Stumbled upon Bather's by accident one afternoon while I was exploring the serene neighbourhood of Sunset Way and decided to drop in for lunch.
Little is known about Bather's except that it has been around for quite a fair amount of time. Hidden in one oblivious corner of Sunset Way just along the outskirts of the restaurant cluster, Bather's setting is simple and laid back which easily puts one at ease while enjoying the serenity of the surroundings.
Vegetable Cream Soup & Mushroom Fruit Duxelle - The soup was reasonably decent and didn't taste like those straight out of the can kind. But it was too watery to be of any difference honestly. Not that the mushroom salad was any better, coming across as average.
Ham Carbonara - I didn't find the sauce of the Carbonara too coagulated which was good and the addition of coriander made it easier to stomach so much cream. However, the pasta was way too overcooked which was a pity really. Ham and bacon slices provided the additional bite and taste but did come across as rather forgettable.
Pepper Sauce Grass Fed Striploin Steak - Even though I had requested for my steak to be done medium rare, it came almost well done, which would still have been acceptable if not for the fact that there wasn't much beefy taste left. The meat was a little too fatty along the edges as well but still came across as chewy. Overall still decent though when eaten with the slightly buttery gravy.
Ice Cream with Apple Pie - I didn't have a choice with the dessert as it came with the set. Very average at best.
I wouldn't exactly call $39.50 for 2 pax reasonable especially for the quality of food but it isn't expensive either. The place is nice and service is good which might just tempt me enough to return.
Dropped by Cafe Oliv, one of the many small eateries lining East Coast Road, for lunch. Its chef, Kevin Heng, used to work for Shangri-La’s Rasa Sentosa and the Emerald Hill Group but has since moved on to open up Cafe Oliv with his buddy, Patrick Ang.
Situated just next to the famous 328 Laksa and further down from Astons Specialties, Cafe Oliv is a tiny eatery which can probably seat about 20 pax. The interior is minimalistic with its clean lines and plastic tables and chairs.
Cream of Vegetable Soup - This came as part of the set lunch which means you don't get to choose anything except for the main course. I wouldn't say the soup was terrific or anything close to that, but it was decent - tasty yet not too coagulated or runny. Something should be done about the rock hard bread though, which was still too hard even after dipping it into the soup.
Grilled Half Shell Scallops with Basil Aglio Olio Linguine - As lip smacking as this dish may sound, it certainly had lots of room for improvement. The linguine wasn't al dente to begin with and came across as a tad too salty for my liking. The scallops were nicely grilled with a tinge of rawness but didn't seem particularly sweet.
Traditional Beef Stew with Fennel - I liked the thick gravy which came with this dish but the beef did seem a tad too soft for my liking though my friend found it just right. Nice warm dish to have on a cold rainy day. Just don't get your expectations too high.
Oliv Mini Trio Meat Burger - Made up of 3 different types of burger, namely BBQ sliced pork, cod fish steak and tenderloin steak, this dish was one of the more interesting dishes around. Personally I fancied the tenderloin burger the most as the patty was chewy with lots of bite. The BBQ sliced pork, which looked and tasted like Kong Ba incidentally, had its taste overwhelmed by the bacon. As for the salmon, I found it a tad too salty.
Brownie with Ice Cream - Its really difficult to go wrong with brownies, save for those that are hard and dry. Having said that, I did like the brownie quite a fair bit with its chocolaty overtones.
A relaxing and filling lunch for 2 came to the tune of $43, which isn't expensive considering that the set lunch itself is only $10.90 nett per person. No service charge or GST is imposed, which is a plus as well and not forgetting the good service rendered. I would say overall food quality is decent but don't expect too much.
There seems to be a growing trend of opening what used to be deemed more exclusive food (Italian, French etc) in food/hawker centres with competitive prices to boot. Ragazzi the Italian Kitchen is one such outlet to jump on the bandwagon to offer quality Italian food at coffeeshop prices.
Located at a rather obscure coffeeshop under a block of flats in the Ghim Moh estate, Ragazzi is owned and run by Gabriel Cher, ex chef-de partie of The Oriental's Dolce Vita (Interestingly, Dolce Vita serves Mediterranean food now, not Italian). Business was rather slow on a wet Saturday evening and one can only wonder if its the lack of publicity, wet weather or quality of food thats keeping the crowds at bay.
Zuppa alla Funghi - For $2.50 a pop, I certainly wasn't expecting much. But I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the soup was made from grounded mushrooms and onions, which was evident from the taste and texture. Only thing that could been improved was its thickness. It did come across as a little too watery but hey, its definitely value for money.
The bruschetta ($3) could have been good but was let down by a few factors. The good things first. Well toasted with the sides a little charred but soft and warm within. Now for the bad part. There was an way too much olive oil on the middle portion of the bread, which made it a little too soggy. Tomatoes on the top didn't look very fresh but did provide the necessary texture and zest.
Melanzane al Forno - I've never been a fan of eggplants and this wasn't about to change anything. The eggplant was a little too soft for my liking but I did like the layer of grilled cheese on top.
Carbonara ($7) - Being a cream based pasta lover, I naturally ordered the Carbonara to be on the safe side. The pasta was a tad too overcooked and the gravy did come across as a little too thick, rendering me nauseous after a while. However I would still say its very decent with the respectable bacon toppings and definitely better than anything pasta mania or the likes can whip up.
Del Bosco ($6) - As with the Carbonara, the Del Bosco's pasta was a tad too overcooked as well but what won me over were the sausages, which tasted thoroughly smoked but was a tad too salty. The tomato sauce wasn't outstanding, being average at best.
Tiramisu ($4.50) - I would be lying if I said that the Tiramisu was decent. To be honest, it was terrible. For one, the sponge fingers weren't soaked in Kahlua. It tasted more like fruit essence or something. Also, the mascarpone cheese was a little too dense and the whole thing was rather watery(water logged would have been appropriate too) at the bottom. It definitely didn't help that too much Cocoa powder was added as well.
