Well, always one true to my words, i said i’ll be back at Miss Clarity during my first visit. And here i am again. Nothing much has changed since my last visit, the kiddy decor, the colourful environment, the cute menu. Most importantly, the service has remained true to the Miss Clarity spirit, the food remains as good as well, with the price remaining the same.
As usual, we choose a main and add on $3 for an additional salad/soup, drink (barley/lime), and a dessert of the day.
Chicken Cordon Bleu ($8.80)
Deep fried breaded chicken breast stuffed with ham & cheese, served with tartar sauce and potato/vege as side dish. Chicken Cordon Bleu was ordered on the last visit as well, but my brother wanted to try so here goes. Steady and reliable. And did i mention the price?
Fish & Chips ($7.50)
Crispy breaded fish fillet with fries & clarity’s homemade coleslaw, served with tartar sauce. The fish & chips was decent, given its served in a cafe, the price is reasonable for the quality provided. The fillet layer’s bread crust was nice, and added a different dimension to the usual fish fillet served.
Total Bill was $22.30 for 2 person which i emphasis again is pretty reasonable for the amount of food served. What i really like about Miss Clarity is the fact that they provide good service, yet do not charge service charge for it. In addition, they even absorb the 7% GST. That will save you in the pocket to the tune of 17% for your meal. A jug of iced water with lemon slices are also given to each table even if you had ordered drinks.
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 : )
” I refuse to pay service charge and GST when there is no service provided “
Made our way one rainy evening to Sunset Grill & Pub, an eatery/drinking hole equally known for its buffalo wings and very inaccessible location. Notoriously hidden in the inner realms of Seletar airbase, Sunset is a pain in the ass to find (pardon my language), even with the help of a map provided by the place. Just so that you know, Sunset doesn't appear on any streetdirectory the last I checked. Even if you manage to find the carpark, you still need to walk a short distance before you can actually see the joint itself. Talk about private dining.
Caesar Salad - The caesar salad was actually very normal tasting with slices of boiled egg, bacon bits and croutons. The vegetables were fresh but I found it terribly overpriced at $12.50.
Deep Fried Mushrooms - First the good. The breaded mushrooms were crispy on the outside with exploding juices in every bite. Now the bad. The batter was too thick and absorbed too much of the oil used in deep frying the mushrooms, so much so that it had an oily residue taste.
Buffalo Wings - Feeling intimidated by the level of spiciness the wings came in, we decided to stick to the safest bet - the mildest level 1. Even then, it was quite spicy for me (I don't really take chilli by the way), not to mention huge and juicy as well. However, because of its sourish nature, its really an acquired taste.
Hamburger Steak - The meat was too dry but at least the raw beef taste wasn't overpowering. The other gripe I had was that the meat was almost well done, which explains the dryness. Definitely not something I would order again.
Although no service charge or GST was imposed, $60 for the above dishes is really on the expensive side. Sure, the novelty is there and the prospect of watching planes take off is exciting, but for the quality of food and price, I'll be hard pressed to return. Oh and if you do decide to sit in the al fresco area, please watch out for the mosquitoes.
Four Leaves, one of the Main Bakeries in Singapore, alongside BreadTalk, Bengawan Solo (not really a bakery though). But my favourite will clearly be Four Leaves. I have supported their bread for a long long time already, and i like their cheese and ham bread. Despite being a supporter, but i think the different type of bread that i tried from Four leaves can be count using one hand five fingers? And all that is going to change, with the Mini World promotion, where great taste comes in small bites
With everything coming in Mini-size, cars, cards, cakes, tarts, ice creams and the list goes on and on. It will be sooner and later before Mini bread come into place (why didn’t i spot the trend?). Hahahah! And Four Leaves launch their mini world promotion, coming out mini breads with a total of 14 flavours. One mini bread cost $0.65, three for $1.80, and 5 for $2.80. If you do your maths, obviously buying more will be cheaper, but not much really.
I thought it was rather creative of Four Leaves to have this map in their shop telling the story of Bread. I’ll have done that too. Not that i am creative, but its a good idea : )
I had three mini bread! Starting from the left one. I can’t remember what the name is, but the appearance certainly looks like a chocolate eclair. The inside is no cream, make of soft soft bread, this is my fav! The top one on the right is good also, almond nuts on the top, with thin layer of chocolate in the middle of the bread, and again, the bread taste suprisingly soft
Have you realise what this new promotions mean? Lets see the before and after effect. Before, one bun cost a dollar plus, buying 5 different type of buns will cut you back by at least $7-8. After, 5 mini buns for $2.80. Ta-ddaa!! Before, $2.80 at most can get you two bun, mayb three, now u can get five. Not too bad huh?
Obviously the main draw is for customers to try more different type of Bread. Without this promotions, we usually wont buy the new flavour of Bread unless we are feeling adventureous, or we really like the flavour right. But with the promotion, Four Leave can test-out new flavours, which can only be good news for you and me.
And its not just that, i believe there will be a BIG market demand for the mini buns simply because they are cute. And its a novelty to customers. Won’t you be tempted to buy them? With the price its quite reasonable. But don’t expect it to be filling, because mini means really small. One bite can finish the bread off. So buy it for fun, or light snack!
Hopefully Four Leave will come out with more variety of Mini Buns, so that we can try many many other flavours!
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 : )
This trip to Nul Bom Korean Restaurant marks my foray into Korean cuisine, with my prior experiences with Korean food limited to those at food courts and probably the stuff they sell at Seoul's Incheon airport.
Situated amongst a row of shophouses along Telok Ayer street, this nondescript eatery houses a small and simply done up interior. Tables are limited and although there are private rooms available, capacity probably wouldn't exceed 30 pax all in all.
The bean sprouts, Kimchi and anchovies are pretty much staple in any Korean restaurants where the other dishes vary from eatery to eatery. I didn't find any of the sides outstanding but I appreciated the variety as well as the seemingly complimentary gesture (the cost is all factored into the price of the dishes of course).
Kim Chi Chi Gae - Kim Chi with Rice - This dish was quite spicy and looked the part as well. However, it wasn't anything to shout about either. But thats coming from someone who has almost zero knowledge about kim chi or Korean food in general.
So Bul Go Gi - Beef BBQ - I'm at a loss as to how and where to begin describing the averageness of this dish. It tasted exactly like the ones I've have had from pseudo Korean stalls at food courts. This was much sweeter though through the addition of sugar(?) and had golden mushrooms to top it off.
I guess $39 for 2 pax isn't really expensive but I seriously doubt I'll be back in a hurry, especially when the food failed to impress. Did I mention that service wasn't very good as well?
Made a reservation at for 1930hrs at Imperial Treasure Teochew Cuisine for our yearly reunion dinner. Surprisingly, Imperial Treasure only had 2 seatings, one at 6pm and the other at 730pm, which of course gave us plenty of time to finish up our food.
Stepping into the restaurant, the interior struck me as rather haphazard and cramp. Fortunately for us, we managed to snag a semi private booth seat which was rather cosy with pretty overhanging lights and wooden paneling.
Salmon Yu Sheng - For one, I must admit that I'm not exactly a fan of Yu Sheng but this one was quite well done. Slightly heavy on the sesame taste with fresh thinly sliced salmon and lots of other condiments, it didn't make me cringe like so many other Yu Shengs that I've tried.
Double Boiled Superior Shark's Fin - The quality in this dish was evident. The fins were quite a size (Bao Qi) and held quite a bit of bite while the broth was light and tantalizing. Simple yet tastefully done.
Roasted Crispy Goose - Although I honestly prefer my goose braised Teochew style, the roasted goose was nothing short of excellent. Succulent and tender meat beneath a layer of crispy skin that crackled with every bite. It was sheer goodness.
Poached Live "Soon Hock" Fish with Chinese Rice Wine - The flesh was firm and sweet without the fishy undertones - an indication of freshness. There was a strong, almost overwhelming presence of rice wine in the milky gravy but when drizzled over the fish, it mellowed subtly and complemented the fish very well.
Sauteed Australian Lobster with Ginger & Shallot - I doubt the lobster weighed in more than a kilogram. In fact, I suspect its weight hovered in the range of a mere 600-800 grams. Size aside, execution was commendable with the meat fresh and sweet with a nice and light ginger overtone.
Sweet & Sour Pork - This dish was in addition to our set menu and rather average if I may say. The flour coating was a tad too thick while the sauce was too sweet for our liking. Predictably, there was quite a bit of left over when we were done.
Stewed South African Sliced Abalone with Dried Oyster & Fish Maw - Presentation wise, this dish was awful, with everything looking mashed together under a blanket of really starchy gravy. But as the saying goes, never judge a book by its cover. It was a treasure pot of sorts with a respectable amount of abalone slices, fresh (not the usual dried ones) fish maw and a few dried oysters. The only gripe I had was that the oysters were a tad undercooked.
Stir Fried Vegetables with Mushrooms - Another addition to the menu and a most average dish. True, the mushrooms were nice but the vegetables were lacking in the quintessential wok hei taste.
Fried Glutinous Rice with Dried Meat & Mushroom - This was probably the only low in the otherwise excellent set menu. The rice was tasteless and a tad too dry. Ingredients were minimal as well.
Chinese New Year Pastries & Yam Paste with Pumpkin and Gingko nuts - The cookies were decent whereas the yam paste aka Orh Nee was a tad too watery for my liking. But I guess it all boils down to personal preference as my parents found it quite decent.
With a dinner for 5 hitting $930 without any drinks save for tea, its almost breaching the insanity mark. But well, its Chinese New Year and the food is really quite good. If such standard of food can be attained even during the CNY period where the food quality in most places would dip, then its a reasonable assumption that it would be better on normal days. I'll be eagerly awaiting.
2am: dessertbar, a recently opened cafe at Holland Village that focuses primarily on desserts. It was through sheer luck and a little guidance that we managed to find it, tucked in a remote corner of the area, on the second floor no less.
The interior was tastefully designed, oozing contemporary chic coupled with matching sofa beds for that upmarket chill out ambience. However, the first thing that hit us was that the music was a tad too loud, forcing us to raise our voices to be heard over the din. We were lucky to have managed to get a sofa seat, seeing that they were all in hot demand. The sad thing was that the sofas were hard and whenever anyone from the adjourning table got on or off the sofa, we could feel it which got really irritating after a while.
2am Meatballs - 2 words. Rip off. 6 beef balls for $14. How's that for value? And the beef balls weren't even good to begin with. I could have bought the frozen ones from any supermarket and those would probably have tasted the same, if not better. Oh and the few vegetable leafs just don't cut it as salad.
Chocolate Tart - The tart was tiny and I'm not exaggerating. Beautifully presented, it would have been very normal if not for the infused orange twist. Add the chocolate granules and delightful orange sorbet to the mix and this is a definite crowd pleaser. Theres the problem about size though.
Twix - Billed as a specialty, the Twix got us all intrigued by its form. It didn't quite measure up in the taste department though, with the home made valrhona chocolate ice cream rich but not the least bit outstanding. The caramel mousse was almost tasteless and the texture was a little odd - soft yet firm. Probably the only thing that was good was the peanut crumble. Fragrant and crunchy, it breathed life into this otherwise lifeless and not to mention expensive dessert.
Tiramisu - Yet another aesthetically pleasing dessert but with no substance to back it up. The tiramisu was very bland save for a very slight hint of espresso. The sponge fingers were also a tad too soggy and it reminded me of eating pandan cake with water. Not that the accompanying espresso ice cream was any better, coming across as very bland as well.
$78 (after a 10% discount) for 3 desserts, 3 drinks and 1 finger food is really over the hill especially when I could have easily polished off everything without even breaking a sweat. Read. Minute portions. Service was generally quite good but more needs to be done about everything else.
Jelita seems an unlikely place to go to, with the main draw being Cold Storage, a video-shop, couple of other shops. However thats precisely where Friends are situated. A Modern European restaurant which proclaims to offer casual fine dining, Friends @ Jelita is just a stone throw away from the popular Holland Village, but offers you the serene environment which the latter could not afford with the omni-present large crowd there.
Having signed up as a member with Friends online at its website, i received a $50 voucher for every $150 spend, or a 1-for-1 Executive Set Lunch/Dinner promotion. Armed with the coupon, my companion and me made our way to Jelita, and arrived at 1250pm. Being a monday, we were not surprise to see the restaurant quite empty, but there were still some patrons though. The staff there told us that Monday is usually a good time to visit Friends as there are less customers, and you probably will not want to come here on a weekend as that’s when the families bring their kids along.
The first notion that striked me was the decorations and furnitures presented in the restaurant. The comfy grey large seats definitely make us feel at home. The lighting was dimmed, which creates a tranquil atmosphere. On the other hand, it pose a predicament to food bloggers because the poor lighting makes the photos turn out not-as-good, that is not a problem if you are a pro at photoshop.
There are two types available, the Classic Set Lunch and the Executive Set Lunch, with Executive being more expensive among the both, undoubtedly the level of standard demand will be higher. It was only sensible to order the Executive Set Lunch since it was 1-for-1. But i was intially sceptical to how good the Set Lunch can be, as the a la carte menu are all priced reasonably higher than that of the set lunch. Friends proved me wrong in this, the executive set lunch ($24.90 ) albeit being limited in options, is certainly value for money.
Australian Garden Salad Each Set Lunch comes with the Australian Garden Salad. Topped with dried fruits, raspberry vinaigrette, the hors d’oeuvre is positively a good way to begin the meal.
Soup of the day Mushroom soup with a hint of mashed potatos. This was good until we tried the other wild forest mushroom soup. The latter makes the mushroom soup seems ordinary. Actually its not bad, just that the mushroom soup meet its match with the wild forest mushroom, which is a tad better.
Wild Forest mushroom Soup (Additional Upgrade of $2)
This is the one that makes the Soup of the day seems inferior. Well, you always expect more especially when there is an additional upgrade of $2. The Wild forest mushroom soup does not fails to deliver taste-wise, it is a good appetizer as the soup helps to unlock our tastebuds for the rest of the meal.
Sautèed chicken fillet For our first main course, we had the Sautèed chicken fillet which was complemented with dried chili, rosemary & garlic anchovy. The first bite of the chicken tells it all, the fillet was tender and soft, It was unlike what normal chicken taste like, Friends re-defined the chicken experience, this certainly impressed me.
The sauce of the chicken fillet was equally good. The dried chili, rosemary & garlic anchovy combinations creates a unique taste. Sometimes the sauce of a dish gets so strong that it cover the meat, but thats not the case at Friends. The chicken fillet with the sauce seems to harmonize and blend with each other, which brings us the Sautèed chicken fillet.
Oven Baked Salmon fillet Topped with Cajun crust & lemon butter sauce, the Oven Baked Salmon fillet is another winner which bright up our meal. The cripsy cajun crust on the exterior of the salmon was complemented by its soft interior.
The lemon butter sauce has a cheesy taste, and we almost mistook it for cheese. Both mains are accompanied by mashed potatos toppled with mixed vegies. My companion had a slight issue with the salmon though. Being a big fan of salmon, she remarked that the fillet was slightly dried as compared to the other salmons she had previously. Otherwise, the salmon will be faultless.
Cappuccino The pretty sight makes us admire the Cappuccino for a while before we harden our heart and stirred the coffee.
Dessert of the day To end off our meal, we had egg crustard for desserts. This one is good, egg crustard underneath the breaded top. Every spoonful of egg crustard taste warm, like straight from the oven. We felt that it’s rather similar to whats more commonly known to us, egg tarts.
Friends Total bill for two executive set lunch was $60.6, under the 1-for-1 promotion, we paid $31.70 for the delightful lunch. The set lunch and dinner at Friends are definitely value-for-money, and should worth your try unless you want to go for the a la carte menu. The service-wise are definitely one of the better ones which i encountered on my food experience so far, the staff are polite, knowledgable and a smile is always on their face which make diners feel welcome.
By the way, we took slightly more than 1 half hours to finish our lunch, so i thought it might not be so good if you visit Friends during your lunch work break. This is one place where they waited for you to finish the starter before serving on the soup, the main, the dessert and the drink. So really it all depends on how fast you approach your dishes. My companion and I were starving when we start the meal with the salad and soup, so we were wondering when will then they served the main course. Well, if the main course is what you want, advice will be to finish the starters fast and get on with the main.
All in all, the dining experience at Friends is no doubt a pleasant one, which my companion and i both very much enjoyed. I would say this is the place where you can really have your Casual Fine Dining without really burning a hole in your pocket. For people who felt that fine-dining equates to dress-up, this is not a issue at Friends. Whether you are decked out in suits and ties, or your comfy jeans & t-shirts, you’ll be welcome at Friends all the same. On a side note, if you are driving, remember to call the restaurant for directions, as free private parking are available for diners. The next visit to Friends again, will be for their executive set dinner, or A la carte menu. And lastly i’ll like to thank my companion for accompanying me on this lovely lunch. In the company of a good friend, it just makes the meal at Friends better.
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 : )
New York New York (NYNY), the eye-catching restaurant located at the underground of Citylink. NYNY stands out with its dazzling name, and always caught the attention with its alluring interior decorations. The green and cozy furnitures are the signature of NYNY. Having pass by NYNY many times but fail to go inside, a timely visit is always due on the cards as my companion and me went there for lunch.
Seafood Platter for 2 ($33.90)
We ordered the Seafood Platter for 2 to share. A platter fit for the Kings and Queens of New York! Cold Crab, prawn fritters, crispy fish salmon and calamari rings, compose of the delightful meal. Having ordered Seafood platters previously before at Manhattan Fish Market and Fish & Co, i was pleasantly surprise when the platter arrive. All right i admitted, i did not pay much attention when i made the order, so i didn’t really notice the word “Cold Crab” on the menu. Yep, thats the surprise, neither was my companion ready for it. Nonetheless, let us take a peek into what is present in the platter.
Crispy fish & chips
Well you know the ever-present fish & chips? Steady and reliable
Prawn Fritters
The prawn fritters were excellent. I loved this one. No doubt the prawn might not be very big, but then the bigger the prawn, i feel the less tasty it is. The prawn here is deep-fried, coupled with the Tata sauce, it is simply irresistible.
Fish Salmon
The Fish salmon here eaten raw, a tad too fishy for me, so i’ll give it a pass
Calamari Rings
Now then, everybody should know Calamaris are actually fried squids right? O well just in case. The Calamari rings here are up to the mark, tender and juicy. In my humble opinion, i consider the calamari rings here to be one level up from the one at Fish & Co. The main explanation being the ones at Fish & Co are too salty for my liking.
Cold Crab
North Altantic Fishermen love their chilled steamed crabs. Just some background information on the crustacean. In case you don’t know what is a crustacean, they are large group of arthropods, comprising approximately 52,000 described species. Baffled already? All right all right, to put it in short, some of the names we are familar with; lobsters, crabs, shrimps, crayfish,
The sea creature with the claws that are ready to pinch you if you are not too careful. To be honest, i am not a big fan of crabs. Why? Because i am lazy, yes pure lazy.
It takes skill to eat a crab you know? there are so many different parts of the crab to be eaten, well i like the big hammer of the crab, there’s lots of meat there. The small leg? Nah, you can have it. You’ll have to slowly suck the meat out of the thin skinny leg. Well be careful while you are having a suck at it, the cute guy or pretty girl next table might just be looking at you.
Nevertheless, both of us took quite a long time to finish it, the Cold Crab is fresh, too bad we are not crab lovers huh? hahaha!
Some might say New York New York is not good, they excel in the decorations but failed in the food. But my contrarian view tells me that they are good and a excellent place to hang out with your friends. The decorations are well done, in fact the environment of a restaurant plays a huge role as to whether the food is good. The food might not be the best, but they are still good. The crucial factor to this will be the price, its within reasonable pricing, and all this only sums up to one equation, i will be back.
Total bill was $39.90 for 2 person, which i find it to be inexpensive. NYNY @ Citylink is strategically located to tap on the huge crowd travelling from City Hall to Suntec/Marine Square. Thus, the restaurant being full even when it is not during lunch or dinner time is not an uncommon sight. There are more to try from the comprehensive menu of NYNY. Until then!
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 : )
In my bid to bade a warm farewell to this 2 decades old iconic landmark of the Oasis (which happens to be closing soon), I visited on a warm weekday evening ladened with much nostalgia from my good old childhood days.
Nothing much has changed since I can last remember, save for some minor refurbishments and facelifts here and there. The interior is still as warm as ever, even with air conditioning.
Beancurd with Shrimp - The shrimps didn't taste particularly fresh while the tofu was small and tasteless. Add overly salty gravy to the equation and you get a below average dish for the price ($7).
Preserved Vegetable Omelette - The egg was overly fried as evident from the charred bits along the edges but the preserved vegetables weren't too salty, which was something I personally liked.
Bean Sprouts - Nicely fried with bits of salted fish in it to give it taste. However it did seem a little too oily and salty.
Stewed Pork - The stewed pork aka Mei Cai Kou Rou, was an off menu item and tasted decent at best. It didn't help that the meat was a tad too dry as well. Did I mention that it was expensive ($10) as well for the tiny serving?
I honestly don't know what to make of this place. The food is average and prices are astronomical. 1 meal here can buy me at least 2 equally if not more satisfying meals at the teochew porridge stall near my house. The only reason I can think of why people still patronise this place is nostalgia. After all, this place has been around for decades.
Have you ever go into a Italiano restaurant, and all of a sudden feel ordering ALL the food available on the menu?
All you look is at the food, without even giving the price tag a glance?
Feeling excited, we might as well tell the waiter to serve EVERY dish they have on the menu!
That’s precisely what happen to us when we went to Al Dente Pronto.
Ahh.. You are confuse now right? Is the food so good that we wanted to order all the dishes? Alas, that’s not quite the raison d’être.
The explication for our extravagant & exaggerated behavior is because … …
We had a 50% discount coupon from OCBC. Yes, you didn’t see wrongly, half price for a la carte items during lunch & dinner, up to a table of 4 persons. Dinner was with the Yebbers. So everything we look at, we can only see half the price, and of course this makes it affordable and worry-free to order whatever we like. So we ordered mostly the more expensive dishes : )
Tomato Basil Bruschetta ($5.0)
We kick start our dinner with the Tomato Basil Bruschettra. Diced Tomato, Garlic, Basil, Oregano and olive oil formulate the starter. We were uncertain whether they gave 8 pieces because there are four of us, or it always come in 8 pieces irregardless of the number of people dining. All the same, we felt the starter could do with more tomato, mayb its because of the rising price in agriculture products in China. Think think. First bite into the Bruschettra was crispy and the garlic taste was done just nice. At $2.50 after discount, it was a real good deal.
Grilled Portobello mushrooms ($12.0)
Our second starter was the Grilled Portobello Mushrooms. Served with rocket salad and diced tomatos. The presentation of the dish was done beautifully, but sadly to sad i felt that at $12 it was definitely not worth the price. Even at half price i won’t order it again.
Char-Grilled Sirloin Steak ($20.0)
Finishing our starter, the waiter note our cue to start our Main course for the night. Our first main was the Char-Grilled Sirloin Steak. We requested for medium-rare, but then when the steak was served it was a tad tougher than what we expected from a medium-rare steak. I guess they sort of make it into medium-well instead. Well, its Italiano and not a steakhouse after all. Nevertheless, i felt that the steak was pretty decent, and at half the price of $10, it was value. Oh yes, we liked the potato that came with it, pretty much reminds us of our childhood.
Pan-Seared Butterfish ($20.0)
Served with potatos, sautèed vegetables and topped with a lemon dill butter glace. Al Dente Pronto actually only have three main course available, the other one being roasted corn fed chicken which we didn’t order. I suppose the raison d’être was because the mains are not really their area of specialty. Al Dente Pronto’s extensive variety of Italian Pizzas and Pastas are where they fare better.
Smoked Chicken Pizza ($17.0)
This is the star of tonight’s show. The Smoked Chicken Pizza might not look very special, but then they are undeniably scrumptious, with large chunks of chicken meat beneath the cheesy cheese. Pizza comes flat, thin and crispy
Arragosta Pasta ($20.0)
Spaghetti with Lobster meat, zucchini and mushrooms, with tomato stew or garlic sauce. We opted for garlic sauce with the belief that garlic can compliment Lobster meat better. And i thought the Arragosta Pasta comes out quite well, mayb except for the fact that it was slightly too dry. I like the lobster meat, which was quite generously furnish on top of the pasta. And i think zucchini (cucumbers) are rather a rare sight in pasta cuisine. Nonetheless, at half price of $10 i think its quite good for money, we are talking about Lobster meat after all.
Tiramisu ($9.0)
To end off the meal, we had Tiramisu as our first dessert. Layers of mascarpone with sponge fingers soaked in coffee and brandy, served with bittersweet chocolate powder The presentation was all right, but the cake was too tough, we had to literally dig inside it to get the tiramisu out.
Macadamia Scented Crème Brulèe ($8.0)
Caramelized custard, infused with Macadamia nut oil served with strawberries on the Macadamia Scented Crème Brulèe.
Total Bill was $122.50 before discount, the amount that we paid for 4 person was $71.20 after discount. The calulations are kind of complicated because the 50% discount does not includes GST and service charge, so they had to count the total price without including them, half the price, and add on the 17% additional charges. Poof! Its comes down to around $18 for per person which i think is reasonably cheap.
All in all, Al Dente Pronto is not really expensive (even without the promotion), the price ranges are mostly in the 10s to 20s. I wont say the food is excellent, in fact some are not. But then i suppose they are still acceptable to me. No you wont go all the way to the forgotton-Great-World-City just for Al Dente Pronto, but i guess if you are in the region you might just want to give it a try. And it certainly helps if you have the OCBC promotion, p.s: it last until end feb.
We had a great night chatting around, there was laughter all over the place, and at times i thought the waiter will just kick us out of the place. It was fun fun & fun! Looking forward to the next Yebber gathering! Cheers!
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
Well, always one true to my words, i said i’ll be back at Miss Clarity during my first visit. And here i am again. Nothing much has changed since my last visit, the kiddy decor, the colourful environment, the cute menu. Most importantly, the service has remained true to the Miss Clarity spirit, the food remains as good as well, with the price remaining the same.
As usual, we choose a main and add on $3 for an additional salad/soup, drink (barley/lime), and a dessert of the day.
Chicken Cordon Bleu ($8.80)
Deep fried breaded chicken breast stuffed with ham & cheese, served with tartar sauce and potato/vege as side dish. Chicken Cordon Bleu was ordered on the last visit as well, but my brother wanted to try so here goes. Steady and reliable. And did i mention the price?
Fish & Chips ($7.50)
Crispy breaded fish fillet with fries & clarity’s homemade coleslaw, served with tartar sauce. The fish & chips was decent, given its served in a cafe, the price is reasonable for the quality provided. The fillet layer’s bread crust was nice, and added a different dimension to the usual fish fillet served.
Total Bill was $22.30 for 2 person which i emphasis again is pretty reasonable for the amount of food served. What i really like about Miss Clarity is the fact that they provide good service, yet do not charge service charge for it. In addition, they even absorb the 7% GST. That will save you in the pocket to the tune of 17% for your meal. A jug of iced water with lemon slices are also given to each table even if you had ordered drinks.
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 : )
” I refuse to pay service charge and GST when there is no service provided “
Rating given:
Made our way one rainy evening to Sunset Grill & Pub, an eatery/drinking hole equally known for its buffalo wings and very inaccessible location. Notoriously hidden in the inner realms of Seletar airbase, Sunset is a pain in the ass to find (pardon my language), even with the help of a map provided by the place. Just so that you know, Sunset doesn't appear on any streetdirectory the last I checked. Even if you manage to find the carpark, you still need to walk a short distance before you can actually see the joint itself. Talk about private dining.
Caesar Salad - The caesar salad was actually very normal tasting with slices of boiled egg, bacon bits and croutons. The vegetables were fresh but I found it terribly overpriced at $12.50.
Deep Fried Mushrooms - First the good. The breaded mushrooms were crispy on the outside with exploding juices in every bite. Now the bad. The batter was too thick and absorbed too much of the oil used in deep frying the mushrooms, so much so that it had an oily residue taste.
Buffalo Wings - Feeling intimidated by the level of spiciness the wings came in, we decided to stick to the safest bet - the mildest level 1. Even then, it was quite spicy for me (I don't really take chilli by the way), not to mention huge and juicy as well. However, because of its sourish nature, its really an acquired taste.
Hamburger Steak - The meat was too dry but at least the raw beef taste wasn't overpowering. The other gripe I had was that the meat was almost well done, which explains the dryness. Definitely not something I would order again.
Although no service charge or GST was imposed, $60 for the above dishes is really on the expensive side. Sure, the novelty is there and the prospect of watching planes take off is exciting, but for the quality of food and price, I'll be hard pressed to return. Oh and if you do decide to sit in the al fresco area, please watch out for the mosquitoes.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
Four Leaves, one of the Main Bakeries in Singapore, alongside BreadTalk, Bengawan Solo (not really a bakery though). But my favourite will clearly be Four Leaves. I have supported their bread for a long long time already, and i like their cheese and ham bread. Despite being a supporter, but i think the different type of bread that i tried from Four leaves can be count using one hand five fingers? And all that is going to change, with the Mini World promotion, where great taste comes in small bites
With everything coming in Mini-size, cars, cards, cakes, tarts, ice creams and the list goes on and on. It will be sooner and later before Mini bread come into place (why didn’t i spot the trend?). Hahahah! And Four Leaves launch their mini world promotion, coming out mini breads with a total of 14 flavours. One mini bread cost $0.65, three for $1.80, and 5 for $2.80. If you do your maths, obviously buying more will be cheaper, but not much really.
I thought it was rather creative of Four Leaves to have this map in their shop telling the story of Bread. I’ll have done that too. Not that i am creative, but its a good idea : )
I had three mini bread! Starting from the left one. I can’t remember what the name is, but the appearance certainly looks like a chocolate eclair. The inside is no cream, make of soft soft bread, this is my fav! The top one on the right is good also, almond nuts on the top, with thin layer of chocolate in the middle of the bread, and again, the bread taste suprisingly soft
Have you realise what this new promotions mean? Lets see the before and after effect. Before, one bun cost a dollar plus, buying 5 different type of buns will cut you back by at least $7-8. After, 5 mini buns for $2.80. Ta-ddaa!! Before, $2.80 at most can get you two bun, mayb three, now u can get five. Not too bad huh?
Obviously the main draw is for customers to try more different type of Bread. Without this promotions, we usually wont buy the new flavour of Bread unless we are feeling adventureous, or we really like the flavour right. But with the promotion, Four Leave can test-out new flavours, which can only be good news for you and me.
And its not just that, i believe there will be a BIG market demand for the mini buns simply because they are cute. And its a novelty to customers. Won’t you be tempted to buy them? With the price its quite reasonable. But don’t expect it to be filling, because mini means really small. One bite can finish the bread off. So buy it for fun, or light snack!
Hopefully Four Leave will come out with more variety of Mini Buns, so that we can try many many other flavours!
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 : )
” Mini in size, Great in taste “
Rating given:
This trip to Nul Bom Korean Restaurant marks my foray into Korean cuisine, with my prior experiences with Korean food limited to those at food courts and probably the stuff they sell at Seoul's Incheon airport.
Situated amongst a row of shophouses along Telok Ayer street, this nondescript eatery houses a small and simply done up interior. Tables are limited and although there are private rooms available, capacity probably wouldn't exceed 30 pax all in all.
The bean sprouts, Kimchi and anchovies are pretty much staple in any Korean restaurants where the other dishes vary from eatery to eatery. I didn't find any of the sides outstanding but I appreciated the variety as well as the seemingly complimentary gesture (the cost is all factored into the price of the dishes of course).
Kim Chi Chi Gae - Kim Chi with Rice - This dish was quite spicy and looked the part as well. However, it wasn't anything to shout about either. But thats coming from someone who has almost zero knowledge about kim chi or Korean food in general.
So Bul Go Gi - Beef BBQ - I'm at a loss as to how and where to begin describing the averageness of this dish. It tasted exactly like the ones I've have had from pseudo Korean stalls at food courts. This was much sweeter though through the addition of sugar(?) and had golden mushrooms to top it off.
I guess $39 for 2 pax isn't really expensive but I seriously doubt I'll be back in a hurry, especially when the food failed to impress. Did I mention that service wasn't very good as well?
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Rating given:
Made a reservation at for 1930hrs at Imperial Treasure Teochew Cuisine for our yearly reunion dinner. Surprisingly, Imperial Treasure only had 2 seatings, one at 6pm and the other at 730pm, which of course gave us plenty of time to finish up our food.
Stepping into the restaurant, the interior struck me as rather haphazard and cramp. Fortunately for us, we managed to snag a semi private booth seat which was rather cosy with pretty overhanging lights and wooden paneling.
Salmon Yu Sheng - For one, I must admit that I'm not exactly a fan of Yu Sheng but this one was quite well done. Slightly heavy on the sesame taste with fresh thinly sliced salmon and lots of other condiments, it didn't make me cringe like so many other Yu Shengs that I've tried.
Double Boiled Superior Shark's Fin - The quality in this dish was evident. The fins were quite a size (Bao Qi) and held quite a bit of bite while the broth was light and tantalizing. Simple yet tastefully done.
Roasted Crispy Goose - Although I honestly prefer my goose braised Teochew style, the roasted goose was nothing short of excellent. Succulent and tender meat beneath a layer of crispy skin that crackled with every bite. It was sheer goodness.
Poached Live "Soon Hock" Fish with Chinese Rice Wine - The flesh was firm and sweet without the fishy undertones - an indication of freshness. There was a strong, almost overwhelming presence of rice wine in the milky gravy but when drizzled over the fish, it mellowed subtly and complemented the fish very well.
Sauteed Australian Lobster with Ginger & Shallot - I doubt the lobster weighed in more than a kilogram. In fact, I suspect its weight hovered in the range of a mere 600-800 grams. Size aside, execution was commendable with the meat fresh and sweet with a nice and light ginger overtone.
Sweet & Sour Pork - This dish was in addition to our set menu and rather average if I may say. The flour coating was a tad too thick while the sauce was too sweet for our liking. Predictably, there was quite a bit of left over when we were done.
Stewed South African Sliced Abalone with Dried Oyster & Fish Maw - Presentation wise, this dish was awful, with everything looking mashed together under a blanket of really starchy gravy. But as the saying goes, never judge a book by its cover. It was a treasure pot of sorts with a respectable amount of abalone slices, fresh (not the usual dried ones) fish maw and a few dried oysters. The only gripe I had was that the oysters were a tad undercooked.
Stir Fried Vegetables with Mushrooms - Another addition to the menu and a most average dish. True, the mushrooms were nice but the vegetables were lacking in the quintessential wok hei taste.
Fried Glutinous Rice with Dried Meat & Mushroom - This was probably the only low in the otherwise excellent set menu. The rice was tasteless and a tad too dry. Ingredients were minimal as well.
Chinese New Year Pastries & Yam Paste with Pumpkin and Gingko nuts - The cookies were decent whereas the yam paste aka Orh Nee was a tad too watery for my liking. But I guess it all boils down to personal preference as my parents found it quite decent.
With a dinner for 5 hitting $930 without any drinks save for tea, its almost breaching the insanity mark. But well, its Chinese New Year and the food is really quite good. If such standard of food can be attained even during the CNY period where the food quality in most places would dip, then its a reasonable assumption that it would be better on normal days. I'll be eagerly awaiting.
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Rating given:
2am: dessertbar, a recently opened cafe at Holland Village that focuses primarily on desserts. It was through sheer luck and a little guidance that we managed to find it, tucked in a remote corner of the area, on the second floor no less.
The interior was tastefully designed, oozing contemporary chic coupled with matching sofa beds for that upmarket chill out ambience. However, the first thing that hit us was that the music was a tad too loud, forcing us to raise our voices to be heard over the din. We were lucky to have managed to get a sofa seat, seeing that they were all in hot demand. The sad thing was that the sofas were hard and whenever anyone from the adjourning table got on or off the sofa, we could feel it which got really irritating after a while.
2am Meatballs - 2 words. Rip off. 6 beef balls for $14. How's that for value? And the beef balls weren't even good to begin with. I could have bought the frozen ones from any supermarket and those would probably have tasted the same, if not better. Oh and the few vegetable leafs just don't cut it as salad.
Chocolate Tart - The tart was tiny and I'm not exaggerating. Beautifully presented, it would have been very normal if not for the infused orange twist. Add the chocolate granules and delightful orange sorbet to the mix and this is a definite crowd pleaser. Theres the problem about size though.
Twix - Billed as a specialty, the Twix got us all intrigued by its form. It didn't quite measure up in the taste department though, with the home made valrhona chocolate ice cream rich but not the least bit outstanding. The caramel mousse was almost tasteless and the texture was a little odd - soft yet firm. Probably the only thing that was good was the peanut crumble. Fragrant and crunchy, it breathed life into this otherwise lifeless and not to mention expensive dessert.
Tiramisu - Yet another aesthetically pleasing dessert but with no substance to back it up. The tiramisu was very bland save for a very slight hint of espresso. The sponge fingers were also a tad too soggy and it reminded me of eating pandan cake with water. Not that the accompanying espresso ice cream was any better, coming across as very bland as well.
$78 (after a 10% discount) for 3 desserts, 3 drinks and 1 finger food is really over the hill especially when I could have easily polished off everything without even breaking a sweat. Read. Minute portions. Service was generally quite good but more needs to be done about everything else.
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Rating given:
Jelita seems an unlikely place to go to, with the main draw being Cold Storage, a video-shop, couple of other shops. However thats precisely where Friends are situated. A Modern European restaurant which proclaims to offer casual fine dining, Friends @ Jelita is just a stone throw away from the popular Holland Village, but offers you the serene environment which the latter could not afford with the omni-present large crowd there.
Having signed up as a member with Friends online at its website, i received a $50 voucher for every $150 spend, or a 1-for-1 Executive Set Lunch/Dinner promotion. Armed with the coupon, my companion and me made our way to Jelita, and arrived at 1250pm. Being a monday, we were not surprise to see the restaurant quite empty, but there were still some patrons though. The staff there told us that Monday is usually a good time to visit Friends as there are less customers, and you probably will not want to come here on a weekend as that’s when the families bring their kids along.
The first notion that striked me was the decorations and furnitures presented in the restaurant. The comfy grey large seats definitely make us feel at home. The lighting was dimmed, which creates a tranquil atmosphere. On the other hand, it pose a predicament to food bloggers because the poor lighting makes the photos turn out not-as-good, that is not a problem if you are a pro at photoshop.
There are two types available, the Classic Set Lunch and the Executive Set Lunch, with Executive being more expensive among the both, undoubtedly the level of standard demand will be higher. It was only sensible to order the Executive Set Lunch since it was 1-for-1. But i was intially sceptical to how good the Set Lunch can be, as the a la carte menu are all priced reasonably higher than that of the set lunch. Friends proved me wrong in this, the executive set lunch ($24.90 ) albeit being limited in options, is certainly value for money.
Australian Garden Salad
Each Set Lunch comes with the Australian Garden Salad. Topped with dried fruits, raspberry vinaigrette, the hors d’oeuvre is positively a good way to begin the meal.
Soup of the day
Mushroom soup with a hint of mashed potatos. This was good until we tried the other wild forest mushroom soup. The latter makes the mushroom soup seems ordinary. Actually its not bad, just that the mushroom soup meet its match with the wild forest mushroom, which is a tad better.
Wild Forest mushroom Soup (Additional Upgrade of $2)
This is the one that makes the Soup of the day seems inferior. Well, you always expect more especially when there is an additional upgrade of $2. The Wild forest mushroom soup does not fails to deliver taste-wise, it is a good appetizer as the soup helps to unlock our tastebuds for the rest of the meal.
Sautèed chicken fillet
For our first main course, we had the Sautèed chicken fillet which was complemented with dried chili, rosemary & garlic anchovy. The first bite of the chicken tells it all, the fillet was tender and soft, It was unlike what normal chicken taste like, Friends re-defined the chicken experience, this certainly impressed me.
The sauce of the chicken fillet was equally good. The dried chili, rosemary & garlic anchovy combinations creates a unique taste. Sometimes the sauce of a dish gets so strong that it cover the meat, but thats not the case at Friends. The chicken fillet with the sauce seems to harmonize and blend with each other, which brings us the Sautèed chicken fillet.
Oven Baked Salmon fillet
Topped with Cajun crust & lemon butter sauce, the Oven Baked Salmon fillet is another winner which bright up our meal. The cripsy cajun crust on the exterior of the salmon was complemented by its soft interior.
The lemon butter sauce has a cheesy taste, and we almost mistook it for cheese. Both mains are accompanied by mashed potatos toppled with mixed vegies. My companion had a slight issue with the salmon though. Being a big fan of salmon, she remarked that the fillet was slightly dried as compared to the other salmons she had previously. Otherwise, the salmon will be faultless.
Cappuccino
The pretty sight makes us admire the Cappuccino for a while before we harden our heart and stirred the coffee.
Dessert of the day
To end off our meal, we had egg crustard for desserts. This one is good, egg crustard underneath the breaded top. Every spoonful of egg crustard taste warm, like straight from the oven. We felt that it’s rather similar to whats more commonly known to us, egg tarts.
Friends
Total bill for two executive set lunch was $60.6, under the 1-for-1 promotion, we paid $31.70 for the delightful lunch. The set lunch and dinner at Friends are definitely value-for-money, and should worth your try unless you want to go for the a la carte menu. The service-wise are definitely one of the better ones which i encountered on my food experience so far, the staff are polite, knowledgable and a smile is always on their face which make diners feel welcome.
By the way, we took slightly more than 1 half hours to finish our lunch, so i thought it might not be so good if you visit Friends during your lunch work break. This is one place where they waited for you to finish the starter before serving on the soup, the main, the dessert and the drink. So really it all depends on how fast you approach your dishes. My companion and I were starving when we start the meal with the salad and soup, so we were wondering when will then they served the main course. Well, if the main course is what you want, advice will be to finish the starters fast and get on with the main.
All in all, the dining experience at Friends is no doubt a pleasant one, which my companion and i both very much enjoyed. I would say this is the place where you can really have your Casual Fine Dining without really burning a hole in your pocket. For people who felt that fine-dining equates to dress-up, this is not a issue at Friends. Whether you are decked out in suits and ties, or your comfy jeans & t-shirts, you’ll be welcome at Friends all the same. On a side note, if you are driving, remember to call the restaurant for directions, as free private parking are available for diners. The next visit to Friends again, will be for their executive set dinner, or A la carte menu. And lastly i’ll like to thank my companion for accompanying me on this lovely lunch. In the company of a good friend, it just makes the meal at Friends better.
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 : )
” Modern European Cuisine at its finest “
Rating given:
New York New York (NYNY), the eye-catching restaurant located at the underground of Citylink. NYNY stands out with its dazzling name, and always caught the attention with its alluring interior decorations. The green and cozy furnitures are the signature of NYNY. Having pass by NYNY many times but fail to go inside, a timely visit is always due on the cards as my companion and me went there for lunch.
Seafood Platter for 2 ($33.90)
We ordered the Seafood Platter for 2 to share. A platter fit for the Kings and Queens of New York! Cold Crab, prawn fritters, crispy fish salmon and calamari rings, compose of the delightful meal. Having ordered Seafood platters previously before at Manhattan Fish Market and Fish & Co, i was pleasantly surprise when the platter arrive. All right i admitted, i did not pay much attention when i made the order, so i didn’t really notice the word “Cold Crab” on the menu. Yep, thats the surprise, neither was my companion ready for it. Nonetheless, let us take a peek into what is present in the platter.
Crispy fish & chips
Well you know the ever-present fish & chips? Steady and reliable
Prawn Fritters
The prawn fritters were excellent. I loved this one. No doubt the prawn might not be very big, but then the bigger the prawn, i feel the less tasty it is. The prawn here is deep-fried, coupled with the Tata sauce, it is simply irresistible.
Fish Salmon
The Fish salmon here eaten raw, a tad too fishy for me, so i’ll give it a pass
Calamari Rings
Now then, everybody should know Calamaris are actually fried squids right? O well just in case. The Calamari rings here are up to the mark, tender and juicy. In my humble opinion, i consider the calamari rings here to be one level up from the one at Fish & Co. The main explanation being the ones at Fish & Co are too salty for my liking.
Cold Crab
North Altantic Fishermen love their chilled steamed crabs. Just some background information on the crustacean. In case you don’t know what is a crustacean, they are large group of arthropods, comprising approximately 52,000 described species. Baffled already? All right all right, to put it in short, some of the names we are familar with; lobsters, crabs, shrimps, crayfish,
The sea creature with the claws that are ready to pinch you if you are not too careful. To be honest, i am not a big fan of crabs. Why? Because i am lazy, yes pure lazy.
It takes skill to eat a crab you know? there are so many different parts of the crab to be eaten, well i like the big hammer of the crab, there’s lots of meat there. The small leg? Nah, you can have it. You’ll have to slowly suck the meat out of the thin skinny leg. Well be careful while you are having a suck at it, the cute guy or pretty girl next table might just be looking at you.
Nevertheless, both of us took quite a long time to finish it, the Cold Crab is fresh, too bad we are not crab lovers huh? hahaha!
Some might say New York New York is not good, they excel in the decorations but failed in the food. But my contrarian view tells me that they are good and a excellent place to hang out with your friends. The decorations are well done, in fact the environment of a restaurant plays a huge role as to whether the food is good. The food might not be the best, but they are still good. The crucial factor to this will be the price, its within reasonable pricing, and all this only sums up to one equation, i will be back.
Total bill was $39.90 for 2 person, which i find it to be inexpensive. NYNY @ Citylink is strategically located to tap on the huge crowd travelling from City Hall to Suntec/Marine Square. Thus, the restaurant being full even when it is not during lunch or dinner time is not an uncommon sight. There are more to try from the comprehensive menu of NYNY. Until then!
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 : )
” Food all the way from New York City “
Rating given:
In my bid to bade a warm farewell to this 2 decades old iconic landmark of the Oasis (which happens to be closing soon), I visited on a warm weekday evening ladened with much nostalgia from my good old childhood days.
Nothing much has changed since I can last remember, save for some minor refurbishments and facelifts here and there. The interior is still as warm as ever, even with air conditioning.
Beancurd with Shrimp - The shrimps didn't taste particularly fresh while the tofu was small and tasteless. Add overly salty gravy to the equation and you get a below average dish for the price ($7).
Preserved Vegetable Omelette - The egg was overly fried as evident from the charred bits along the edges but the preserved vegetables weren't too salty, which was something I personally liked.
Bean Sprouts - Nicely fried with bits of salted fish in it to give it taste. However it did seem a little too oily and salty.
Stewed Pork - The stewed pork aka Mei Cai Kou Rou, was an off menu item and tasted decent at best. It didn't help that the meat was a tad too dry as well. Did I mention that it was expensive ($10) as well for the tiny serving?
I honestly don't know what to make of this place. The food is average and prices are astronomical. 1 meal here can buy me at least 2 equally if not more satisfying meals at the teochew porridge stall near my house. The only reason I can think of why people still patronise this place is nostalgia. After all, this place has been around for decades.
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Rating given:
Have you ever go into a Italiano restaurant, and all of a sudden feel ordering ALL the food available on the menu?
All you look is at the food, without even giving the price tag a glance?
Feeling excited, we might as well tell the waiter to serve EVERY dish they have on the menu!
That’s precisely what happen to us when we went to Al Dente Pronto.
Ahh.. You are confuse now right? Is the food so good that we wanted to order all the dishes? Alas, that’s not quite the raison d’être.
The explication for our extravagant & exaggerated behavior is because … …
We had a 50% discount coupon from OCBC. Yes, you didn’t see wrongly, half price for a la carte items during lunch & dinner, up to a table of 4 persons. Dinner was with the Yebbers. So everything we look at, we can only see half the price, and of course this makes it affordable and worry-free to order whatever we like. So we ordered mostly the more expensive dishes : )
Tomato Basil Bruschetta ($5.0)
We kick start our dinner with the Tomato Basil Bruschettra. Diced Tomato, Garlic, Basil, Oregano and olive oil formulate the starter. We were uncertain whether they gave 8 pieces because there are four of us, or it always come in 8 pieces irregardless of the number of people dining. All the same, we felt the starter could do with more tomato, mayb its because of the rising price in agriculture products in China. Think think. First bite into the Bruschettra was crispy and the garlic taste was done just nice. At $2.50 after discount, it was a real good deal.
Grilled Portobello mushrooms ($12.0)
Our second starter was the Grilled Portobello Mushrooms. Served with rocket salad and diced tomatos. The presentation of the dish was done beautifully, but sadly to sad i felt that at $12 it was definitely not worth the price. Even at half price i won’t order it again.
Char-Grilled Sirloin Steak ($20.0)
Finishing our starter, the waiter note our cue to start our Main course for the night. Our first main was the Char-Grilled Sirloin Steak. We requested for medium-rare, but then when the steak was served it was a tad tougher than what we expected from a medium-rare steak. I guess they sort of make it into medium-well instead. Well, its Italiano and not a steakhouse after all. Nevertheless, i felt that the steak was pretty decent, and at half the price of $10, it was value. Oh yes, we liked the potato that came with it, pretty much reminds us of our childhood.
Pan-Seared Butterfish ($20.0)
Served with potatos, sautèed vegetables and topped with a lemon dill butter glace. Al Dente Pronto actually only have three main course available, the other one being roasted corn fed chicken which we didn’t order. I suppose the raison d’être was because the mains are not really their area of specialty. Al Dente Pronto’s extensive variety of Italian Pizzas and Pastas are where they fare better.
Smoked Chicken Pizza ($17.0)
This is the star of tonight’s show. The Smoked Chicken Pizza might not look very special, but then they are undeniably scrumptious, with large chunks of chicken meat beneath the cheesy cheese. Pizza comes flat, thin and crispy
Arragosta Pasta ($20.0)
Spaghetti with Lobster meat, zucchini and mushrooms, with tomato stew or garlic sauce. We opted for garlic sauce with the belief that garlic can compliment Lobster meat better. And i thought the Arragosta Pasta comes out quite well, mayb except for the fact that it was slightly too dry. I like the lobster meat, which was quite generously furnish on top of the pasta. And i think zucchini (cucumbers) are rather a rare sight in pasta cuisine. Nonetheless, at half price of $10 i think its quite good for money, we are talking about Lobster meat after all.
Tiramisu ($9.0)
To end off the meal, we had Tiramisu as our first dessert. Layers of mascarpone with sponge fingers soaked in coffee and brandy, served with bittersweet chocolate powder The presentation was all right, but the cake was too tough, we had to literally dig inside it to get the tiramisu out.
Macadamia Scented Crème Brulèe ($8.0)
Caramelized custard, infused with Macadamia nut oil served with strawberries on the Macadamia Scented Crème Brulèe.
Total Bill was $122.50 before discount, the amount that we paid for 4 person was $71.20 after discount. The calulations are kind of complicated because the 50% discount does not includes GST and service charge, so they had to count the total price without including them, half the price, and add on the 17% additional charges. Poof! Its comes down to around $18 for per person which i think is reasonably cheap.
All in all, Al Dente Pronto is not really expensive (even without the promotion), the price ranges are mostly in the 10s to 20s. I wont say the food is excellent, in fact some are not. But then i suppose they are still acceptable to me. No you wont go all the way to the forgotton-Great-World-City just for Al Dente Pronto, but i guess if you are in the region you might just want to give it a try. And it certainly helps if you have the OCBC promotion, p.s: it last until end feb.
We had a great night chatting around, there was laughter all over the place, and at times i thought the waiter will just kick us out of the place. It was fun fun & fun! Looking forward to the next Yebber gathering! Cheers!
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 : )
” Italiano delights, Companion enjoyment ”
Rating given: