Had Business lunch at Yum Cha restaurant, one of the more commonly recognize Dim-Sum restaurant in Singapore probably due to their TV advertisements. The other one which will come to my mind thinking of dim-sum will be Fortunate Restaurant also because of their TV adverts.
The menu was done up very nicely and shows colorful, attractive pictures of the dim-sum. The place was quite full, so we had to wait a while before the food was served.
The Dim-sum taste and looks good, price is reasonable i guess, although u cant compare it with a dim-sum buffet. We had cheong fun, carrot cake, xiaolongbao, glutinous rice in lotus leaf, chicken giant bun, steamed bean curd skin roll, steamed pork ribs, har gao, century egg congee, fried vegetarian spring roll.
Quite a wide range of dim-sum available, too many for you to taste it all : )
Hmm, came here to "chill out"or rather to have someplace for a drink and chat after we had our dinner at Alaturka.
We only had drinks there, milo, tea, coffee. Had a quick glance at the menu, quite agree with the previous blurber shu yen that it is quite a rip off. Hot drinks are at $1.20, while ice drinks are at $2.50 and above. I had hot milo, while the ice milo because it has ice cost $1.30 more? Since when did ice become so expensive?
The menu had quite a variety of Hong Kong cafe food, but the price are rather high. I mean although its a restaurant, but its just selling Hong Kong cafe food which is not really worth that much of a price. Instant noodle with luncheon meat and egg, i can cook that for you at home, i just charge $2? ( : O well, cant really comment on the food because we did not order any
Well well, we wanted to try something more exotic because was getting a bit bored of eating chinese, western, and jap food. Alaturka serves a sort of combination of turkish and mediterranean cuisine. I had make a reservation in advance, and they saved their best seat for us, which even had a roof that can be open so that we can look at the sky. So rule number one always make reservation before you go. We took a while before we can decide what to order because all of us did not try turkey food before.
The kofte ($13.00) which was grilled lamb with rice and vege. Turkey really can cook their lamb, or at least at Alaturka they do it well. 4.5 out of 5
The Etlipide ($11.50) which was baked bread with chicken. Pretty good, i think its quite similar to Italy pizza, but if you had it as main course, its not really filling. 3.5 out of 5
Adana chicken Kebab ($13.00), it has grilled chicken kebab with rice and vege. 3.5 out of 5
The Iskender Kebab ($15.00) chicken with yogut. Hmm, it has lots of chicken, but then being the most expensive dish among us, it has no rice, so ordered one rice pilaf at $1.50. Not too bad, but considering it with the other dishes, the price a bit higher. 3.5 out of 5
The Kuzupirzola ($14.00) which was lamb chop with rice and vege. Although i do not eat lamb often, but the lamb chop here was good enough for me. Alaturka really do their lamb well service. 4.5 out of 5
All in all, lamb is well done here, the chicken kebabs are also not bad, quite a number of variety of kebab and Ottoman specials they called it. No air-con, but hey come on, for the reasonable price and good food its worth it. If you want something special, Alaturka is the place for you.
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 : )
Waraku Japanese casual pasta & cafe restaurant at Central. First impression the restaurant was quite nicely decorated, the staff was enthu, mayb too-enthu for my delight. They will say welcome loudly to everyone who came. And sometimes out of nothing they will shout some jap greetings. I mean it is good to be polite, but isn’t this a little over? Besides, it is all right to say greetings in jap but at least yr jap have to sound nice? Some waitress jap does not sound too good to the ear. Think the management should ask diners comments on this
Donald had the Kaminabe Wazen ($19.80), kaminabe sounds like some foul word? haha. Anyway, it has sliced beef & vegetables cook with soup in paper pot, fresh salmon sashimi, and deepfried assortment of vege and prawn, rice The sliced beef and vege in spicy soup, the soup is refreshing to drink, donald (beef lover) say the beef is very nice, so it must be nice. Quite special to put it in paper pot.
The sliced beef and vege in spicy soup, the soup is refreshing to drink, don(beef lover) say the beef is very nice, so it must be nice. Quite special to put it in paper pot. Fried Prawn and vege, looks and taste nice. Onli one miserable prawn, should have give more. I am not really a sashimi eater so cannot judge whether fresh or not. Overall this dish i would give it 4 out of 5
I had the TonkatsuWazen ($15.50) which is pork cutlet set meal i guess. It has pork cutlet (obviously), salad, rice, pickles seaweed with soup noodles. The main character, pork cutlet, cripsy is the word to describe. At some places after eating pork cutlet you will feel the after-effect of being thirsty and stuff like that, but this one wont. The cutlet is also fried jus nice, not too bland and not too salty. Plus my fav healthy servings of vege to go along with it. The seaweed with soup noodles, one big bowl of it, two person to finish it, Noodles taste all right. Tonkatsu set (pork cutlet) gets 3.5 out of 5 because i prefer donald set. As simple as that
Overall the whole restaurant feel, donald say is 3.5, but i think i would give it 4 out of 5, pretty decent price and the food is not too bad, jus that i think the management should improve on the restaurant service, too much shouting around is not music to my ears while i am having my dinner. I had a coupon from them after paying the bill, its gives quite a good discount, BUT, the big but, it is onli limited to 1 coupon per table per bill basis. That means i can use coupon but my friend cant?
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 : )
Founder Bak Kut Teh has been in the Balestier area for many years and has built up its reputation as one of the best Teochew style Bak Kut Teh stalls in Singapore. The multitude of celebrity photographs taken at the store are testament to that and so are the crowds that throng this outfit during its opening hours.
Just a small nugget of information for those who didn't know, Teochew style Bak Kut Teh is characterised by a clear soup with a peppery base whereas the Hokkien style Bak Kut Teh is darker in colour and heavy on the herbs. As to which tastes better, it boils down to individual preferences. I, for one, prefer the Teochew style. Founder's soup base is very peppery and light, with the pork ribs cooked just right (the meat is slightly reddish). The result is tender pork ribs which exude the tasty goodness of the soup. At $5.50 a bowl, it is slightly on the high side though. But there's air conditioning if you sit inside and the quality is really consistent and good, so I guess its worth the extra money.
Had the opportunity to attend a food sampling session at Absolute Haven, one of the up and coming culinary stars of the quaint Prinsep Street. Much has been said and written about this eatery which dishes out modern European cuisine amidst a chic backdrop.
There's an option of al fresco seating in the relatively small outdoor area or indoor seating in a much larger(and cooler) area which boasts clean lines, wooden pillars and oozes minimalistic elegance. Music was rather tasteful as well if I may say, a most fitting complement to the ambience.
Seafood Sampler ($18) - Almost every tom, dick and harry western eatery I know of has some variation of the seafood platter, be it in name, variety of seafood or otherwise. Which explains the lack of expectations for this dish. Even then, it was a disappointment. The prawns weren't fresh, the batter was too thick and the fries were too soggy. Probably the only positive aspect was the accompanying sauces - beetroot with mayonnaise and lime(?) with mint, both of which were unique in their own right. On a side note, the platter was huge, enough for about 4 pax to share (in the misery, (un)fortunately).
Spinach and Wild Mushrooms Salad ($7.50) - I had expected mushrooms covered by/mixed with a tower of spinach so this dish kinda screwed my expectations a little. The thinly sliced mushrooms were buttery and tasty whereas the button and shitake mushrooms came across as rather normal. The spinach was fresh but a little too soft from the balsamic vinaigrette. I liked the dash of cheese atop though.
Oriental Cod Fish ($24) - The name caught my eye. This is probably an example of modern European cuisine, European food with a fusion twist. Taste wise, the fish was fresh and well complemented by the sweet wolfberries and salty bacon bits. However, the meat could have been a little firmer for better texture.
Tenderloin Steak ($28) - The steak wasn't up to expectations. Period. Sure, it was done medium rare just the way we ordered it, but the meat was too soft, probably from the overuse of tenderizer? The lack of marination was apparent - the beef relied on the overly salty sauce to give it taste. Nothing like the pièce de résistance I had at Prive. I didn't quite like the accompanying potato gratin as well as I found it too dry and heavy on the palate.
Chicken Roulade ($20) - This was probably the best dish of the evening, simple yet close to the heart. Fragrant, tender and juicy, the chicken had bacon and spinach stuffed in between which added a slight salty dimension to it. The avocado salad really wasn't my cup of tea though. Very soft and mashed up, it reminded me of baby food. But I guess this really boils down to personal preference.
Victorian Creme Brulee ($8) - Aesthetics wise, the creme brulee was rather pleasing, especially when served with the rose petals. However, its texture reminded me more of egg custard than creme brulee, which is something rather weird. There was also a small rose bud embedded within, which came across as rather overwhelming.
Tira Mi Su ($9) - Another visually pleasing dessert, the tiramisu didn't impress with its pudding like mascarpone cheese mousse. It tasted really weird to me, but I guess thats personal preference as well. I couldn't detect any hint of liqueur at all and the cake was rather soggy from the espresso coffee at the bottom. It wasn't entirely disastrous though. At least it came across as light on the palate.
Overall, the food certainly isn't great but the soothing ambience and attentive service more than makes up for it. You won't have to worry about still or sparkling here as well as they serve natural strawberry flavoured ice water, a deviation from the norm.
*disclaimer: This tasting session was for the purpose of ascertaining the suitability of Absolute Haven for one of our upcoming events.
Having spent in excess of $1200 (I am still reeling from the shock from seeing my credit card bill) on food alone in the month of Sep (mind you, this sum only includes what I've charged to my credit card. If you include cash expenditure on food, I should be up by another $400 tops), I decided to go budget a little and give Cafe Vic @ Carlton Hotel a shot given its relatively inexpensive pricing for a weekend high tea ($22 ). With a dining timeslot from 12-5pm, it starts a little early for high tea and ends a little late for lunch, which leaves it somewhere in the middle, or perhaps a combination of both lunch and high tea.
The heavy rains throughout the island on Saturday didn't deter us one bit, although it did make us terribly late for our reservation (45 mins in fact. We got there at 1345hrs instead). Upon arrival, we were seated at a pretty cosy table at one of the corners of the restaurant, which was fine with me except for the fact that the tables surrounding us were occupied by groups of people who were making quite a bit of noise with their loud guffaws and raised voices. That really didn't sit well with me, as I didn't trudge through the heavy rain to listen to people's gossips about the latest games or that secret romance. Maybe I'm being a little cranky here, but try getting your pants all wet with a less then dry gf and having to put up with all that loud chatter. I could barely have a decent conversation with my gf throughout the whole meal. Ok enough of my rambling. The cafe was quite nicely done, with huge paintings adorning the walls and floor to ceilings windows offering a view of the outside world. Capacity would easily be in excess of 100 pax, not that it was needed though, with only about 10 pax throughout the whole course of my meal there.
I did a rough estimate on the number of buffet offerings and it totalled about 40, most of which were common fare like dim sum, sandwiches, salads, Rojak, Ice Kachang, noodles and a splattering of sushi and sashimi, which was still ok, given the price and well, its supposed to be high tea. I made it a point to try everything that Cafe Vic had to offer and two words sum my experience up. PLAIN DISAPPOINTMENT. Everything from the sushi to the desserts, were at best, average. The sushi's rice was cold and dry and the same could be said for the sandwiches. The roast duck was way too salty and the deep fried fishballs tasted rubbery and starchy. Even something as simple as fried noodles was a disaster, with parts of the noodle dry and hard. The selection of salads like the smoked chicken salad and the chicken sausage salad was still ok though. The desserts were average, but I particularly liked the pear pie, which I felt was the only one that shone amongst all the desserts, particularly with its nicely baked crust. Even my gf agrees. However, I must compliment on their service, though not fantastic, was good enough for me.
It cost us about $46 after taxes and a 10% discount with my UOB card, which effectively works out to be $23/pax. Definitely not expensive, but quality of food leaves much to be desired, which I feel is a pity given its simple yet nicely done interior. Also, given my good experiences with Wah Lok, I would have expected more from Cafe Vic. Hence, my stand on Cafe Vic is this. Go for it if you just want to gorge yourself with food for a long period (12-5pm no time limit) and food quality bears little significance to you or if you want to just find a nice place to while the weekend afternoons away with your friends over food at a not too hefty price tag. (Sit in a secluded area though)
Had another impromptu dinner last night albeit with a much smaller price tag as compared to the last one when we dined at Morton’s. The venue was Wah Noogee House at Carlton Hotel just across the road from CHIJMES. The younger cousin of the famous Wah Lok is known for whipping up simple yet delicious fare, as evidenced by the multiple newspaper cuttings plastered to the glass. On this particular occasion, it was offering an Ala Carte buffet of 38 dishes at $22 NETT. Being the “kiasu” Singaporeans, we decided to give it a try. Spaces were aplenty when we got there about 2015hrs. Décor was simplistic yet modern, with aesthetically pleasing lights hanging from the high ceiling.
We tried almost everything on the menu. That might seem a little greedy, but trust me when I say this; portions are single servings (read small) and I estimate that we ate about 20 dishes in all. I found everything pretty average, with the deep fried beancurd being slightly above average. It was nicely diced and fried, with a sprinkling of salt and Monosodium Glutamate (MSG). The roast duck had a nice crisp skin, but minimal meat, which was a bummer really. I did like the wantons for their huge and fresh prawns which were tasty and crunchy. But overall, nothing really stood out.
Damage was $22.40/pax, with the 40 cents going to the cost of the wet towels. Not exactly value for money, but it was a pretty satisfying and enjoyable dinner (for me at least). Service was also quite good and the place was nice and quiet. Still it’s not worth the $22 in my opinion. Approximately $15-$17 would have been just right. Having said that, I might just be convinced to try it again because it offers a relaxed environment with decent food at a not too expensive price. (Actually no hotel that I know has a buffet dinner at $22 NETT)
t was the second outing for the forum people and this time round we tried The Tent @ Clark Quay, which supposedly served Mongolian food steamboat buffet style. Having never tried Mongolian food, I was pretty enthusiastic about the whole thing. After some wrong turns and confusing streets, we finally made it there at about 1945hrs. First looks, the whole place didn't look Mongolian in any way but the setting was pretty nice I must say. And there weren't many people around when we arrived, which was a good thing. (People started filling in at about 8 though)
How this place works is this. You choose your ingredients(rice, meat, prawns, vegetables etc) and toss them into a big bowl and you place your sauces(Teriyaki, BBQ, green curry etc) into a small bowl, after which you give them to the chef together with a metal token with your table number on it and he will cook your food for you and have it served to your table. In case you are clueless as to how to choose your sauces from the 40 or so varieties available, there are some 20 recipes that the chefs have come up with to simplify things.
Food wise, I can't really judge because they all pretty much tasted the same(the ones I had) and it really depended more on what sauces you add, in what quantity etc. Well all in all, it cost us about $151 for 5 pax. Honestly speaking, it was reminiscent of Seoul Garden, albeit a better but more expensive eatery. The "experience" is also slightly different from what you would get outside. However having said that, I don't think I'll be coming back anytime soon. $26 /pax is just too much to pay for food that is a mix and match of everything. Oh and not forgetting the oil smell left on my shirt.
Long heard of this famous ice-cream shop but did not have a chance to patronise it. So after finishing our dinner at Greenwood, we head straight to serene centre which was nearby. When we reached the place it was full house, so we waited a while for our seats. Single scoop comes at $2.50 each, while double scoop is $4.00. There is also the 500ml tub at $8.00
We 3 person order double scoop each and share, so each of us can taste 6 flavours instead of 2. Smart right? There are other flavours like black sesame, soursop, and some others which i can’t remember. But we dun have the courage to try them, so we ordered the more popular ones.
One by one, the top two is teh tareh (coffee) and nutella, bottom left is burn cameral and the popular cookies & cream, bottom right is reversO (chocolate) and horlick (see picture from my blog). We judge the popularity by seeing which one finish first. Make a guess? Cookies & cream and nutella tied for first, followed by cameral, ho, coffee and reverO (chocolate). My personal fav is nutella, never tried before. The reversO was too strong in flavour, as in after eating it when we eat the other flavours we cant taste anything. So we leave it for the last. lol
All in all, Island creamery is quite valued for money, there is a similar ice-cream shop called daily scoop at sunset way which offers double scoop for $5. Head there when u have a chance. 4.5 out of 5
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
Had Business lunch at Yum Cha restaurant, one of the more commonly recognize Dim-Sum restaurant in Singapore probably due to their TV advertisements. The other one which will come to my mind thinking of dim-sum will be Fortunate Restaurant also because of their TV adverts.
The menu was done up very nicely and shows colorful, attractive pictures of the dim-sum. The place was quite full, so we had to wait a while before the food was served.
The Dim-sum taste and looks good, price is reasonable i guess, although u cant compare it with a dim-sum buffet. We had cheong fun, carrot cake, xiaolongbao, glutinous rice in lotus leaf, chicken giant bun, steamed bean curd skin roll, steamed pork ribs, har gao, century egg congee, fried vegetarian spring roll.
Quite a wide range of dim-sum available, too many for you to taste it all : )
Rating given:
Hmm, came here to "chill out"or rather to have someplace for a drink and chat after we had our dinner at Alaturka.
We only had drinks there, milo, tea, coffee. Had a quick glance at the menu, quite agree with the previous blurber shu yen that it is quite a rip off. Hot drinks are at $1.20, while ice drinks are at $2.50 and above. I had hot milo, while the ice milo because it has ice cost $1.30 more? Since when did ice become so expensive?
The menu had quite a variety of Hong Kong cafe food, but the price are rather high. I mean although its a restaurant, but its just selling Hong Kong cafe food which is not really worth that much of a price. Instant noodle with luncheon meat and egg, i can cook that for you at home, i just charge $2? ( : O well, cant really comment on the food because we did not order any
Rating given:
Well well, we wanted to try something more exotic because was getting a bit bored of eating chinese, western, and jap food. Alaturka serves a sort of combination of turkish and mediterranean cuisine. I had make a reservation in advance, and they saved their best seat for us, which even had a roof that can be open so that we can look at the sky. So rule number one always make reservation before you go. We took a while before we can decide what to order because all of us did not try turkey food before.
The kofte ($13.00) which was grilled lamb with rice and vege. Turkey really can cook their lamb, or at least at Alaturka they do it well. 4.5 out of 5
The Etlipide ($11.50) which was baked bread with chicken. Pretty good, i think its quite similar to Italy pizza, but if you had it as main course, its not really filling. 3.5 out of 5
Adana chicken Kebab ($13.00), it has grilled chicken kebab with rice and vege. 3.5 out of 5
The Iskender Kebab ($15.00) chicken with yogut. Hmm, it has lots of chicken, but then being the most expensive dish among us, it has no rice, so ordered one rice pilaf at $1.50. Not too bad, but considering it with the other dishes, the price a bit higher. 3.5 out of 5
The Kuzupirzola ($14.00) which was lamb chop with rice and vege. Although i do not eat lamb often, but the lamb chop here was good enough for me. Alaturka really do their lamb well service. 4.5 out of 5
All in all, lamb is well done here, the chicken kebabs are also not bad, quite a number of variety of kebab and Ottoman specials they called it. No air-con, but hey come on, for the reasonable price and good food its worth it. If you want something special, Alaturka is the place for you.
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 : )
Rating given:
Waraku Japanese casual pasta & cafe restaurant at Central. First impression the restaurant was quite nicely decorated, the staff was enthu, mayb too-enthu for my delight. They will say welcome loudly to everyone who came. And sometimes out of nothing they will shout some jap greetings. I mean it is good to be polite, but isn’t this a little over? Besides, it is all right to say greetings in jap but at least yr jap have to sound nice? Some waitress jap does not sound too good to the ear. Think the management should ask diners comments on this
Donald had the Kaminabe Wazen ($19.80), kaminabe sounds like some foul word? haha. Anyway, it has sliced beef & vegetables cook with soup in paper pot, fresh salmon sashimi, and deepfried assortment of vege and prawn, rice The sliced beef and vege in spicy soup, the soup is refreshing to drink, donald (beef lover) say the beef is very nice, so it must be nice. Quite special to put it in paper pot.
The sliced beef and vege in spicy soup, the soup is refreshing to drink, don(beef lover) say the beef is very nice, so it must be nice. Quite special to put it in paper pot. Fried Prawn and vege, looks and taste nice. Onli one miserable prawn, should have give more. I am not really a sashimi eater so cannot judge whether fresh or not. Overall this dish i would give it 4 out of 5
I had the TonkatsuWazen ($15.50) which is pork cutlet set meal i guess. It has pork cutlet (obviously), salad, rice, pickles seaweed with soup noodles. The main character, pork cutlet, cripsy is the word to describe. At some places after eating pork cutlet you will feel the after-effect of being thirsty and stuff like that, but this one wont. The cutlet is also fried jus nice, not too bland and not too salty. Plus my fav healthy servings of vege to go along with it. The seaweed with soup noodles, one big bowl of it, two person to finish it, Noodles taste all right. Tonkatsu set (pork cutlet) gets 3.5 out of 5 because i prefer donald set. As simple as that
Overall the whole restaurant feel, donald say is 3.5, but i think i would give it 4 out of 5, pretty decent price and the food is not too bad, jus that i think the management should improve on the restaurant service, too much shouting around is not music to my ears while i am having my dinner. I had a coupon from them after paying the bill, its gives quite a good discount, BUT, the big but, it is onli limited to 1 coupon per table per bill basis. That means i can use coupon but my friend cant?
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 : )
Rating given:
Founder Bak Kut Teh has been in the Balestier area for many years and has built up its reputation as one of the best Teochew style Bak Kut Teh stalls in Singapore. The multitude of celebrity photographs taken at the store are testament to that and so are the crowds that throng this outfit during its opening hours.
Just a small nugget of information for those who didn't know, Teochew style Bak Kut Teh is characterised by a clear soup with a peppery base whereas the Hokkien style Bak Kut Teh is darker in colour and heavy on the herbs. As to which tastes better, it boils down to individual preferences. I, for one, prefer the Teochew style. Founder's soup base is very peppery and light, with the pork ribs cooked just right (the meat is slightly reddish). The result is tender pork ribs which exude the tasty goodness of the soup. At $5.50 a bowl, it is slightly on the high side though. But there's air conditioning if you sit inside and the quality is really consistent and good, so I guess its worth the extra money.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
Had the opportunity to attend a food sampling session at Absolute Haven, one of the up and coming culinary stars of the quaint Prinsep Street. Much has been said and written about this eatery which dishes out modern European cuisine amidst a chic backdrop.
There's an option of al fresco seating in the relatively small outdoor area or indoor seating in a much larger(and cooler) area which boasts clean lines, wooden pillars and oozes minimalistic elegance. Music was rather tasteful as well if I may say, a most fitting complement to the ambience.
Seafood Sampler ($18) - Almost every tom, dick and harry western eatery I know of has some variation of the seafood platter, be it in name, variety of seafood or otherwise. Which explains the lack of expectations for this dish. Even then, it was a disappointment. The prawns weren't fresh, the batter was too thick and the fries were too soggy. Probably the only positive aspect was the accompanying sauces - beetroot with mayonnaise and lime(?) with mint, both of which were unique in their own right. On a side note, the platter was huge, enough for about 4 pax to share (in the misery, (un)fortunately).
Spinach and Wild Mushrooms Salad ($7.50) - I had expected mushrooms covered by/mixed with a tower of spinach so this dish kinda screwed my expectations a little. The thinly sliced mushrooms were buttery and tasty whereas the button and shitake mushrooms came across as rather normal. The spinach was fresh but a little too soft from the balsamic vinaigrette. I liked the dash of cheese atop though.
Oriental Cod Fish ($24) - The name caught my eye. This is probably an example of modern European cuisine, European food with a fusion twist. Taste wise, the fish was fresh and well complemented by the sweet wolfberries and salty bacon bits. However, the meat could have been a little firmer for better texture.
Tenderloin Steak ($28) - The steak wasn't up to expectations. Period. Sure, it was done medium rare just the way we ordered it, but the meat was too soft, probably from the overuse of tenderizer? The lack of marination was apparent - the beef relied on the overly salty sauce to give it taste. Nothing like the pièce de résistance I had at Prive. I didn't quite like the accompanying potato gratin as well as I found it too dry and heavy on the palate.
Chicken Roulade ($20) - This was probably the best dish of the evening, simple yet close to the heart. Fragrant, tender and juicy, the chicken had bacon and spinach stuffed in between which added a slight salty dimension to it. The avocado salad really wasn't my cup of tea though. Very soft and mashed up, it reminded me of baby food. But I guess this really boils down to personal preference.
Victorian Creme Brulee ($8) - Aesthetics wise, the creme brulee was rather pleasing, especially when served with the rose petals. However, its texture reminded me more of egg custard than creme brulee, which is something rather weird. There was also a small rose bud embedded within, which came across as rather overwhelming.
Tira Mi Su ($9) - Another visually pleasing dessert, the tiramisu didn't impress with its pudding like mascarpone cheese mousse. It tasted really weird to me, but I guess thats personal preference as well. I couldn't detect any hint of liqueur at all and the cake was rather soggy from the espresso coffee at the bottom. It wasn't entirely disastrous though. At least it came across as light on the palate.
Overall, the food certainly isn't great but the soothing ambience and attentive service more than makes up for it. You won't have to worry about still or sparkling here as well as they serve natural strawberry flavoured ice water, a deviation from the norm.
*disclaimer: This tasting session was for the purpose of ascertaining the suitability of Absolute Haven for one of our upcoming events.
See all my pictures here
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Having spent in excess of $1200 (I am still reeling from the shock from seeing my credit card bill) on food alone in the month of Sep (mind you, this sum only includes what I've charged to my credit card. If you include cash expenditure on food, I should be up by another $400 tops), I decided to go budget a little and give Cafe Vic @ Carlton Hotel a shot given its relatively inexpensive pricing for a weekend high tea ($22 ). With a dining timeslot from 12-5pm, it starts a little early for high tea and ends a little late for lunch, which leaves it somewhere in the middle, or perhaps a combination of both lunch and high tea.
The heavy rains throughout the island on Saturday didn't deter us one bit, although it did make us terribly late for our reservation (45 mins in fact. We got there at 1345hrs instead). Upon arrival, we were seated at a pretty cosy table at one of the corners of the restaurant, which was fine with me except for the fact that the tables surrounding us were occupied by groups of people who were making quite a bit of noise with their loud guffaws and raised voices. That really didn't sit well with me, as I didn't trudge through the heavy rain to listen to people's gossips about the latest games or that secret romance. Maybe I'm being a little cranky here, but try getting your pants all wet with a less then dry gf and having to put up with all that loud chatter. I could barely have a decent conversation with my gf throughout the whole meal. Ok enough of my rambling. The cafe was quite nicely done, with huge paintings adorning the walls and floor to ceilings windows offering a view of the outside world. Capacity would easily be in excess of 100 pax, not that it was needed though, with only about 10 pax throughout the whole course of my meal there.
I did a rough estimate on the number of buffet offerings and it totalled about 40, most of which were common fare like dim sum, sandwiches, salads, Rojak, Ice Kachang, noodles and a splattering of sushi and sashimi, which was still ok, given the price and well, its supposed to be high tea. I made it a point to try everything that Cafe Vic had to offer and two words sum my experience up. PLAIN DISAPPOINTMENT. Everything from the sushi to the desserts, were at best, average. The sushi's rice was cold and dry and the same could be said for the sandwiches. The roast duck was way too salty and the deep fried fishballs tasted rubbery and starchy. Even something as simple as fried noodles was a disaster, with parts of the noodle dry and hard. The selection of salads like the smoked chicken salad and the chicken sausage salad was still ok though. The desserts were average, but I particularly liked the pear pie, which I felt was the only one that shone amongst all the desserts, particularly with its nicely baked crust. Even my gf agrees. However, I must compliment on their service, though not fantastic, was good enough for me.
It cost us about $46 after taxes and a 10% discount with my UOB card, which effectively works out to be $23/pax. Definitely not expensive, but quality of food leaves much to be desired, which I feel is a pity given its simple yet nicely done interior. Also, given my good experiences with Wah Lok, I would have expected more from Cafe Vic. Hence, my stand on Cafe Vic is this. Go for it if you just want to gorge yourself with food for a long period (12-5pm no time limit) and food quality bears little significance to you or if you want to just find a nice place to while the weekend afternoons away with your friends over food at a not too hefty price tag. (Sit in a secluded area though)
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Had another impromptu dinner last night albeit with a much smaller price tag as compared to the last one when we dined at Morton’s. The venue was Wah Noogee House at Carlton Hotel just across the road from CHIJMES. The younger cousin of the famous Wah Lok is known for whipping up simple yet delicious fare, as evidenced by the multiple newspaper cuttings plastered to the glass. On this particular occasion, it was offering an Ala Carte buffet of 38 dishes at $22 NETT. Being the “kiasu” Singaporeans, we decided to give it a try. Spaces were aplenty when we got there about 2015hrs. Décor was simplistic yet modern, with aesthetically pleasing lights hanging from the high ceiling.
We tried almost everything on the menu. That might seem a little greedy, but trust me when I say this; portions are single servings (read small) and I estimate that we ate about 20 dishes in all. I found everything pretty average, with the deep fried beancurd being slightly above average. It was nicely diced and fried, with a sprinkling of salt and Monosodium Glutamate (MSG). The roast duck had a nice crisp skin, but minimal meat, which was a bummer really. I did like the wantons for their huge and fresh prawns which were tasty and crunchy. But overall, nothing really stood out.
Damage was $22.40/pax, with the 40 cents going to the cost of the wet towels. Not exactly value for money, but it was a pretty satisfying and enjoyable dinner (for me at least). Service was also quite good and the place was nice and quiet. Still it’s not worth the $22 in my opinion. Approximately $15-$17 would have been just right. Having said that, I might just be convinced to try it again because it offers a relaxed environment with decent food at a not too expensive price. (Actually no hotel that I know has a buffet dinner at $22 NETT)
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t was the second outing for the forum people and this time round we tried The Tent @ Clark Quay, which supposedly served Mongolian food steamboat buffet style. Having never tried Mongolian food, I was pretty enthusiastic about the whole thing. After some wrong turns and confusing streets, we finally made it there at about 1945hrs. First looks, the whole place didn't look Mongolian in any way but the setting was pretty nice I must say. And there weren't many people around when we arrived, which was a good thing. (People started filling in at about 8 though)
How this place works is this. You choose your ingredients(rice, meat, prawns, vegetables etc) and toss them into a big bowl and you place your sauces(Teriyaki, BBQ, green curry etc) into a small bowl, after which you give them to the chef together with a metal token with your table number on it and he will cook your food for you and have it served to your table. In case you are clueless as to how to choose your sauces from the 40 or so varieties available, there are some 20 recipes that the chefs have come up with to simplify things.
Food wise, I can't really judge because they all pretty much tasted the same(the ones I had) and it really depended more on what sauces you add, in what quantity etc. Well all in all, it cost us about $151 for 5 pax. Honestly speaking, it was reminiscent of Seoul Garden, albeit a better but more expensive eatery. The "experience" is also slightly different from what you would get outside. However having said that, I don't think I'll be coming back anytime soon. $26 /pax is just too much to pay for food that is a mix and match of everything. Oh and not forgetting the oil smell left on my shirt.
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Long heard of this famous ice-cream shop but did not have a chance to patronise it. So after finishing our dinner at Greenwood, we head straight to serene centre which was nearby. When we reached the place it was full house, so we waited a while for our seats. Single scoop comes at $2.50 each, while double scoop is $4.00. There is also the 500ml tub at $8.00
We 3 person order double scoop each and share, so each of us can taste 6 flavours instead of 2. Smart right? There are other flavours like black sesame, soursop, and some others which i can’t remember. But we dun have the courage to try them, so we ordered the more popular ones.
One by one, the top two is teh tareh (coffee) and nutella, bottom left is burn cameral and the popular cookies & cream, bottom right is reversO (chocolate) and horlick (see picture from my blog). We judge the popularity by seeing which one finish first. Make a guess? Cookies & cream and nutella tied for first, followed by cameral, ho, coffee and reverO (chocolate). My personal fav is nutella, never tried before. The reversO was too strong in flavour, as in after eating it when we eat the other flavours we cant taste anything. So we leave it for the last. lol
All in all, Island creamery is quite valued for money, there is a similar ice-cream shop called daily scoop at sunset way which offers double scoop for $5. Head there when u have a chance. 4.5 out of 5
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