All in all, a very filling dinner for 2 pax cost $27.50, which is very pricey by hawker standards but cheap by restaurant standards. Overall food quality is still decent so you might want to give this place a shot if you are craving for Italian food but not willing to fork out the dough for it.
After our last visit to Peaberry & Pretzel some time back, my gf and I decided to head back to Sunset Way to try out Megumi Japanese Restaurant on the recommendations of some folks.
Located just a few doors down from Peaberry & Pretzel, Megumi's air conditioned interior is smallish, with the bulk of the seating capacity in the al fresco area outside. Notice that this means lunch here in the afternoon might mean a sweaty affair unless you get to sit inside.
Billed as the Megumi special roll, there was nothing really special about it in my humble opinion. It came across as your ordinary California Roll with crab sticks and Tamago in it. Not that the extra ingredients gave it much taste either. Lets just say it tasted like a slightly sweeter version of the California Roll. So much for the secrecy. One other bone I had was that the rice was a little too dry and could have been firmer.
Char Siew Ramen - Labeled a house specialty, the ramen was a let down honestly. The noodles were your normal egg noodles though of a more springy version whereas the Char Siew was a little too dry and tough. It certainly didn't help that the soup was a tad too salty as well.
Saikoro Steak Set - Another one of the house specialties except that this one actually tasted quite decent. The beef was a little overcooked but still retained enough of its juices, taste and texture to warrant a decent rating. However, I must mention that portions are small and not homogeneously cooked, as evident by the residual butter I detected on some pieces of beef.
Black Sesame Ice Cream - I'm not exactly a fan of black sesame ice cream so I am not in a position to comment if its good or not. But my gf seemed to like it quite a bit so I'm guessing it must be of a certain standard.
Fried Vanilla Ice Cream - This was probably what I liked the best of all the dishes that evening. Interestingly, the batter was a thicker version of the crispy yet light tempura batter and actually went quite good with the vanilla ice cream. Now something needs to be done about the quality of the ice cream though, which was really mediocre.
While $61 for 2 pax isn't unreasonably expensive for the food, it isn't exactly cheap either, considering that the food was merely average. One funny thing I discovered. The restaurant was actually playing Korean songs. How cool is that?
Had dinner with LSD and a few other makan khakis at Magma German Wine Bistro. As the name suggests, it serves German food. Heard about this place quite some time back through some TV Chinese variety show so after much postponement, we finally got down to it on a wet Friday evening.
Magma occupies 2 units right at the start of Bukit Pasoh Road. Locating it proved to be a problem as it was discreetly hidden from view with no outstanding features or signs. But find it and you will be welcomed into a cosy and homely dining area with an open kitchen concept and racks of wine bottles. Though sparsely finished, the restaurant exudes warmth (literally as well. It was a little warm that day) and makes you feel right at home. They could do with bigger tables though. It was honestly a little cramp, which hampered eating and relaxed conversation quite a bit.
Wurstplatte mit 5 oder Wursten - Sausage Platter with 5 Sausages - We started off with the sausage platter consisting of 5 different types of sausages. Frankly, I probably have only eaten 2 or 3 of the varieties that were served, so I pretty much can't identify any of them except for one which was Cheese Sausage. Overall a rather pleasing dish with the sausages being crunchy and not too pressing.
Kasseler, Knoblauch und Sauerkraut - Smoked Pork Loin, Garlic and Sauerkraut Pizza - Interestingly, the German's do their pizza differently. Sour cream is added in place of cheese or tomato sauce. Our Kasseler, Knoblauch und Sauerkraut came with generous toppings of Sauerkraut and had this garlicky taste although I couldn't detect any visible signs of garlic. The crust was amazingly thin (I certainly didn't expect such a thin crust from a German restaurant) and the pork loin was relatively well smoked, trapping in the smoky flavours. A unique dish, but I personally found the Sauerkraut topping a little too overwhelming.
Gemischte Schlachtplatte fur 3 Personen - Mixed Butcher's Platter of all our Pork Specialities for 3 Persons - Words escape me when I try to describe the platter that was set before us. Humongous would probably come close. Just staring at the all pork dish sent shivers down my spine. I really couldn't imagine eating that. Well, we did anyway. I would very much like to go into details about the various cuts and items in the platter, but that would take too much time (there are about 8 different items?) and I honestly can't remember whats what. Only thing I can remember is the Pork Knuckle, which did seem a little too soft with the skin not being as crispy as I would have liked it (read my entry on ABOF for good pork with crackling skin). Overall, the whole dish tended towards the salty side. Actually, all the dishes were a little too heavy on the salt, not just this one.
Gebackene Apfelscheiben mit Zimthonig - Baked Apple Slices in Puff Pastry with Honey and Cinnamon. - Ever wondered how Goreng Pisang with apple instead of banana would taste like? Well, this is your answer. A very interesting rendition of the conventional Apple Pie. The honey added a sweet twist to the dish but I couldn't quite make out the taste from the cinnamon powder. Also, the apple slices had their citrus flavour removed which was probably for the better.
Baked Cheese stuffed with Gooseberries - I'm just guessing the name of this dish because its a daily special and not anywhere in the menu, so please forgive me if I get it wrong. Another very interesting dish. The whole thing actually tastes like pudding with a slight cheesy aftertaste, very much like the cheesecake kind of cheesy and not the right in your face kind. But I didn't think too much of it as it got quite sick after too much, probably due to the soft and wet cake like pastry.
Chocolate Mousse - Interestingly, the Chocolate Mousse had but a faint resemblance to the normal ones you can get outside. There were 2 scoops(or is it moulds?) of Chocolate Mousse, one White Chocolate and one Dark Chocolate, sitting on a bed of Marzipan sauce. In all honesty, the White Chocolate Mousse didn't quite taste like White Chocolate. Instead it tasted creamy and had this mild spicy aftertaste. But as with the Chocolate Mousse, the texture was smooth and thick. From our conversation with the waiter later, the spiciness behind the White Chocolate Mousse was attributed to the type of Chocolate used
We chalked up a bill of $173.66 for a filling dinner for 6 pax. The general consensus is that its genuinely value for money. The food is of above average quality and service is great and the waiters actually know what they are talking about with regard to the food. The place could do with bigger tables(mentioned earlier) and a slightly better ventilation system because the open concept kitchen isn't seperated by a glass panel. Also, it would be nice if the food adopted a lower salt policy. That aside, a revisit is on the cards.
Colbar, or Colonial Bar for short, was built in 1953 along Jalan Hang Jebat (off Portsdown Road) and mainly served as a canteen for soldiers who lived in the neighbouring estate which is now known as Wessex Estate. It has since relocated to a new site which is a stone's throw away from the old one and is still very popular with the expatriate community.
Since my gf and I were in the area, we took the opportunity to try out their food and soak in the tranquil atmosphere, away from the maddening world outside.
The pictures say it all don't they? A serene and laid back environment close to nature and far from the hustle and bustle of the city. Its really a place where time seems to have stopped, a scene from a different era.
Well enough of the place. Down to the food. I ordered the Chocolate Milkshake ($4) which in my opinion, was ridiculously overpriced. It looked and tasted exactly like normal Chocolate milk ($1.50), except that it had frothy layer at the top. Talk about repackaging.
This dish was as normal as it gets. Its like one of those chicken chops you eat at the hawker centre and totally forget how it tastes like the next day. The only thing I liked about this dish was that it came with button mushrooms, which I personally prefer. Other than that, the wedges were a little too soggy and very uninspiring.
The old man at the counter recommended this to me and taste wise, it was not too bad. It was a little over fried though, rendering the batter a little hard and burnt. A honestly very average dish which can easily be found elsewhere. Not really worth the $9 for it.
A total rip off kind of describes the bacon sandwich ($5). It was just two bacon strips from the oven sandwiched between 2 slices of bread with a little margarine spread across. I can make this at home for less than 50 cents!
Dinner cost us $25, which is not a big sum, but totally not worth it for the quality and quantity of food. However, factor in the surroundings and maybe the vote might tilt. Nice place to hang out, but watch out for the mosquitoes. Also, please note that there is no air conditioning no matter where you seat.
Astons Prime is a recently opened upmarket version of Aston Specialties, catering to the more well heeled with a wider selection of premium meat available and reservations of course.
Located just a stones throw away from the original Astons Specialties, Astons Prime sits along the row of shophouses near the junction of Joo Chiat Road and East Coast Road. The interior is simply furnished and can probably seat up to about 30 people. There are corner booth seats for 2 pax which are a must if you wish to have more privacy. Pity there are only 2 of those seats though and I wasn't fortunate to get one of those even during lunch.
When a place claims to serve up its own homemade garlic spread, my expectations go up a notch because I like my garlic spread a lot, probably more than most people. Sadly, Aston's spread didn't even come close to meeting my expectations. For one, it was rather bland and didn't exactly jell in well with the bread, which incidentally, wasn't tasty nor was it served warm.
Chicken Quesadilla - Interestingly, biting into the Chicken Quesadilla was akin to eating roti prata with bits of chicken and BBQ sauce. The paper thin crust was a little crispy and flaky with a rather miserable filling of chicken. Not that I'm saying that its not good, but for almost 8 dollars, I'd rather order something else.
Fillet Mignon - Notice that the fillet mignon comes in 2 variations, the New Zealand fed and the Australian fed. I'm guessing the Australian one is better because of its superior pricing. But then again, I didn't get to try the New Zealand variant, so I'm really in no position to comment.
My Australian fed fillet mignon was small (they are all 8oz by the way, which is about 250g) but good. I wouldn't go so far as to say that it was excellent as I've definitely tried better but this one was really in a league of its own. Medium rare, succulent and sweet. Only gripe I had was that the meat slab was too thick which resulted in the exterior being a little too charred. I did like the accompanying sauce though, which tasted like it had a little bit of cheese in it.
$70 for 2 pax for lunch is rather expensive honestly, but good steak comes at a price unfortunately. Service is excellent and there is no service charge or GST which kinda sweetens the deal a little. I see potential in this place, but it would be nice to have a larger slab of meat for the same price, please?
Today marks the beginning of my makan sessions with a group of like minded food enthusiasts from various forums. Our choice of dinner venue was Astons Specialties at East Coast Rd. This joint has been highly recommended by many seasoned foodies and expectations were high as we made our way there at about 2000hrs. There was quite a queue of people waiting to get in and although I had made a reservation on Wednesday, there was no record of my name to be found, which naturally left me furious. Astons admitted that it was error on their part and although we had to wait for about 25mins for a table, credit has to be given to them for trying to get us a table ASAP. One thing I noticed about the place was that it was actually quite small and squeezy. There were barely 10 tables around and air conditioning was poor. They could well do with more powerful air conditioners or an air curtain at the entrance to prevent the cool air from rushing out.
Food wise, I shared the Wagyu beef promotion @ $38.90 for a 200g cut and the Ieat Super Burger with a friend. Both were done medium rare. According to them, the wagyu was supposed to have a marbling score of 5/6, which was pretty decent for the price. The wagyu came with 2 sides (I chose fries and pasta salad) which was pretty uninspiring. The pasta salad was almost tasteless and the fries were thin and had the same seasoning as that of Botak Jones fries. The wagyu was quite good though. Soft, juicy and tender. Every mouthful is greeted with a burst of flavour that slowly seeps down your throat. Not as good as the Kobe Beef I had at Keyaki, but certainly in a league of its own. Pity about the small 200g portion though. The accompanying mushroom (with garlic?) sauce was nice too, but I found it a tad too salty. The Ieat burger scored high salivation marks for its appearance. Toasted bun atop bacon strips, deep fried onions, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, a slab of chopped sirloin and drenched with BBQ sauce. However, the taste was short of expectations. The chopped sirloin was quite tasteless and dry and not to mention a little too soft. The bacon strips were nicely grilled though and that was just about the only consolation I had from the burger. At $12.50 for the burger, I guess it was pretty reasonable.
It cost us about $210 for 8 pax. On my part I paid about $27/- which I feel was reasonable for the quality of food. However Astons didn't quite measure up to my expectations probably because I had hyped myself up to be expecting something out of this world, only to be brought back down to earth. Nevertheless, a good eat, with reasonable pricing. Please note that the wait for food can be quite long especially when its full, which is most of the time in the evenings. A worthy contender to Botak Jones. Having no GST or service charge is definitely a plus!
I've always had a penchant for brunch - whiling the lazy mornings away in a serene setting coupled with hearty fare and great company. What better way to unwind and enjoy the intricate subtleties of life? And I've found just the place to do so - Wild Rocket. The man at its helm is none other than lawyer turned chef, Willin Low, who has built up a reputation for cooking dishes which are Singaporean at heart but with a twist.
Nestled at the top of a hill (Mount Emily), Wild Rocket is a quaint little eatery/restaurant docked on the first level of Hangout Hotel. The decor is simple, focusing on the simplicities and the giant glass windows complete with semi transparent curtains allow sunlight to peer through, creating a cheery and lively atmosphere sans the heat. An air of serenity and elusiveness lingers in this dreamy and charming little outfit.
Though not billed as a fine dining restaurant, Wild Rocket still serves up complementary bread, which didn't quite impress me honestly. For one, the bread was too porous and came across as a tad too dry and bland. Thankfully, it was served warm.
Ricotta Jackfruit Pancakes with Maple Syrup - No this isn't a picture of left over pancakes. Its what we got for $8.50 - 2 small pancakes and 1 piece of deep fried jackfruit. It was excellent though, soft and fluffy with a tinge of jackfruit taste. Bits of jackfruit were also embedded within for added texture/flavour and the sweetness of the maple syrup was just about right. Now someone please explain to me why do good things always come in small packages?
Laksa Pesto with Spaghetti with Tiger Prawns & Quail Egg - A most interesting dish. As the name suggests, its spaghetti covered with coriander and bits of chilli flakes which is supposed to have a mild laksa taste. And by golly, it certainly does! The pasta was al dente but a tad too dry for my liking. I counted 3 average sized prawns and 3 quail egg halves, which certainly doesn't place this dish in the generous ingredients category. Honestly, this is not something I'll order again cause I don't find it outstanding.
Scrambled Eggs, Fresh Beef Sausages with Toast - A greedy mistake on my part. I had spied the adjourning table ordering this dish and the serving certainly looked generous. Oh boy, how wrong I was. 2 sausages, a small serving of scrambled eggs and a side of toast. The dish was clean in less than 5 mins, but not that it tasted great in case you are assuming. The sausages were rather salty and the meat didn't seem firm. As for the scrambled eggs, it was too salty as well and tasted like too much milk had gone into it.
The Wild Rocket Burger with Sun Dried Tomato Salsa - Notice the usage of the word "The" in the name of this dish. Its obviously Wild Rocket's signature offering and is THE must try burger. Pleasing aesthetics aside, the burger weighed in slightly bigger than Iggy's offering but smaller than those of Carl's Junior. The patty was huge by the way and rather well mashed, chewy and moist yet not overwhelming. Interestingly, the sun dried tomato salsa atop the patty was a tad sweet but complemented the beef almost flawlessly. The accompanying potato cubes were a little too soft and salty (I could make out the salt granules on the potatoes).
Kueh Buloh Tiramisu - Here's another classic example of how much of a mountain tortoise I am. I have no inkling whatsoever as to what in the world is Kueh Buloh. Shame on me. But the Kueh Buloh Tiramisu was quite good if you ask me. Soft with a nice layer of ice cream beneath it. But it kinda loses the Tiramisu flavour and composition though, which is rather ironical.
Dark Lava Chocolate Gateau with Ice Cream - Few molten chocolate cakes can match the truly splendid rendition by Mortons or the value for money offering at Abof. Wild Rocket's version comes close. Well almost. Its decidedly as good as Abof's but significantly more expensive as well (not as expensive as Morton's though). The shell was slightly hard while the spongy interior was soft and moist. Thick oozing, not too sweet chocolate completed the picture. But it was small, even smaller than Abof's.
I had a good and leisurely brunch, no doubt about that. But $95 for 3 pax does seem a little steep especially with the smallish portions. Its a nice place to hang out though and service is good. They will definitely be seeing more of me. On a side note, please let me reiterate that the place is tiny and you are looking at about probably 30 people max so please please please make your reservations.
The popular Uno Beef House at Toa Payoh has a new outlet in the western regions of Singapore. Located in a prominent and brightly lit coffee shop along Dover road which runs parallel to the MRT line, it has its fair share of customers as well, but the waiting time here is definitely much shorter than its Toa Payoh counterpart.
I started off with the Cream of Mushroom soup ($2) which definitely came straight out of the can. There were undissolved chunks of coagulated soup at the bottom of the bowl, indicating a less than thorough stirring process. Having said that, I certainly didn't expect them to make their own mushroom soup, not for $2.
My gf had the pork chops ($5) which was quite good. Chewy yet not too dry or tough, with lots of savoury made from scratch gravy to go along. Portions were decent, but definitely not sufficient for a glutton like me.
The purported star of the evening (they are called Uno Beef House for a reason), the tenderloin steak ($10), was served up medium rare as per my request. The meat was very well done, succulent and a little chewy but lacked the sweetness of really good tenderloins. The mushroom sauce was quite decent too, with slices of mushroom and onion in it. I would have liked a more robust sauce though. Here comes the real star of the evening, the side of a single Potato Ball which was served alongside a small tomato. It had a buttery taste to it and reminded me very much of eating pineapple tarts minus the sweetened pineapple of course. Texture wise was also good, not too mashed up or soft. I wonder if the Potato Balls are available on their own.
In summary, I like this place and will definitely be back to patronise. Its definitely in the league of Astons for steak and considering the amount of hype that Astons has been getting, I rather stick to Uno.
1=SGD 0.0587
Stumbled upon Bather's by accident one afternoon while I was exploring the serene neighbourhood of Sunset Way and decided to drop in for lunch.
Little is known about Bather's except that it has been around for quite a fair amount of time. Hidden in one oblivious corner of Sunset Way just along the outskirts of the restaurant cluster, Bather's setting is simple and laid back which easily puts one at ease while enjoying the serenity of the surroundings.
Vegetable Cream Soup & Mushroom Fruit Duxelle - The soup was reasonably decent and didn't taste like those straight out of the can kind. But it was too watery to be of any difference honestly. Not that the mushroom salad was any better, coming across as average.
Ham Carbonara - I didn't find the sauce of the Carbonara too coagulated which was good and the addition of coriander made it easier to stomach so much cream. However, the pasta was way too overcooked which was a pity really. Ham and bacon slices provided the additional bite and taste but did come across as rather forgettable.
Pepper Sauce Grass Fed Striploin Steak - Even though I had requested for my steak to be done medium rare, it came almost well done, which would still have been acceptable if not for the fact that there wasn't much beefy taste left. The meat was a little too fatty along the edges as well but still came across as chewy. Overall still decent though when eaten with the slightly buttery gravy.
Ice Cream with Apple Pie - I didn't have a choice with the dessert as it came with the set. Very average at best.
I wouldn't exactly call $39.50 for 2 pax reasonable especially for the quality of food but it isn't expensive either. The place is nice and service is good which might just tempt me enough to return.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
Dropped by Cafe Oliv, one of the many small eateries lining East Coast Road, for lunch. Its chef, Kevin Heng, used to work for Shangri-La’s Rasa Sentosa and the Emerald Hill Group but has since moved on to open up Cafe Oliv with his buddy, Patrick Ang.
Situated just next to the famous 328 Laksa and further down from Astons Specialties, Cafe Oliv is a tiny eatery which can probably seat about 20 pax. The interior is minimalistic with its clean lines and plastic tables and chairs.
Cream of Vegetable Soup - This came as part of the set lunch which means you don't get to choose anything except for the main course. I wouldn't say the soup was terrific or anything close to that, but it was decent - tasty yet not too coagulated or runny. Something should be done about the rock hard bread though, which was still too hard even after dipping it into the soup.
Grilled Half Shell Scallops with Basil Aglio Olio Linguine - As lip smacking as this dish may sound, it certainly had lots of room for improvement. The linguine wasn't al dente to begin with and came across as a tad too salty for my liking. The scallops were nicely grilled with a tinge of rawness but didn't seem particularly sweet.
Traditional Beef Stew with Fennel - I liked the thick gravy which came with this dish but the beef did seem a tad too soft for my liking though my friend found it just right. Nice warm dish to have on a cold rainy day. Just don't get your expectations too high.
Oliv Mini Trio Meat Burger - Made up of 3 different types of burger, namely BBQ sliced pork, cod fish steak and tenderloin steak, this dish was one of the more interesting dishes around. Personally I fancied the tenderloin burger the most as the patty was chewy with lots of bite. The BBQ sliced pork, which looked and tasted like Kong Ba incidentally, had its taste overwhelmed by the bacon. As for the salmon, I found it a tad too salty.
Brownie with Ice Cream - Its really difficult to go wrong with brownies, save for those that are hard and dry. Having said that, I did like the brownie quite a fair bit with its chocolaty overtones.
A relaxing and filling lunch for 2 came to the tune of $43, which isn't expensive considering that the set lunch itself is only $10.90 nett per person. No service charge or GST is imposed, which is a plus as well and not forgetting the good service rendered. I would say overall food quality is decent but don't expect too much.
See all my pictures here
Rating given:
There seems to be a growing trend of opening what used to be deemed more exclusive food (Italian, French etc) in food/hawker centres with competitive prices to boot. Ragazzi the Italian Kitchen is one such outlet to jump on the bandwagon to offer quality Italian food at coffeeshop prices.
Located at a rather obscure coffeeshop under a block of flats in the Ghim Moh estate, Ragazzi is owned and run by Gabriel Cher, ex chef-de partie of The Oriental's Dolce Vita (Interestingly, Dolce Vita serves Mediterranean food now, not Italian). Business was rather slow on a wet Saturday evening and one can only wonder if its the lack of publicity, wet weather or quality of food thats keeping the crowds at bay.
Zuppa alla Funghi - For $2.50 a pop, I certainly wasn't expecting much. But I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the soup was made from grounded mushrooms and onions, which was evident from the taste and texture. Only thing that could been improved was its thickness. It did come across as a little too watery but hey, its definitely value for money.
The bruschetta ($3) could have been good but was let down by a few factors. The good things first. Well toasted with the sides a little charred but soft and warm within. Now for the bad part. There was an way too much olive oil on the middle portion of the bread, which made it a little too soggy. Tomatoes on the top didn't look very fresh but did provide the necessary texture and zest.
Melanzane al Forno - I've never been a fan of eggplants and this wasn't about to change anything. The eggplant was a little too soft for my liking but I did like the layer of grilled cheese on top.
Carbonara ($7) - Being a cream based pasta lover, I naturally ordered the Carbonara to be on the safe side. The pasta was a tad too overcooked and the gravy did come across as a little too thick, rendering me nauseous after a while. However I would still say its very decent with the respectable bacon toppings and definitely better than anything pasta mania or the likes can whip up.
Del Bosco ($6) - As with the Carbonara, the Del Bosco's pasta was a tad too overcooked as well but what won me over were the sausages, which tasted thoroughly smoked but was a tad too salty. The tomato sauce wasn't outstanding, being average at best.
Tiramisu ($4.50) - I would be lying if I said that the Tiramisu was decent. To be honest, it was terrible. For one, the sponge fingers weren't soaked in Kahlua. It tasted more like fruit essence or something. Also, the mascarpone cheese was a little too dense and the whole thing was rather watery(water logged would have been appropriate too) at the bottom. It definitely didn't help that too much Cocoa powder was added as well.
All in all, a very filling dinner for 2 pax cost $27.50, which is very pricey by hawker standards but cheap by restaurant standards. Overall food quality is still decent so you might want to give this place a shot if you are craving for Italian food but not willing to fork out the dough for it.
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After our last visit to Peaberry & Pretzel some time back, my gf and I decided to head back to Sunset Way to try out Megumi Japanese Restaurant on the recommendations of some folks.
Located just a few doors down from Peaberry & Pretzel, Megumi's air conditioned interior is smallish, with the bulk of the seating capacity in the al fresco area outside. Notice that this means lunch here in the afternoon might mean a sweaty affair unless you get to sit inside.
Billed as the Megumi special roll, there was nothing really special about it in my humble opinion. It came across as your ordinary California Roll with crab sticks and Tamago in it. Not that the extra ingredients gave it much taste either. Lets just say it tasted like a slightly sweeter version of the California Roll. So much for the secrecy. One other bone I had was that the rice was a little too dry and could have been firmer.
Char Siew Ramen - Labeled a house specialty, the ramen was a let down honestly. The noodles were your normal egg noodles though of a more springy version whereas the Char Siew was a little too dry and tough. It certainly didn't help that the soup was a tad too salty as well.
Saikoro Steak Set - Another one of the house specialties except that this one actually tasted quite decent. The beef was a little overcooked but still retained enough of its juices, taste and texture to warrant a decent rating. However, I must mention that portions are small and not homogeneously cooked, as evident by the residual butter I detected on some pieces of beef.
Black Sesame Ice Cream - I'm not exactly a fan of black sesame ice cream so I am not in a position to comment if its good or not. But my gf seemed to like it quite a bit so I'm guessing it must be of a certain standard.
Fried Vanilla Ice Cream - This was probably what I liked the best of all the dishes that evening. Interestingly, the batter was a thicker version of the crispy yet light tempura batter and actually went quite good with the vanilla ice cream. Now something needs to be done about the quality of the ice cream though, which was really mediocre.
While $61 for 2 pax isn't unreasonably expensive for the food, it isn't exactly cheap either, considering that the food was merely average. One funny thing I discovered. The restaurant was actually playing Korean songs. How cool is that?
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Had dinner with LSD and a few other makan khakis at Magma German Wine Bistro. As the name suggests, it serves German food. Heard about this place quite some time back through some TV Chinese variety show so after much postponement, we finally got down to it on a wet Friday evening.
Magma occupies 2 units right at the start of Bukit Pasoh Road. Locating it proved to be a problem as it was discreetly hidden from view with no outstanding features or signs. But find it and you will be welcomed into a cosy and homely dining area with an open kitchen concept and racks of wine bottles. Though sparsely finished, the restaurant exudes warmth (literally as well. It was a little warm that day) and makes you feel right at home. They could do with bigger tables though. It was honestly a little cramp, which hampered eating and relaxed conversation quite a bit.
Wurstplatte mit 5 oder Wursten - Sausage Platter with 5 Sausages - We started off with the sausage platter consisting of 5 different types of sausages. Frankly, I probably have only eaten 2 or 3 of the varieties that were served, so I pretty much can't identify any of them except for one which was Cheese Sausage. Overall a rather pleasing dish with the sausages being crunchy and not too pressing.
Kasseler, Knoblauch und Sauerkraut - Smoked Pork Loin, Garlic and Sauerkraut Pizza - Interestingly, the German's do their pizza differently. Sour cream is added in place of cheese or tomato sauce. Our Kasseler, Knoblauch und Sauerkraut came with generous toppings of Sauerkraut and had this garlicky taste although I couldn't detect any visible signs of garlic. The crust was amazingly thin (I certainly didn't expect such a thin crust from a German restaurant) and the pork loin was relatively well smoked, trapping in the smoky flavours. A unique dish, but I personally found the Sauerkraut topping a little too overwhelming.
Gemischte Schlachtplatte fur 3 Personen - Mixed Butcher's Platter of all our Pork Specialities for 3 Persons - Words escape me when I try to describe the platter that was set before us. Humongous would probably come close. Just staring at the all pork dish sent shivers down my spine. I really couldn't imagine eating that. Well, we did anyway. I would very much like to go into details about the various cuts and items in the platter, but that would take too much time (there are about 8 different items?) and I honestly can't remember whats what. Only thing I can remember is the Pork Knuckle, which did seem a little too soft with the skin not being as crispy as I would have liked it (read my entry on ABOF for good pork with crackling skin). Overall, the whole dish tended towards the salty side. Actually, all the dishes were a little too heavy on the salt, not just this one.
Gebackene Apfelscheiben mit Zimthonig - Baked Apple Slices in Puff Pastry with Honey and Cinnamon. -
Ever wondered how Goreng Pisang with apple instead of banana would taste like? Well, this is your answer. A very interesting rendition of the conventional Apple Pie. The honey added a sweet twist to the dish but I couldn't quite make out the taste from the cinnamon powder. Also, the apple slices had their citrus flavour removed which was probably for the better.
Baked Cheese stuffed with Gooseberries - I'm just guessing the name of this dish because its a daily special and not anywhere in the menu, so please forgive me if I get it wrong. Another very interesting dish. The whole thing actually tastes like pudding with a slight cheesy aftertaste, very much like the cheesecake kind of cheesy and not the right in your face kind. But I didn't think too much of it as it got quite sick after too much, probably due to the soft and wet cake like pastry.
Chocolate Mousse - Interestingly, the Chocolate Mousse had but a faint resemblance to the normal ones you can get outside. There were 2 scoops(or is it moulds?) of Chocolate Mousse, one White Chocolate and one Dark Chocolate, sitting on a bed of Marzipan sauce. In all honesty, the White Chocolate Mousse didn't quite taste like White Chocolate. Instead it tasted creamy and had this mild spicy aftertaste. But as with the Chocolate Mousse, the texture was smooth and thick. From our conversation with the waiter later, the spiciness behind the White Chocolate Mousse was attributed to the type of Chocolate used
We chalked up a bill of $173.66 for a filling dinner for 6 pax. The general consensus is that its genuinely value for money. The food is of above average quality and service is great and the waiters actually know what they are talking about with regard to the food. The place could do with bigger tables(mentioned earlier) and a slightly better ventilation system because the open concept kitchen isn't seperated by a glass panel. Also, it would be nice if the food adopted a lower salt policy. That aside, a revisit is on the cards.
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Colbar, or Colonial Bar for short, was built in 1953 along Jalan Hang Jebat (off Portsdown Road) and mainly served as a canteen for soldiers who lived in the neighbouring estate which is now known as Wessex Estate. It has since relocated to a new site which is a stone's throw away from the old one and is still very popular with the expatriate community.
Since my gf and I were in the area, we took the opportunity to try out their food and soak in the tranquil atmosphere, away from the maddening world outside.
The pictures say it all don't they? A serene and laid back environment close to nature and far from the hustle and bustle of the city. Its really a place where time seems to have stopped, a scene from a different era.
Well enough of the place. Down to the food. I ordered the Chocolate Milkshake ($4) which in my opinion, was ridiculously overpriced. It looked and tasted exactly like normal Chocolate milk ($1.50), except that it had frothy layer at the top. Talk about repackaging.
This dish was as normal as it gets. Its like one of those chicken chops you eat at the hawker centre and totally forget how it tastes like the next day. The only thing I liked about this dish was that it came with button mushrooms, which I personally prefer. Other than that, the wedges were a little too soggy and very uninspiring.
The old man at the counter recommended this to me and taste wise, it was not too bad. It was a little over fried though, rendering the batter a little hard and burnt. A honestly very average dish which can easily be found elsewhere. Not really worth the $9 for it.
A total rip off kind of describes the bacon sandwich ($5). It was just two bacon strips from the oven sandwiched between 2 slices of bread with a little margarine spread across. I can make this at home for less than 50 cents!
Dinner cost us $25, which is not a big sum, but totally not worth it for the quality and quantity of food. However, factor in the surroundings and maybe the vote might tilt. Nice place to hang out, but watch out for the mosquitoes. Also, please note that there is no air conditioning no matter where you seat.
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Astons Prime is a recently opened upmarket version of Aston Specialties, catering to the more well heeled with a wider selection of premium meat available and reservations of course.
Located just a stones throw away from the original Astons Specialties, Astons Prime sits along the row of shophouses near the junction of Joo Chiat Road and East Coast Road. The interior is simply furnished and can probably seat up to about 30 people. There are corner booth seats for 2 pax which are a must if you wish to have more privacy. Pity there are only 2 of those seats though and I wasn't fortunate to get one of those even during lunch.
When a place claims to serve up its own homemade garlic spread, my expectations go up a notch because I like my garlic spread a lot, probably more than most people. Sadly, Aston's spread didn't even come close to meeting my expectations. For one, it was rather bland and didn't exactly jell in well with the bread, which incidentally, wasn't tasty nor was it served warm.
Chicken Quesadilla - Interestingly, biting into the Chicken Quesadilla was akin to eating roti prata with bits of chicken and BBQ sauce. The paper thin crust was a little crispy and flaky with a rather miserable filling of chicken. Not that I'm saying that its not good, but for almost 8 dollars, I'd rather order something else.
Fillet Mignon - Notice that the fillet mignon comes in 2 variations, the New Zealand fed and the Australian fed. I'm guessing the Australian one is better because of its superior pricing. But then again, I didn't get to try the New Zealand variant, so I'm really in no position to comment.
My Australian fed fillet mignon was small (they are all 8oz by the way, which is about 250g) but good. I wouldn't go so far as to say that it was excellent as I've definitely tried better but this one was really in a league of its own. Medium rare, succulent and sweet. Only gripe I had was that the meat slab was too thick which resulted in the exterior being a little too charred. I did like the accompanying sauce though, which tasted like it had a little bit of cheese in it.
$70 for 2 pax for lunch is rather expensive honestly, but good steak comes at a price unfortunately. Service is excellent and there is no service charge or GST which kinda sweetens the deal a little. I see potential in this place, but it would be nice to have a larger slab of meat for the same price, please?
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Today marks the beginning of my makan sessions with a group of like minded food enthusiasts from various forums. Our choice of dinner venue was Astons Specialties at East Coast Rd. This joint has been highly recommended by many seasoned foodies and expectations were high as we made our way there at about 2000hrs. There was quite a queue of people waiting to get in and although I had made a reservation on Wednesday, there was no record of my name to be found, which naturally left me furious. Astons admitted that it was error on their part and although we had to wait for about 25mins for a table, credit has to be given to them for trying to get us a table ASAP. One thing I noticed about the place was that it was actually quite small and squeezy. There were barely 10 tables around and air conditioning was poor. They could well do with more powerful air conditioners or an air curtain at the entrance to prevent the cool air from rushing out.
Food wise, I shared the Wagyu beef promotion @ $38.90 for a 200g cut and the Ieat Super Burger with a friend. Both were done medium rare. According to them, the wagyu was supposed to have a marbling score of 5/6, which was pretty decent for the price. The wagyu came with 2 sides (I chose fries and pasta salad) which was pretty uninspiring. The pasta salad was almost tasteless and the fries were thin and had the same seasoning as that of Botak Jones fries. The wagyu was quite good though. Soft, juicy and tender. Every mouthful is greeted with a burst of flavour that slowly seeps down your throat. Not as good as the Kobe Beef I had at Keyaki, but certainly in a league of its own. Pity about the small 200g portion though. The accompanying mushroom (with garlic?) sauce was nice too, but I found it a tad too salty. The Ieat burger scored high salivation marks for its appearance. Toasted bun atop bacon strips, deep fried onions, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, a slab of chopped sirloin and drenched with BBQ sauce. However, the taste was short of expectations. The chopped sirloin was quite tasteless and dry and not to mention a little too soft. The bacon strips were nicely grilled though and that was just about the only consolation I had from the burger. At $12.50 for the burger, I guess it was pretty reasonable.
It cost us about $210 for 8 pax. On my part I paid about $27/- which I feel was reasonable for the quality of food. However Astons didn't quite measure up to my expectations probably because I had hyped myself up to be expecting something out of this world, only to be brought back down to earth. Nevertheless, a good eat, with reasonable pricing. Please note that the wait for food can be quite long especially when its full, which is most of the time in the evenings. A worthy contender to Botak Jones. Having no GST or service charge is definitely a plus!
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I've always had a penchant for brunch - whiling the lazy mornings away in a serene setting coupled with hearty fare and great company. What better way to unwind and enjoy the intricate subtleties of life? And I've found just the place to do so - Wild Rocket. The man at its helm is none other than lawyer turned chef, Willin Low, who has built up a reputation for cooking dishes which are Singaporean at heart but with a twist.
Nestled at the top of a hill (Mount Emily), Wild Rocket is a quaint little eatery/restaurant docked on the first level of Hangout Hotel. The decor is simple, focusing on the simplicities and the giant glass windows complete with semi transparent curtains allow sunlight to peer through, creating a cheery and lively atmosphere sans the heat. An air of serenity and elusiveness lingers in this dreamy and charming little outfit.
Though not billed as a fine dining restaurant, Wild Rocket still serves up complementary bread, which didn't quite impress me honestly. For one, the bread was too porous and came across as a tad too dry and bland. Thankfully, it was served warm.
Ricotta Jackfruit Pancakes with Maple Syrup - No this isn't a picture of left over pancakes. Its what we got for $8.50 - 2 small pancakes and 1 piece of deep fried jackfruit. It was excellent though, soft and fluffy with a tinge of jackfruit taste. Bits of jackfruit were also embedded within for added texture/flavour and the sweetness of the maple syrup was just about right. Now someone please explain to me why do good things always come in small packages?
Laksa Pesto with Spaghetti with Tiger Prawns & Quail Egg - A most interesting dish. As the name suggests, its spaghetti covered with coriander and bits of chilli flakes which is supposed to have a mild laksa taste. And by golly, it certainly does! The pasta was al dente but a tad too dry for my liking. I counted 3 average sized prawns and 3 quail egg halves, which certainly doesn't place this dish in the generous ingredients category. Honestly, this is not something I'll order again cause I don't find it outstanding.
Scrambled Eggs, Fresh Beef Sausages with Toast - A greedy mistake on my part. I had spied the adjourning table ordering this dish and the serving certainly looked generous. Oh boy, how wrong I was. 2 sausages, a small serving of scrambled eggs and a side of toast. The dish was clean in less than 5 mins, but not that it tasted great in case you are assuming. The sausages were rather salty and the meat didn't seem firm. As for the scrambled eggs, it was too salty as well and tasted like too much milk had gone into it.
The Wild Rocket Burger with Sun Dried Tomato Salsa - Notice the usage of the word "The" in the name of this dish. Its obviously Wild Rocket's signature offering and is THE must try burger. Pleasing aesthetics aside, the burger weighed in slightly bigger than Iggy's offering but smaller than those of Carl's Junior. The patty was huge by the way and rather well mashed, chewy and moist yet not overwhelming. Interestingly, the sun dried tomato salsa atop the patty was a tad sweet but complemented the beef almost flawlessly. The accompanying potato cubes were a little too soft and salty (I could make out the salt granules on the potatoes).
Kueh Buloh Tiramisu - Here's another classic example of how much of a mountain tortoise I am. I have no inkling whatsoever as to what in the world is Kueh Buloh. Shame on me. But the Kueh Buloh Tiramisu was quite good if you ask me. Soft with a nice layer of ice cream beneath it. But it kinda loses the Tiramisu flavour and composition though, which is rather ironical.
Dark Lava Chocolate Gateau with Ice Cream - Few molten chocolate cakes can match the truly splendid rendition by Mortons or the value for money offering at Abof. Wild Rocket's version comes close. Well almost. Its decidedly as good as Abof's but significantly more expensive as well (not as expensive as Morton's though). The shell was slightly hard while the spongy interior was soft and moist. Thick oozing, not too sweet chocolate completed the picture. But it was small, even smaller than Abof's.
I had a good and leisurely brunch, no doubt about that. But $95 for 3 pax does seem a little steep especially with the smallish portions. Its a nice place to hang out though and service is good. They will definitely be seeing more of me. On a side note, please let me reiterate that the place is tiny and you are looking at about probably 30 people max so please please please make your reservations.
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The popular Uno Beef House at Toa Payoh has a new outlet in the western regions of Singapore. Located in a prominent and brightly lit coffee shop along Dover road which runs parallel to the MRT line, it has its fair share of customers as well, but the waiting time here is definitely much shorter than its Toa Payoh counterpart.
I started off with the Cream of Mushroom soup ($2) which definitely came straight out of the can. There were undissolved chunks of coagulated soup at the bottom of the bowl, indicating a less than thorough stirring process. Having said that, I certainly didn't expect them to make their own mushroom soup, not for $2.
My gf had the pork chops ($5) which was quite good. Chewy yet not too dry or tough, with lots of savoury made from scratch gravy to go along. Portions were decent, but definitely not sufficient for a glutton like me.
The purported star of the evening (they are called Uno Beef House for a reason), the tenderloin steak ($10), was served up medium rare as per my request. The meat was very well done, succulent and a little chewy but lacked the sweetness of really good tenderloins. The mushroom sauce was quite decent too, with slices of mushroom and onion in it. I would have liked a more robust sauce though.
Here comes the real star of the evening, the side of a single Potato Ball which was served alongside a small tomato. It had a buttery taste to it and reminded me very much of eating pineapple tarts minus the sweetened pineapple of course. Texture wise was also good, not too mashed up or soft. I wonder if the Potato Balls are available on their own.
In summary, I like this place and will definitely be back to patronise. Its definitely in the league of Astons for steak and considering the amount of hype that Astons has been getting, I rather stick to Uno.
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