas. Rather pleasing and different from an aesthetic perspective. The food preparation areas resemble Marche with the exception of everything being Japanese food or fusion in some instances. The only problem i had with the arrangement is the waiting time for each order. Its pretty ridiculous to wait 20 mins for a beef burger but i'll get to that later. The service staff were alright and courteous but can be improved for sure.
Wasabi Toro Cheese Burger ($7.80) - The name is nice, wasabi toro burger. Whatever that means i'm not too sure but to me, its a beef burger with a supremely small patty of beef wrapped in an extremely bad tasting and oversized bun. I had to wait close to 20 minutes for the above. Can you see where the time went into preparing it? I certainly couldn't unless they mashed and prepared the patty on the spot but i highly doubt that. The bun is fused to an egg which thankfully made it bearable but the miserly portion of beef was terrible visually. Not to mention that when tasted, it simply wasn't up to par, being dry and too hard. Simply terrible.
Bacon and cheese Omelette ($5.80) - My gf ordered this and the next item. Thankfully they were more palatable then my horrible choice but even then, not by much. The bacon and cheese omelet was a really small portion which could be finished in 4 spoonfuls. The omelet itself was served warm and with bacon and cheese melting within it. A little too salty however.
Rosti with Sausages ($9.80) - Since when did rosti become a Japanese item? Nonetheless, in a world of below average food, this managed to be a cut above the rest. Fragrant, hot and crispy with a soft interior. This took the crown that day but thats certainly not saying much. The sausage that came with it was your run-of-the-mill sausage with cheese in it. It wasn't bad per se but nothing exciting about it as well. The one thing about this dish is, its oily to a fault. You'll notice it the moment you have your first bite until your nausea inducing ending.
A mediocre and sub par meal came up to $27.50 for 2 people. If i'm ever in the vicinity again, i'll stay far far away.
I don't know what the matter is. The food portions were pathetic. The service was slow. The true japanese items were price sky high and the seats were only moderately comfortable. Why would i pay to eat here when there are so many better places out there? Good for people who want to see what the buzz is about but if the quality and portion size doesn't improve, i fear a quick exit will be the order of the day.
This place had been hidden from my view since I first stepped foot on Serangoon Circle, until I saw the reviews here. The shop front looks rather run down and the signboard outside was too old for anyone to take notice of its existence. The windows were covered with white lace curtains, and if you don't take notice of the signboard, most probably you'll miss them too.
When I first stepped into the restaurant, I was amazed at how they managed to continue in such a retro unit. It looks as if you're dining in a run-down 70s restaurant. Even the staff there are retro.
Not knowing what to order, we ordered the set lunches. There were 2 types of pricing, one at $7 and the other above $12. We each ordered one from each of the menu. He got himself the grilled fish and chips set lunch that comes with dessert and drink. I ordered the pepper steak set that comes with soup of the day, ice cream and drink. (The drink served was in kiddo size. Luck they serve ice water too.)
When the soup was served, I knew we made a wrong choice for lunch. The soup was too diluted and it tasted more like water than thick soup.
My steak was served first. The serving was acceptable but the taste just didn't quite meet my expectation. The two other steakhouses around Serangoon Circle. Next came the fish and chips. Oh boy, was my boyfriend disappointed. One word to describe it - tasteless.
The only thing that somehow surprised us was the dessert that came with the cheaper set lunch. It's their own version of muah chee with coconut. Usually muah chee is eaten with chopped peanuts and sugar. So it's quite interesting to taste it with coconut instead.
I'm probably not going to return. There's just too many choices available around the area.
High quality mouth watering authentic Japanese Cuisine.
I've to agree with HisFoodBlog that EN Japanese Dining Bar is one of the best I'd been to by far. Serving the freshest sashimi and to-drool-for authentic cuisine.
This was the first time I tried the Beef Carpaccio. At first sight, I didn't dare touch it. But since its ordered, I just went ahead and dared myself. After the first slice of beef, I wanted more! It was thinly sliced and blended well with the seasoning on the beef. Although a tad too saltish, but still great one to devour on.
As the dishes ordered were more or less those recommended above by HisFoodBlog, I shall just share one more, which is another surprisingly yummilicious one.
The Unagi Fried Rice is most probably the only thing I will order if I should be going back there again. (Cos the price tag there is just not friendly enough for my thin wallet.) The fried rice is very fragrant and the rice grain is the real good stuff. Unlike the usual fried rice, I had at other Jap place, this is solid and slightly chewy too. The Unagi although cut to rather tiny pieces, I could still feel it when I chew on the mouthful of rice and unagi.
Great place to go for good quality Jap food.
(*Please take note that EN Jap dining bar is located along M.Sultan road, before reaching the left turn at Obar. Thanks to the incomplete directions given, when I was there, I couldn't find it within UE Square building. :S)
One of the more belated posts, this was taken during the Yebber gathering for the New Year...Yes its very late in fact. Nonetheless, HotPot culture was the choice of the day with its everyday prices and rather extensive selection of food, both cooked and raw. Knowing next to nothing of the place, me and my gf braved the cold hard night and thronged towards the defunct location where maniacal cameras and loud speech is a norm.
The location was rather odd because it was situated in the middle of a large number of competitors ranging from Secret Recipe, Kenny Rogers to Genki Sushi and some chinese restaurant. Talk about a "hostile location" and "friendly competition". Still, i have to say the place was simplistically clean in a good way and though filled with normal furniture, managed to hover between boring and acceptable.
