Winner of the Singapore Tatler Best Restaurant award for more than 10 consecutive years, Wah Lok has much to live up to in terms of food and ambience. Visitors to Singapore who would like a taste of authentic Cantonese cuisine should not give Wah Lok a miss.
The cantonese restaurant is set like an opulent dining paradise with its Oriental-themed settings. Its rotunda hall, an extension built above the terrace, with its grand high ceiling and floor to ceiling glass windows, adds a touch of refined elegance to the restaurant renowned for its Cantonese dim sum and fine cuisine.
Perhaps it is also one of the largest round tables that we have ever sat in. With a group of about 10 of us, the table still feels empty and there seems to be much more space in between persons to still sit another 6 more.
The table being large left us wondering if the dishes that we ordered would equally be large enough to fill the table space and most importantly our stomachs. It did not disappoint.
For starters we had the BBQ Sucking Pig Combination. This was a mix of suckling pig, BBQ pork, roasted duck, Soy chicken and jelly fish. The clear winner here is the sucking pig and roasted dusk. Just can't have enough of the skin which is both crispy and tasty.
Next came the Braised sharksfin soup with crabmeat and shredded chicken. The taste was not overpowering and unlike other sharksfin soup, there wasn't that "jelak" feeling after finishing one bowl. The interesting thing about this is the generous amount of sharksfin *oops...not for the environmentalist and wildlife activitst* and the shredded chicken. I do not know about you, but this is the first time I remembered having chicken in sharksfin soup. Or maybe I did not get to notice it when I ate it at other times.
Another memorable dish is the Steamed Garoupa in Thai style. The word "Thai style" evokes sweet chilli if you order it from food courts and the like so we were very much relieved that that is not the case here. The steamed garoupa was served in an excitably huge plate (fit for a king) and had the most ugly looking garoupa. But looks are deceiving as it tasted great! The winner in this dish is the Thai sauce. Yes, this steam garoupa was hot....the taste that is. It was like garoupa in tom yam sauce...but also not exactly tom yum sauce. It was thick gravy and just made eating the garoupa a facinating experience. Surely would order this again!
The Crispy 'Pi Pa' Duck was another clear favourite. The skin was crispy and thin. The only setback was the presence of too much fats in between the layers. But this might be the reason why some love it!
Sauted Deer Meat was another dish ordered. The meat was tender and cut to bite size so there was no need to perform any complex operation on it. Easily another favourite.
Other dishes ordered were the Scallops with brocolli and Braised Abalone with Black mushrooms. For desert, we had the Mango Pudding. It had a layer of evaporated milk which brough flavour to the pudding and was a nice finish to a satisfying meal.
Service was prompt and efficient and overall the servers were a friendly bunch of people. The total damage was $1150 for 10 persons. Overall a satisfying meal.
Haven't been to Sofra for ages and so decided to bring a group of friends to try something "different" from what they use to savor.
As usual for starters we ordered the Hummus ($4.20) and the Sesame Bread ($3.40). The Bread was soft, yet crispy so that made it interesting. Together with the Hummus, which was tinged with lemon juice, it was a great start to our meal.
Izqara Kofte ($12.90) was served next. We ordered the mixed combination of chicken, lamb and beef. One of the more interesting dishes was the rice (Turkish Pilaf) . It was fluffy and very fragrant. Perhaps it was cooked in butter as they usually do with pilaf. We found out that the secret is in the sizzle – which gives it a creamy, buttery, and melt in the mouth consistency and taste. It’s the gastronomic equivalent of sinking into a huge armchair in front of a roaring log fire. But there was no log fire in Sofra. The meat varieties were well seasoned and it was refreshing for us as we were all hungry.
Sultan Kebab ($12.50) arrived piping hot in an oven baked tray. The lamb pieces were tender and complimented the mashed potatoes with baked creamy cheese that just kept oozing out in between the layers. It was not at all difficult to eat as the meat was in bite sizes.
The final dish was the Jumbo Kebap Combo ($34.90) just right for 2 persons. It has the eggplant Kebap, shish Kebap and doner Kabap. As usual, Sofra did not disappoint with their meat dishes which were done to the right taste and texture.
Decided to dropped in at Cathay Cineplex @Downtown East to catch the movie "The Forbidden Kingdom". Being a brand new cinema, there were many plus points.
(1) The seats are very comfortable and you would have no "heads" blocking your view no matter how the person in front of you sat. It did not seem like there was anyone seating infront of us until the end of the show when the person stood up. haha. So that is how great the view was.
(2) The legroom is superb in Hall 4 (one of the bigger halls). You can easily stretch, fold and make all sorts of movements with your legs (limited by your bone structure and ligaments) and you will hardly ever hit the chair in front of you. Perhaps we were too engrossed with the show, but the legroom really was not a problem.
(3) The sound system was clear and there were no audible cracking or sizzing sounds.
(4) Being new, there was practically no one in the cinema. haha. execpt for the people infront of us.
The only strange point is the design of the exits. After the show, we walked down to the exit, entered the door and the whole group nearly got lost. There were no visible signs so we just had to find our way out. We ended up in an enclosed and barricaded section and had to move over pylons and barriers in order to get out to the escalator. The workers were staring at us wondering where did this crowd come from as the area was barricaded.
Never knew Lucky plaza had its fair share of good food, until we stepped into this place. The favourite dish I must say is the Ayam Penyet. This is the first time I ate this dish and it really looked "penyet" if not "punchek". It was smashed up but still recognizable as a chicken thigh. I was expecting some gravy, but there was none. The ayam was fried with indonesian spices and was crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.
One thing that made me gulp down a glass of water is the sambal that came along with it. I was warned by the friend that the sambal is SUPER hot so I just did a little baby dip into it. But nevertheless, it was still too hot for me. Surprisingly, the friends plate of sambal was wiped dry...
Tucked in the secluded lanes off Upper Thomson Road is this cozy Hakka restaurant. We had about 12 people with us, so there was quite a challenge trying to squeeze into their largest table, which was more like for about 10 persons. Nevertheless, the staff were very helpful in getting all of us seated comfortably.
They have several signature dishes and we ordered almost all of them.
Mei Cai Kou Rou($21.60) was the most likable dish for the most of us. The Mei Cai was sweet, not too salty and the Kou Rou was soft and juicy. A well rounded combination of sweet (Mei Cai) and tinted saltiness (Kou Rou).
Yam Balls($9.00) was the next best dish. It had a unique flavour and texture short of eating or nee. The yam balls were spongy and springy and the gravy had a friend onion taste that made it a unique dish.
Specialty Tou Fu($14.40) was served with 12 pieces exactly. Well actually they "custom" made the dish for the number of people we had. So that means one piece is 1.20. :) The gravy was the favourite part of the dish for everyone. So when all the 12 pieces of toufu were walloped, the gravy was soon smothered dry by everyone.
Salty Chicken($27.60) was served not in one piece but all chopped up to reasonable bite size for everyone. Perhaps that was the most thoughtful thing to do as there was no need to decide how to dissect the chicken with surgical precision. Taste wise it was ok. Something noticable though is that the meat was tender and juicy, and not hard and dry.
Fried Beef with Green Pepper($10) had a soft and chewable texture and was not anything extraordinary.
Overall spent about $105.70 for a meal for 12 persons, so that means about $9 per person which is very reasonable considering that everyone was pleasantly surprised with the quality and uniqueness of some of the dishes. The staff were also very friendly and patient, always serving with a smile. So thumbs up for them.
1=SGD 0.0587
The cantonese restaurant is set like an opulent dining paradise with its Oriental-themed settings. Its rotunda hall, an extension built above the terrace, with its grand high ceiling and floor to ceiling glass windows, adds a touch of refined elegance to the restaurant renowned for its Cantonese dim sum and fine cuisine.
Perhaps it is also one of the largest round tables that we have ever sat in. With a group of about 10 of us, the table still feels empty and there seems to be much more space in between persons to still sit another 6 more.
The table being large left us wondering if the dishes that we ordered would equally be large enough to fill the table space and most importantly our stomachs. It did not disappoint.
For starters we had the BBQ Sucking Pig Combination. This was a mix of suckling pig, BBQ pork, roasted duck, Soy chicken and jelly fish. The clear winner here is the sucking pig and roasted dusk. Just can't have enough of the skin which is both crispy and tasty.
Next came the Braised sharksfin soup with crabmeat and shredded chicken. The taste was not overpowering and unlike other sharksfin soup, there wasn't that "jelak" feeling after finishing one bowl. The interesting thing about this is the generous amount of sharksfin *oops...not for the environmentalist and wildlife activitst* and the shredded chicken. I do not know about you, but this is the first time I remembered having chicken in sharksfin soup. Or maybe I did not get to notice it when I ate it at other times.
Another memorable dish is the Steamed Garoupa in Thai style. The word "Thai style" evokes sweet chilli if you order it from food courts and the like so we were very much relieved that that is not the case here. The steamed garoupa was served in an excitably huge plate (fit for a king) and had the most ugly looking garoupa. But looks are deceiving as it tasted great! The winner in this dish is the Thai sauce. Yes, this steam garoupa was hot....the taste that is. It was like garoupa in tom yam sauce...but also not exactly tom yum sauce. It was thick gravy and just made eating the garoupa a facinating experience. Surely would order this again!
The Crispy 'Pi Pa' Duck was another clear favourite. The skin was crispy and thin. The only setback was the presence of too much fats in between the layers. But this might be the reason why some love it!
Sauted Deer Meat was another dish ordered. The meat was tender and cut to bite size so there was no need to perform any complex operation on it. Easily another favourite.
Other dishes ordered were the Scallops with brocolli and Braised Abalone with Black mushrooms. For desert, we had the Mango Pudding. It had a layer of evaporated milk which brough flavour to the pudding and was a nice finish to a satisfying meal.
Service was prompt and efficient and overall the servers were a friendly bunch of people. The total damage was $1150 for 10 persons. Overall a satisfying meal.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!wow! 115 per person. haha! i jus went recently too, but i had dim sum which is cheaper : )
10 Aug 2008 at 9:03 am
As usual for starters we ordered the Hummus ($4.20) and the Sesame Bread ($3.40). The Bread was soft, yet crispy so that made it interesting. Together with the Hummus, which was tinged with lemon juice, it was a great start to our meal.
Izqara Kofte ($12.90) was served next. We ordered the mixed combination of chicken, lamb and beef. One of the more interesting dishes was the rice (Turkish Pilaf) . It was fluffy and very fragrant. Perhaps it was cooked in butter as they usually do with pilaf. We found out that the secret is in the sizzle – which gives it a creamy, buttery, and melt in the mouth consistency and taste. It’s the gastronomic equivalent of sinking into a huge armchair in front of a roaring log fire. But there was no log fire in Sofra. The meat varieties were well seasoned and it was refreshing for us as we were all hungry.
Sultan Kebab ($12.50) arrived piping hot in an oven baked tray. The lamb pieces were tender and complimented the mashed potatoes with baked creamy cheese that just kept oozing out in between the layers. It was not at all difficult to eat as the meat was in bite sizes.
The final dish was the Jumbo Kebap Combo ($34.90) just right for 2 persons. It has the eggplant Kebap, shish Kebap and doner Kabap. As usual, Sofra did not disappoint with their meat dishes which were done to the right taste and texture.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!
(1) The seats are very comfortable and you would have no "heads" blocking your view no matter how the person in front of you sat. It did not seem like there was anyone seating infront of us until the end of the show when the person stood up. haha. So that is how great the view was.
(2) The legroom is superb in Hall 4 (one of the bigger halls). You can easily stretch, fold and make all sorts of movements with your legs (limited by your bone structure and ligaments) and you will hardly ever hit the chair in front of you. Perhaps we were too engrossed with the show, but the legroom really was not a problem.
(3) The sound system was clear and there were no audible cracking or sizzing sounds.
(4) Being new, there was practically no one in the cinema. haha. execpt for the people infront of us.
The only strange point is the design of the exits. After the show, we walked down to the exit, entered the door and the whole group nearly got lost. There were no visible signs so we just had to find our way out. We ended up in an enclosed and barricaded section and had to move over pylons and barriers in order to get out to the escalator. The workers were staring at us wondering where did this crowd come from as the area was barricaded.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!gosh, downtown east, so far away. lol
01 May 2008 at 9:39 am
One thing that made me gulp down a glass of water is the sambal that came along with it. I was warned by the friend that the sambal is SUPER hot so I just did a little baby dip into it. But nevertheless, it was still too hot for me. Surprisingly, the friends plate of sambal was wiped dry...
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!Loveee ayam penyet! The power thing is the chilli leh!
23 Apr 2008 at 9:04 pm
chilli that hot is too hot...haha...
23 Apr 2008 at 9:07 pm
They have several signature dishes and we ordered almost all of them.
Mei Cai Kou Rou($21.60) was the most likable dish for the most of us. The Mei Cai was sweet, not too salty and the Kou Rou was soft and juicy. A well rounded combination of sweet (Mei Cai) and tinted saltiness (Kou Rou).
Yam Balls($9.00) was the next best dish. It had a unique flavour and texture short of eating or nee. The yam balls were spongy and springy and the gravy had a friend onion taste that made it a unique dish.
Specialty Tou Fu($14.40) was served with 12 pieces exactly. Well actually they "custom" made the dish for the number of people we had. So that means one piece is 1.20. :) The gravy was the favourite part of the dish for everyone. So when all the 12 pieces of toufu were walloped, the gravy was soon smothered dry by everyone.
Salty Chicken($27.60) was served not in one piece but all chopped up to reasonable bite size for everyone. Perhaps that was the most thoughtful thing to do as there was no need to decide how to dissect the chicken with surgical precision. Taste wise it was ok. Something noticable though is that the meat was tender and juicy, and not hard and dry.
Fried Beef with Green Pepper($10) had a soft and chewable texture and was not anything extraordinary.
Overall spent about $105.70 for a meal for 12 persons, so that means about $9 per person which is very reasonable considering that everyone was pleasantly surprised with the quality and uniqueness of some of the dishes. The staff were also very friendly and patient, always serving with a smile. So thumbs up for them.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!wah big group. sounds good :)
23 Apr 2008 at 9:25 pm