The service is simple. Once you have settled in, the immediate step is to be acquainted to your own personal mini pot. This pot will stay with you till the end of your meal until dessert is served so it is prudent to ensure you pick the best pot for your needs. For my case, i picked the herbal ginseng hot pot and it was a good choice in my opinion as the stock definitely adds taste to the food and simply tastes good. A little on the salty side though. The other complaint would have to be the fumes emitted from the pot, it stings your eyes and noses for the first....10 minutes or so until you get used it but these are small grouses in the scale of things.
In terms of food selection for the uncooked portion where you get to pick and choose whatever you like, it was sufficient. There are upwards of 30 different items you can cook in your hotpot and each item was, to my impression, treated with equal cleanliness and hygiene. To me, its extremely important that the food looks and is clean and this they have managed to convey. On the items, there are lots of greens, vermicelli, bean related items, eggs, chicken meat, dory fish, fish cakes, crab meat and fish balls to choose from. Each are chilled with ice and tasted pretty good in each respect. Springy fishballs, reasonably fresh meat and fish round out the experience. In short, the items on selection may be rather small portioned but does not disappoint. This brings us to the next point which is the 'distinct' difference between HotPot Culture and other would be restaurants, they also serve a selection of close to 40 cooked food items.
Prawns and Bacon Wrap - This was our first order for the day in the cooked food section and to be honest, it was rather disappointing but its not the fault of the chef in this case, it was the ingredients. Prawns and bacon wraps are as easy as one, two, three in making it good. Simple have a nicely sauteed king prawn, wrap it in quality salty bacon, slap on a layer or 2 of additional garnishes while grilling and its basically a winner. What went wrong here, was the rather small prawn used which failed to bring out its true flavor. In retrospect, even Eden Cafe didn't get this right...maybe it isn't as easy as i though after all.
Tahu Goreng - A favorite dish of mine which hearkens back to my army days. This rendition was pleasing to the eye but did not live up to expectations in the taste department. The nuts and garnishing is definitely spot on but the tahu (beancurd) itself was just a little too hard. The skin took quite and effort to break and the beancurd within needed to be softer to be palatable.
Chicken Wings - Chicken wings, what could go wrong with it? Over frying apparently. There was some marinate used on the wings which rendered it too salty but the nail in the coffin was how dry the wings were. The only saving grace was that it was not oily, which was perplexing in a good way. The newest update i had was that the owner got my comment through the video yebber made with me commenting on the items out loud, and have since improved on the wings and other items.
Pan fried battered fish - Didn't get to try this but i was told it was pretty good by KK and his gf. So i'll take it as it was good.
Chicken and mushroom wrap - I had only a piece of this and its was a little dry but the mushroom sauce managed to compensate that little problem. This was salty as well though.
Ngor Hiang - One of my favorite dishes when done right. This was below average by me but maybe my views are biased on this dish. This was rather thin and actually over fried with the paste inside lacking much taste nor ingredients. Needs improvement.
Stir Fried Bean Sprouts - You just can't go wrong with this dish. Its easy enough with the only thing to look out for being to stir fry it long enough to rid it of the "greenish" taste and short enough to retain the crunchiness. Once again, it was a tad too salty for me.
Golden Mushroom - Sukiyaki Beef - Fish Paste - The above are 3 items which needed to be ordered before it can be cooked. The beef was fresh and succulent enough to be ordered a minimal of 3 times, the golden mushrooms need to be cooked thoroughly before being eaten but gets the job done while the fish paste is a weird combination of tastes in its own right but simply didn't sit well with me.
Sweet and sour fish - Sweet and Sour Chicken - Both these dishes taste the same to me. With the exception of the fish being more tender while the chicken being more chewy, the overall taste is the same. Not to say that its bad but the sauce certainly overwhelms after awhile.
Deep Fried Meat Balls - Remember the mushroom chicken? Well, the sauce is the same while the meat balls were unfortunately too dry yet again.
The final course of the day was the chocolate fondue which comes in its own little hotpot for each person. Choices to go with the fondue range from marshmallows to fruits like papayas, apples, pears, watermelons and honeydews. The fondue is of the bitter sweet variety which means its more bitter and has a higher cocoa content then some other such fondues offered in similar places. A good ending i'd say.
A decent place for a buffet hotpot meal with a rather extensive variety of of items to choose from. The owner's willingness to listen to feedback and improve is a plus. I'd recommend visiting it as the overall experience has not been a bad one.
Social Media Breakfast Singapore
March 29, 2008 (Saturday)
9 am — 12:30pm
Frujch @ SMU (Basement 1, School of Information Systems)
50 Stamford Road
The whole event was super fun, we mingled around talking with each other, a total of 40 people turned up for SMB! All righty, first we have to use the big sticker to write our name and blog address, or whatever website of stuff you want to let others know.
Anyway being a foodie, or rather I’ll coined myself as Gourmet Analyst, it is my moral obligation to present to you the food for the breakfast!
The “main course” for the breakfast. Sandwiches! There are not type of sandwich, one of which is ham, and the other being tuna. There are also the mini Choclate cakes
There were also orange juice to go along with the ’snacks’, and if you wanted any hot drink, you could always get it from the counter at Frujch (have to pay separately of course!)
See you all at the next SMB!
Btw, the 5 star rating is thumbs up for the Social Media Breakfast Event, not the food : )
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my geniune feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or bias. 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 : )
Social Media Breakfast
” Where everything comes from online to offline “
Beauty, body and hair care at its cheapest! This is the place to go for cheap cheap toiletries, beauty products, hair and body products and even perfumes.
Located in the heart of Ang Mo Kio, you might missed this gem as its hidden among the rows of shops along the main shopping lanes. The only thing that might help make it stand out is the pink sign board and lots of bottled shampoos neatly arranged outside of the shop.
The shop carries most of the brands, such as Loreal, Biore, SK2, and many others. But their prices are the most competitive. Giving the bigger pharmacies and shops a chase for their money.
For instance, the Loreal Facial gel and toner I bought. Usual price for the gel is $6 and the toner is around 10 . At Pink Beauty, the gel cost $4.50 and the toner cost only $6.20! I also bought 2 tubes of Biore Facial Scrub. U.P. $6 at NTUC and Watsons. But at Pink Beauty, its only $2.10! REAL Cheap right?
So now you know where to go for your beauty products ya? ;)
I think everyone knows this lone building standing in the field next to the huge balloon in Bugis area. It has a pretty famous alfresco steamboat joint too.
I had the chance to go to this budget hotel when my friend from the US stayed there. Despite the exterior looking a little run-down, the inside was fine.
The walls of the small lobby were adorned with old photographs and old newspaper clippings about the hotel. The room my friend is staying in costs SGD60 a night. It is a little small but still comfortable with its double bed. However for that price he had to use the common bath which he found to be rather clean. (He's an expert when it comes to budget accomodation.)
In fact, he had so much confidence in the place, he told us that he wanted to switch to the SGD18 per night room where he would have to share with 3 other people. They had two bunk beds there and it's still very clean.
What he was most impressed with was the good condition of the lockers and the hot and cold showers in all the bathrooms. The service was also friendly and we had a good chat with the staff whilst we were visiting.
With the good location and reasonable prices, I really find this hostel worthwhile. Moreover, it wasn't sleazy and felt very safe to live there.
Had dim sum at Yan Ting, the flagship Chinese restaurant of the latest and swankiest hotel in town, the 6 stars St Regis Singapore. Helmed by Chef Chan Siu Kong, a Hong Konger who spent more than 10 years with the Tung Lok Group, Yan Ting promises a gastronomical treat of authentic Cantonese dishes served in a modern presentation.
The grandeur of the hotel is apparent and it extends to Yan Ting. The decor is predominantly eastern with western influences and decked out in hues of black and gold. A low ceiling coupled with a tasteful chandelier, classy stained glass panels and artworks depicting various greenery adorn the cosy dining area. Heavy wooden chairs with floral designs and waitresses in complementary black and gold uniforms complete the setup. Even the cutlery screams expensive. The chopsticks, chopstick rests and spoons are gold plated and inlaid with jade pieces. Talk about fine dining. One thing that sets Yan Ting apart from other Chinese restaurant is its dim sum pricing. Other restaurants charge dim sum by per steamer/plate whereas Yan Ting does it per piece.
Amuse Bouche - Most Chinese restaurants don't dish out appetisers but hey its free so I'm not complaining. This particular amuse bouche was cucumber stuffed with chicken. Quite a treat actually. The cucumber was crunchy and a tad juicy, complementing the light smoky taste of the chicken.
Ha Kao ($2 each) - Thin yet firm skin coupled with fresh and crunchy prawns. How much better can Ha Kao get? Not much really. Yan Ting's rendition is really one of the best that I've tried so far. But at $2, its ridiculously more expensive than the competition. Think Royal China or Wah Lok.
Chives Dumpling ($2 each) - This is the first time I'm eating this and honestly I'm not impressed. Sure the skin was nicely pan fried but the chives seemed rather bland and the whole dumpling was a little soggy on the whole.
Glutinous Chicken Wrapped in Lotus Leaf ($1.80 each) - Usually I steer away from this dish because its really oily but Yan Ting's rendition didn't leave me feeling like my arteries had been clogged up. However, having said that, it didn't quite meet expectations. For starters, it wasn't fragrant enough or tasty enough. It definitely didn't help that portion size was minute. Personally I felt that the only saving grace was the light hint of lotus leaf taste which the rice carried.
Siew Mai ($2 each) - I would say the siew mai was quite good, with predominantly lean meat sans the overwhelming pork taste and a nice smooth skin to boot. Texture wise was also quite pleasing, smooth with the occasional roughage.
Char Siew Pastry ($1.60 each) - Undoubtedly the star of the meal, as agreed on by everyone around the table. The char siew pastry aka char siew sou, in my humble opinion, is really second to none in Singapore. Fragrant with lightly sweet and lean char siew enveloped in a fluffy light pastry with a buttery overtone. One is really not enough. We were so close to ordering another round of this wonderful dish.
Xiao Long Bao ($4 each) - Honestly, $4 for a single Xiao Long Bao is pure madness. However, I'll be the first to admit that the XLB was nothing short of excellent. Bigger than your usual XLB, Yan Ting's offering had copious amounts of soup contained within the soft yet firm skin. Its really amazing how well the skin holds up even though its evident that the juices within are straining to gush out at the slightest break. The filling of meat is tender and smooth as well, capping what I consider to be one of the best XLBs I've eaten in a very long while.
XO Cheong Fun ($4 each) - Another first for me. I've never seen cheong fun done this way before. Stir fried with XO sauce, and tasting very much like our very own Char Kway Teow. Probably I'm just not used to this form of cheong fun as I found it average and very oily. What a bummer for $4.
Radish Cake ($1.60 each) - Pan fried till lightly charred on the surface, the radish cake didn't offer too many surprises. Soft, smooth and tasty but I've definitely tried better ones.
Egg Tart ($1.60 each) - One of only 2 pastry items on the menu (the other being the char siew pastry), the egg tart was excellent as well, due largely in part to the wonderfully light and buttery pastry. Credit must also go to the egg custard filling which was good in its own right, smooth and not too sweet with a slight "eggish" taste. There's the problem of tiny portions though.
BBQ Pork Bun ($1.60 each) - I didn't find the char siew bao very outstanding although it was definitely in the above average region. Soft fluffy bao skin encompassing delectable, not too sweet char siew pieces. Terribly expensive though.
Custard Steamed Bun ($1.60 each) - I have the tendency to always order custard buns whenever and wherever they are available. Yan Ting's rendition didn't leave me impressed. Sure it was piping hot when served but the custard wasn't fragrant or tasty enough. Overall still decent though.
Beancurd Roulette ($1.80 each) - This was unexpectedly different from what I'm used to. The skin in this case was slightly thicker and deep fried till it became crispy and a little hard, just like deep fried spring roll skin. Thicker skins usually absorb more oil, hence it wasn't exactly a very pleasant experience eating the beancurd roulette. But I must say that the filling was actually quite good.
Bird's Nest Jelly - Finally! A bird's nest dessert that doesn't cost an arm or leg. Well almost. The orb shaped jelly had a few strands of birds nest lodged within and I'm pretty sure those would have gone unnoticed it if it wasn't for the fact that I was scrutinizing the jelly for them. Overall a nice and sweet but expensive ending to lunch.
Yan Ting's dim sum was a case of hits and misses but even then, the misses were still above average and very palatable. But there's a price to pay and that amounted to almost $205 for the 5 of us. As mentioned earlier, Yan Ting charges dim sum by the piece so bear that in mind and order wisely or you might just walk away alot poorer. To end off on a high note, the service was very professional and attentive, capping off, in my own humble opinion, an excellent dim sum session.
Yebber’s gathering at Hotpot was during the last day of Chinese New Year, which was like two months ago? I’m very sorry for this very late post, didn’t have the time to blog, and i’m eating way faster than the rate i’m blogging. Thus the delay, anyway i finally make time for this post because i wanna get it up before i make my next post on Yebber’s 1st Anniversary Party @ Mint Museum. Do watch out for that next post!
I didn’t have much photos to show, mainly because i was hoping to get some photos from the rest using their powerful DSLR, but in the end i decided to take some quick shots, and didn’t really get much nice shots.
Fried Garlic Chicken I like this one! It taste quite like “rojak”, except it got chicken instead of “you tiao”!
Sweet Sour Fish The Sweet Sour Fish here is not bad too. Being a huge fan of sweet sour food, think sweet sour pork, fish, chicken, i’m always on a lookout for good sweet sour food.
Chili Squid The Chili Squid is really spicy! Hot hot hot!
Yu Sheng At the end, we had Yu Sheng, it was fun having yu sheng with the yebbers!
One person at Hotpot Culture cost $19.80 (i think), with one person having mini-pot which entitles unlimited serving on the steamboat and cook food selection. And oh ya, they also have free-flow ice cream, and guess what? Chocolate Fondue!! Yeah, thats quite generous right? We had fruits to go along with the fondue, sweet! But one thing i didn’t like was one person can only have one free-drink, and after that you need to pay $2 for free-flow of drinks.
I’m not sure whether i’ll be back at Hotpot Culture again, partly because i’m not really a steamboat person, and also i’ll like to try more of other place. So your call, if you think they are worth a try, you can always find them at; Marina Square #02-138D Centre Stage
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my geniune feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or bias. 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 : )
1=SGD 0.0587
Read quite a bit about Melvados and its famous brownies so dropped by one sunny afternoon to try them out.
Opened just slightly over a year ago in end 2006, Melvados is located within the upmarket residential enclave of Bukit Timah, playing neighbours to only a clinic and a pub. The decor is simple, with cheap looking wooden tables and chairs sparsely populating the granite floor. There are cosy sofas too but those are of the limited variety. The entire place is small, probably fitting in about 20 pax at most. With huge floor to ceiling windows, the place exudes a nice cosy feeling, just perfect for a lazy afternoon tea session.
Seafood Platter - I'm not exactly a fan of seafood platters as they usually consist of alot of deep fried stuff that tend to make me nauseous after a while. This one was no exception. Served with onion rings, fries, calamari and fish/prawn cakes, the platter was, if I may say, off the charts. Not that I mean it in a good way though. Everything (save for the fries) was rather tasteless and too filled with thick batter that tasted exactly like deep fried flour.
Black & White Kisses - Billed as Melvados's signature brownie, the Black & White Kisses was actually quite good. Moist and not too rich with a nice wholesome baked taste and topped with black and white hershey's kisses. The only bone I had was the consistently smooth homogeneous texture of the brownie, which made it seem a little weird. However such gripes are forgotten when the brownie is paired with the vanilla ice cream, making for a sweet and delightful dessert without the chocolate overload.
Sizzling Brownies Sensation - Ever heard of hotplate brownie? No? Neither have I. It was that curiosity that prompted us to order this dessert. In retrospect, it wasn't such a good idea after all. A brownie served on a hot plate with a scoop of rapidly melting ice cream. How special is that? I did a quick calculation and the novelty of a hotplate cost us an additional $2.10 with the exact same ingredients as their signature Black & White Kisses. There's another problem with serving brownies on a hotplate. The underside of the brownie will harden and stick to the base and the ice cream melts so fast that its a little more than just flavoured cream after a while.
Chocolate Madness - I didn't quite take to this brownie as it was a tad hard and dry when served. Not exactly my cup of tea. And for the record, it didn't really taste that strongly of chocolate as inferred by its name.
I'm really not sure about the going prices for brownies because I don't eat enough of them to know but I'm guessing $18.50 for 3 brownies is a wee bit on the high side. Meldavos serves mains like pasta and sandwiches as well but sticking to just the brownies might just be a safer bet.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Shokudo is a name that you can get familiar with in a hurry. Why? Firstly, it has 2 branches already counting this one, being a Marche-like concept and the other located nearby in CityLink which specialized in Pizza and Pasta. We'll be reviewing the Marche lookalike this time around on the food quality.
Upon queuing and entering the premises, you'll be greeted by friendly serving staff who'll provide you with 2 items. Firstly, you'll receive a card thats basically your best friend, losing the card results in a penalty fee of $100 which is rather absurd if you ask me. The second item you'll receive is a round wooden placeholder thats supposed to reserve a seat for you whereever you put it. However, this simply did not work because our first reservation chip was stolen from our table and some other lady managed to get in our reserved seat... So i'm saying the system may work elsewhere, but apparently not in Singapore.
The interior of the Bazaar is split into several different themes with a food court like design in the middle, more colorful lighting and cushy seats in other areas. Rather pleasing and different from an aesthetic perspective. The food preparation areas resemble Marche with the exception of everything being Japanese food or fusion in some instances. The only problem i had with the arrangement is the waiting time for each order. Its pretty ridiculous to wait 20 mins for a beef burger but i'll get to that later. The service staff were alright and courteous but can be improved for sure.
Wasabi Toro Cheese Burger ($7.80) - The name is nice, wasabi toro burger. Whatever that means i'm not too sure but to me, its a beef burger with a supremely small patty of beef wrapped in an extremely bad tasting and oversized bun. I had to wait close to 20 minutes for the above. Can you see where the time went into preparing it? I certainly couldn't unless they mashed and prepared the patty on the spot but i highly doubt that. The bun is fused to an egg which thankfully made it bearable but the miserly portion of beef was terrible visually. Not to mention that when tasted, it simply wasn't up to par, being dry and too hard. Simply terrible.
Bacon and cheese Omelette ($5.80) - My gf ordered this and the next item. Thankfully they were more palatable then my horrible choice but even then, not by much. The bacon and cheese omelet was a really small portion which could be finished in 4 spoonfuls. The omelet itself was served warm and with bacon and cheese melting within it. A little too salty however.
Rosti with Sausages ($9.80) - Since when did rosti become a Japanese item? Nonetheless, in a world of below average food, this managed to be a cut above the rest. Fragrant, hot and crispy with a soft interior. This took the crown that day but thats certainly not saying much. The sausage that came with it was your run-of-the-mill sausage with cheese in it. It wasn't bad per se but nothing exciting about it as well. The one thing about this dish is, its oily to a fault. You'll notice it the moment you have your first bite until your nausea inducing ending.
A mediocre and sub par meal came up to $27.50 for 2 people. If i'm ever in the vicinity again, i'll stay far far away.
I don't know what the matter is. The food portions were pathetic. The service was slow. The true japanese items were price sky high and the seats were only moderately comfortable. Why would i pay to eat here when there are so many better places out there? Good for people who want to see what the buzz is about but if the quality and portion size doesn't improve, i fear a quick exit will be the order of the day.
Rating given:
Mediocre set lunches.
This place had been hidden from my view since I first stepped foot on Serangoon Circle, until I saw the reviews here. The shop front looks rather run down and the signboard outside was too old for anyone to take notice of its existence. The windows were covered with white lace curtains, and if you don't take notice of the signboard, most probably you'll miss them too.
When I first stepped into the restaurant, I was amazed at how they managed to continue in such a retro unit. It looks as if you're dining in a run-down 70s restaurant. Even the staff there are retro.
Not knowing what to order, we ordered the set lunches. There were 2 types of pricing, one at $7 and the other above $12. We each ordered one from each of the menu. He got himself the grilled fish and chips set lunch that comes with dessert and drink. I ordered the pepper steak set that comes with soup of the day, ice cream and drink. (The drink served was in kiddo size. Luck they serve ice water too.)
When the soup was served, I knew we made a wrong choice for lunch. The soup was too diluted and it tasted more like water than thick soup.
My steak was served first. The serving was acceptable but the taste just didn't quite meet my expectation. The two other steakhouses around Serangoon Circle. Next came the fish and chips. Oh boy, was my boyfriend disappointed. One word to describe it - tasteless.
The only thing that somehow surprised us was the dessert that came with the cheaper set lunch. It's their own version of muah chee with coconut. Usually muah chee is eaten with chopped peanuts and sugar. So it's quite interesting to taste it with coconut instead.
I'm probably not going to return. There's just too many choices available around the area.
Rating given:
High quality mouth watering authentic Japanese Cuisine.
I've to agree with HisFoodBlog that EN Japanese Dining Bar is one of the best I'd been to by far. Serving the freshest sashimi and to-drool-for authentic cuisine.
This was the first time I tried the Beef Carpaccio. At first sight, I didn't dare touch it. But since its ordered, I just went ahead and dared myself. After the first slice of beef, I wanted more! It was thinly sliced and blended well with the seasoning on the beef. Although a tad too saltish, but still great one to devour on.
As the dishes ordered were more or less those recommended above by HisFoodBlog, I shall just share one more, which is another surprisingly yummilicious one.
The Unagi Fried Rice is most probably the only thing I will order if I should be going back there again. (Cos the price tag there is just not friendly enough for my thin wallet.) The fried rice is very fragrant and the rice grain is the real good stuff. Unlike the usual fried rice, I had at other Jap place, this is solid and slightly chewy too. The Unagi although cut to rather tiny pieces, I could still feel it when I chew on the mouthful of rice and unagi.
Great place to go for good quality Jap food.
(*Please take note that EN Jap dining bar is located along M.Sultan road, before reaching the left turn at Obar. Thanks to the incomplete directions given, when I was there, I couldn't find it within UE Square building. :S)
Rating given:
One of the more belated posts, this was taken during the Yebber gathering for the New Year...Yes its very late in fact. Nonetheless, HotPot culture was the choice of the day with its everyday prices and rather extensive selection of food, both cooked and raw. Knowing next to nothing of the place, me and my gf braved the cold hard night and thronged towards the defunct location where maniacal cameras and loud speech is a norm.
The location was rather odd because it was situated in the middle of a large number of competitors ranging from Secret Recipe, Kenny Rogers to Genki Sushi and some chinese restaurant. Talk about a "hostile location" and "friendly competition". Still, i have to say the place was simplistically clean in a good way and though filled with normal furniture, managed to hover between boring and acceptable.
The service is simple. Once you have settled in, the immediate step is to be acquainted to your own personal mini pot. This pot will stay with you till the end of your meal until dessert is served so it is prudent to ensure you pick the best pot for your needs. For my case, i picked the herbal ginseng hot pot and it was a good choice in my opinion as the stock definitely adds taste to the food and simply tastes good. A little on the salty side though. The other complaint would have to be the fumes emitted from the pot, it stings your eyes and noses for the first....10 minutes or so until you get used it but these are small grouses in the scale of things.
In terms of food selection for the uncooked portion where you get to pick and choose whatever you like, it was sufficient. There are upwards of 30 different items you can cook in your hotpot and each item was, to my impression, treated with equal cleanliness and hygiene. To me, its extremely important that the food looks and is clean and this they have managed to convey. On the items, there are lots of greens, vermicelli, bean related items, eggs, chicken meat, dory fish, fish cakes, crab meat and fish balls to choose from. Each are chilled with ice and tasted pretty good in each respect. Springy fishballs, reasonably fresh meat and fish round out the experience. In short, the items on selection may be rather small portioned but does not disappoint. This brings us to the next point which is the 'distinct' difference between HotPot Culture and other would be restaurants, they also serve a selection of close to 40 cooked food items.
Prawns and Bacon Wrap - This was our first order for the day in the cooked food section and to be honest, it was rather disappointing but its not the fault of the chef in this case, it was the ingredients. Prawns and bacon wraps are as easy as one, two, three in making it good. Simple have a nicely sauteed king prawn, wrap it in quality salty bacon, slap on a layer or 2 of additional garnishes while grilling and its basically a winner. What went wrong here, was the rather small prawn used which failed to bring out its true flavor. In retrospect, even Eden Cafe didn't get this right...maybe it isn't as easy as i though after all.
Tahu Goreng - A favorite dish of mine which hearkens back to my army days. This rendition was pleasing to the eye but did not live up to expectations in the taste department. The nuts and garnishing is definitely spot on but the tahu (beancurd) itself was just a little too hard. The skin took quite and effort to break and the beancurd within needed to be softer to be palatable.
Chicken Wings - Chicken wings, what could go wrong with it? Over frying apparently. There was some marinate used on the wings which rendered it too salty but the nail in the coffin was how dry the wings were. The only saving grace was that it was not oily, which was perplexing in a good way. The newest update i had was that the owner got my comment through the video yebber made with me commenting on the items out loud, and have since improved on the wings and other items.
Pan fried battered fish - Didn't get to try this but i was told it was pretty good by KK and his gf. So i'll take it as it was good.
Chicken and mushroom wrap - I had only a piece of this and its was a little dry but the mushroom sauce managed to compensate that little problem. This was salty as well though.
Ngor Hiang - One of my favorite dishes when done right. This was below average by me but maybe my views are biased on this dish. This was rather thin and actually over fried with the paste inside lacking much taste nor ingredients. Needs improvement.
Stir Fried Bean Sprouts - You just can't go wrong with this dish. Its easy enough with the only thing to look out for being to stir fry it long enough to rid it of the "greenish" taste and short enough to retain the crunchiness. Once again, it was a tad too salty for me.
Golden Mushroom - Sukiyaki Beef - Fish Paste - The above are 3 items which needed to be ordered before it can be cooked. The beef was fresh and succulent enough to be ordered a minimal of 3 times, the golden mushrooms need to be cooked thoroughly before being eaten but gets the job done while the fish paste is a weird combination of tastes in its own right but simply didn't sit well with me.
Sweet and sour fish - Sweet and Sour Chicken - Both these dishes taste the same to me. With the exception of the fish being more tender while the chicken being more chewy, the overall taste is the same. Not to say that its bad but the sauce certainly overwhelms after awhile.
Deep Fried Meat Balls - Remember the mushroom chicken? Well, the sauce is the same while the meat balls were unfortunately too dry yet again.
The final course of the day was the chocolate fondue which comes in its own little hotpot for each person. Choices to go with the fondue range from marshmallows to fruits like papayas, apples, pears, watermelons and honeydews. The fondue is of the bitter sweet variety which means its more bitter and has a higher cocoa content then some other such fondues offered in similar places. A good ending i'd say.
A decent place for a buffet hotpot meal with a rather extensive variety of of items to choose from. The owner's willingness to listen to feedback and improve is a plus. I'd recommend visiting it as the overall experience has not been a bad one.
Rating given:
Social Media Breakfast Singapore
March 29, 2008 (Saturday)
9 am — 12:30pm
Frujch @ SMU (Basement 1, School of Information Systems)
50 Stamford Road
The whole event was super fun, we mingled around talking with each other, a total of 40 people turned up for SMB! All righty, first we have to use the big sticker to write our name and blog address, or whatever website of stuff you want to let others know.
Anyway being a foodie, or rather I’ll coined myself as Gourmet Analyst, it is my moral obligation to present to you the food for the breakfast!
The “main course” for the breakfast. Sandwiches! There are not type of sandwich, one of which is ham, and the other being tuna. There are also the mini Choclate cakes
There were also orange juice to go along with the ’snacks’, and if you wanted any hot drink, you could always get it from the counter at Frujch (have to pay separately of course!)
See you all at the next SMB!
Btw, the 5 star rating is thumbs up for the Social Media Breakfast Event, not the food : )
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my geniune feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or bias. 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 : )
Social Media Breakfast
” Where everything comes from online to offline “
Rating given:
Beauty, body and hair care at its cheapest! This is the place to go for cheap cheap toiletries, beauty products, hair and body products and even perfumes.
Located in the heart of Ang Mo Kio, you might missed this gem as its hidden among the rows of shops along the main shopping lanes. The only thing that might help make it stand out is the pink sign board and lots of bottled shampoos neatly arranged outside of the shop.
The shop carries most of the brands, such as Loreal, Biore, SK2, and many others. But their prices are the most competitive. Giving the bigger pharmacies and shops a chase for their money.
For instance, the Loreal Facial gel and toner I bought. Usual price for the gel is $6 and the toner is around 10 . At Pink Beauty, the gel cost $4.50 and the toner cost only $6.20! I also bought 2 tubes of Biore Facial Scrub. U.P. $6 at NTUC and Watsons. But at Pink Beauty, its only $2.10! REAL Cheap right?
So now you know where to go for your beauty products ya? ;)
Rating given:
I think everyone knows this lone building standing in the field next to the huge balloon in Bugis area. It has a pretty famous alfresco steamboat joint too.
I had the chance to go to this budget hotel when my friend from the US stayed there. Despite the exterior looking a little run-down, the inside was fine.
The walls of the small lobby were adorned with old photographs and old newspaper clippings about the hotel. The room my friend is staying in costs SGD60 a night. It is a little small but still comfortable with its double bed. However for that price he had to use the common bath which he found to be rather clean. (He's an expert when it comes to budget accomodation.)
In fact, he had so much confidence in the place, he told us that he wanted to switch to the SGD18 per night room where he would have to share with 3 other people. They had two bunk beds there and it's still very clean.
What he was most impressed with was the good condition of the lockers and the hot and cold showers in all the bathrooms. The service was also friendly and we had a good chat with the staff whilst we were visiting.
With the good location and reasonable prices, I really find this hostel worthwhile. Moreover, it wasn't sleazy and felt very safe to live there.
Rating given:
Had dim sum at Yan Ting, the flagship Chinese restaurant of the latest and swankiest hotel in town, the 6 stars St Regis Singapore. Helmed by Chef Chan Siu Kong, a Hong Konger who spent more than 10 years with the Tung Lok Group, Yan Ting promises a gastronomical treat of authentic Cantonese dishes served in a modern presentation.
The grandeur of the hotel is apparent and it extends to Yan Ting. The decor is predominantly eastern with western influences and decked out in hues of black and gold. A low ceiling coupled with a tasteful chandelier, classy stained glass panels and artworks depicting various greenery adorn the cosy dining area. Heavy wooden chairs with floral designs and waitresses in complementary black and gold uniforms complete the setup. Even the cutlery screams expensive. The chopsticks, chopstick rests and spoons are gold plated and inlaid with jade pieces. Talk about fine dining. One thing that sets Yan Ting apart from other Chinese restaurant is its dim sum pricing. Other restaurants charge dim sum by per steamer/plate whereas Yan Ting does it per piece.
Amuse Bouche - Most Chinese restaurants don't dish out appetisers but hey its free so I'm not complaining. This particular amuse bouche was cucumber stuffed with chicken. Quite a treat actually. The cucumber was crunchy and a tad juicy, complementing the light smoky taste of the chicken.
Ha Kao ($2 each) - Thin yet firm skin coupled with fresh and crunchy prawns. How much better can Ha Kao get? Not much really. Yan Ting's rendition is really one of the best that I've tried so far. But at $2, its ridiculously more expensive than the competition. Think Royal China or Wah Lok.
Chives Dumpling ($2 each) - This is the first time I'm eating this and honestly I'm not impressed. Sure the skin was nicely pan fried but the chives seemed rather bland and the whole dumpling was a little soggy on the whole.
Glutinous Chicken Wrapped in Lotus Leaf ($1.80 each) - Usually I steer away from this dish because its really oily but Yan Ting's rendition didn't leave me feeling like my arteries had been clogged up. However, having said that, it didn't quite meet expectations. For starters, it wasn't fragrant enough or tasty enough. It definitely didn't help that portion size was minute. Personally I felt that the only saving grace was the light hint of lotus leaf taste which the rice carried.
Siew Mai ($2 each) - I would say the siew mai was quite good, with predominantly lean meat sans the overwhelming pork taste and a nice smooth skin to boot. Texture wise was also quite pleasing, smooth with the occasional roughage.
Char Siew Pastry ($1.60 each) - Undoubtedly the star of the meal, as agreed on by everyone around the table. The char siew pastry aka char siew sou, in my humble opinion, is really second to none in Singapore. Fragrant with lightly sweet and lean char siew enveloped in a fluffy light pastry with a buttery overtone. One is really not enough. We were so close to ordering another round of this wonderful dish.
Xiao Long Bao ($4 each) - Honestly, $4 for a single Xiao Long Bao is pure madness. However, I'll be the first to admit that the XLB was nothing short of excellent. Bigger than your usual XLB, Yan Ting's offering had copious amounts of soup contained within the soft yet firm skin. Its really amazing how well the skin holds up even though its evident that the juices within are straining to gush out at the slightest break. The filling of meat is tender and smooth as well, capping what I consider to be one of the best XLBs I've eaten in a very long while.
XO Cheong Fun ($4 each) - Another first for me. I've never seen cheong fun done this way before. Stir fried with XO sauce, and tasting very much like our very own Char Kway Teow. Probably I'm just not used to this form of cheong fun as I found it average and very oily. What a bummer for $4.
Radish Cake ($1.60 each) - Pan fried till lightly charred on the surface, the radish cake didn't offer too many surprises. Soft, smooth and tasty but I've definitely tried better ones.
Egg Tart ($1.60 each) - One of only 2 pastry items on the menu (the other being the char siew pastry), the egg tart was excellent as well, due largely in part to the wonderfully light and buttery pastry. Credit must also go to the egg custard filling which was good in its own right, smooth and not too sweet with a slight "eggish" taste. There's the problem of tiny portions though.
BBQ Pork Bun ($1.60 each) - I didn't find the char siew bao very outstanding although it was definitely in the above average region. Soft fluffy bao skin encompassing delectable, not too sweet char siew pieces. Terribly expensive though.
Custard Steamed Bun ($1.60 each) - I have the tendency to always order custard buns whenever and wherever they are available. Yan Ting's rendition didn't leave me impressed. Sure it was piping hot when served but the custard wasn't fragrant or tasty enough. Overall still decent though.
Beancurd Roulette ($1.80 each) - This was unexpectedly different from what I'm used to. The skin in this case was slightly thicker and deep fried till it became crispy and a little hard, just like deep fried spring roll skin. Thicker skins usually absorb more oil, hence it wasn't exactly a very pleasant experience eating the beancurd roulette. But I must say that the filling was actually quite good.
Bird's Nest Jelly - Finally! A bird's nest dessert that doesn't cost an arm or leg. Well almost. The orb shaped jelly had a few strands of birds nest lodged within and I'm pretty sure those would have gone unnoticed it if it wasn't for the fact that I was scrutinizing the jelly for them. Overall a nice and sweet but expensive ending to lunch.
Yan Ting's dim sum was a case of hits and misses but even then, the misses were still above average and very palatable. But there's a price to pay and that amounted to almost $205 for the 5 of us. As mentioned earlier, Yan Ting charges dim sum by the piece so bear that in mind and order wisely or you might just walk away alot poorer. To end off on a high note, the service was very professional and attentive, capping off, in my own humble opinion, an excellent dim sum session.
See all my pictures here.
Rating given:
Yebber’s gathering at Hotpot was during the last day of Chinese New Year, which was like two months ago? I’m very sorry for this very late post, didn’t have the time to blog, and i’m eating way faster than the rate i’m blogging. Thus the delay, anyway i finally make time for this post because i wanna get it up before i make my next post on Yebber’s 1st Anniversary Party @ Mint Museum. Do watch out for that next post!
I didn’t have much photos to show, mainly because i was hoping to get some photos from the rest using their powerful DSLR, but in the end i decided to take some quick shots, and didn’t really get much nice shots.
Fried Garlic Chicken
I like this one! It taste quite like “rojak”, except it got chicken instead of “you tiao”!
Sweet Sour Fish
The Sweet Sour Fish here is not bad too. Being a huge fan of sweet sour food, think sweet sour pork, fish, chicken, i’m always on a lookout for good sweet sour food.
Chili Squid
The Chili Squid is really spicy! Hot hot hot!
Yu Sheng
At the end, we had Yu Sheng, it was fun having yu sheng with the yebbers!
One person at Hotpot Culture cost $19.80 (i think), with one person having mini-pot which entitles unlimited serving on the steamboat and cook food selection. And oh ya, they also have free-flow ice cream, and guess what? Chocolate Fondue!! Yeah, thats quite generous right? We had fruits to go along with the fondue, sweet! But one thing i didn’t like was one person can only have one free-drink, and after that you need to pay $2 for free-flow of drinks.
I’m not sure whether i’ll be back at Hotpot Culture again, partly because i’m not really a steamboat person, and also i’ll like to try more of other place. So your call, if you think they are worth a try, you can always find them at; Marina Square #02-138D Centre Stage
You are always welcome to visit ladyironchef for a full-up on this trip. Whatever written above are my geniune feelings expressed in words that may be subjected to my personal distortion or bias. 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 : )
” Hotpot, one pot many cultures “
Rating given: