Restaurant Reviews

We went back to Moluccas Room for dinner again! This time round, we ordered the Tahu Telur ($15). The fried tofu and egg is served with shredded fresh cabbage, carrots, bean sprouts, ground peanut, and finally drizzled with thick, caramelized vinegar gravy. Sinful yet good. Confit sakura ayam tuturaga ($27) is a must try dish! The boneless chicken is cooked with a light citrusy curry gravy, very tasty! I love the curry, slightly sweet yet flavourful from spices and herbs. And the chicken is ridiculously tender and juicy! Thumbs up! Ayam bakar kecap urap-urap ($29) is quite alright. The grilled herbed caramelized chicken is served with coconut spiced seasonal vegetables, good flavour to go with rice. Ikan bakar Jimbaran ($35) is one of the signature dish on the menu. The sweet and spicy freshly grilled Baramundi fish fillet is served with lots of refreshing sauteed baby tomatoes. Light and ladies will love this heaps. Dessert wise, we had the Harmonious trio Moluccas dessert ($15). It's probably the best dessert to order if you are new to Moluccas Room, since you get to try their three different type of signature dessert on one go. The plate consists of Srikaya creme brulee, Serabi Pandan, coconut ice-cream. Of the three, my favourite has to be the creme brulee! Smooth texture with rich egg fragrant, and the glazed sugar on top. Love it! Homemade traditional Indinesian ice-cream and sorbet ($8) is another signature dessert. The selection of homemade Indonesian flavoured ice-cream and sorbets is served with the tiny cute macaron! Gorgeous and tasty. It's definitely a beautiful meal, as always promised by Moluccas Room!

Many zi-char places sell almost the same dishes. Nothing you wouldn't not expect. What makes them stand out will definitely be unique dishes. I have always prefer hot over cold food (except sashimi and soba), however I was amazed how good these can taste! The cockles weren’t overcooked nor undercooked.

Lotsa garlic, spring onion & red chilli, with their soy sauce – THUMBS UP!Don’t belittle the normal appearance of this prawn balls with pork floss dish. It looked average but the taste buds had an experience that was nothing less than “brilliant”! This 3-eggs dish is a popular hit with most people.

Love a combination of soup-gravy, eggs & vegetables? This goes well with or without rice as it wasn’t too salty as compared to some I tried elsewhere.Milk powder?? I swear I’ve never tried anything like this before. Pretty interesting, but I had phobia of milk powder.
I do like the fried ribs alot. The milk powder was too sweet for me. I tried to shake the powder off before eating. Not a dish I would re-order for myself.Beancurd (Tofu) with golden mushroom and some minced meat in the rich brown gravy. This is the kind of dish I like to have with my rice. Not too salty, yet flavorful.

2013-01-26

SGD 12(Dinner)

This tiny eatery has a very cosy setting even though the seats are quite pack to each other. The staffs are friendly and one good thing about this place is it serves free flow Japanese tea. In fact, Tsukada Nojo is very famous for their collagen soup broth. Their most recommended noodles is the Tori Nikomi Soba Shio salty taste ($16.80). The salty taste is the best suited for Jidori collagen soup, tastes very rich and savoury! The meat and other ingredients are served separately on the plate. Tori Nikomi Soba Spicy hot ($16.80) is another must-try I reckon. The full flavoured of spicy hot taste finished with special soy sauce is fiery yet very syiok! Same thing here, the ingredients are served separately, and if you think it's not spicy enough, you could add an extra spoonful of chilli flakes in the broth! Love the tender meat too!Nikumaki Yuzu ($3.50), is the popular choice of Nikumaki, and a potent combination of spicy hot Yuzu pepper and mayonnaise. The thin layer of well-marinated pork slices is used to wrap the sushi rice! One would definitely love the juicy and sweetness flavour of the tender meat! Dessert wise, we had the Mango pudding ($4). The 100% homemade rich mango pudding is very cooling! I love the creamy mango flavour that burst into the mouth. However, the mango paste on top could be slightly too sour for me to handle. Egg pudding ($5) is like creme brulee that usually seen on Italian menu! This one here not too bad, smooth texture, but the glazed sugar layer on top is not crispy enough.

2012-12-30

The name of this restaurant speaks it all, it's a ship and sailing themed Western restaurant that serves a range of chops and grills. Apart from ala carte orders, they do provide set meals that comes with coffee/tea and dessert of the day. The set started of with a bowl of hearty creamy mushroom soup! Very savoury and thick, rich with mushroom flavour. Might be too creamy for some people, but I'm in love with it. Grilled chicken chambertin ($18.90) is huge in portion. The chicken is juicy and well-marinated, and served with mussels, garnished with buttered vegetables and chips. Very filling. Grilled US Pork Loin ($18.90) is chewy in texture. The meat is thick, not overly dry, but very lean and requires a bit of the effort in biting. It's served with thai mango spicy sauce, garnished with chips and buttered vegetables. The cake is pretty ordinary though, slightly dry and tastes just sweetness.

2013-01-05

It was a fruitful day on Christmas as we visited S.E.A Aquarium for the whole day. After the sight-seeing, we decided to have Astons for dinner. Astons has many branches around singapore which served affordable and delicious western cuisine.We went to one of the branch located at upper thomson road coffeeshop.

Since it is located at the coffeeshop, it is self-sevice counter where we placed order and make payment on the spot.We then wait for our foods to be ready and self- collection is required.Here goes the foods that we ordered that night. I decided to go for chargrill chicken with 2 choice of side dishes @ S$6.50. I choose baked potato and corn on the cob. Chargrill chicken is my all time favourite choice as the chicken is nicely grilled and goes well with the sauce. My friend ordered Chicken Burger @S$4.90. The portion was just nice for us as bread can be filling. No much comment of the burger but the hamburger meat was tender and chewy with the cheese and sauce.If you are looking for affordable and decent western cuisine, why not try Astons? The price is decent and par value with the serving portion.

2012-12-25

I have read good reviews of Poulet Bugis+ from social media and long to give it a try. I knock off early than usual and managed to reach Bugis+ around 7.15pm. Surprisingly the queue has not started yet. We managed to get our seats within 10 minutes. Once we are seated, i saw the queue started to line up after 7.30pm.

Poulet is actually a French casual dining restaurant at Bugis+ which is opened by Thai Express group. The restaurant offers affordable French classics to the masses. It is an open concept theme located at level 4 of Bugis+. The restaurant design gives a contemporary and pleasant dinning place for group gathering and couples. We also get to see chefs on action with this new concept.The menu was simple and it has the effiel tower picture to compliment with with concept.Here comes the main course that we ordered. Braise de Canard @S$15.80 which serves braised duck leg in sweet wine sauce on baby spinach topped with cranberry and glazed shallot. The meat texture was surprisingly soft and tender and the duck meat was nicely done. However, the sauce wasn't generous enough as i wiped off the sauce before the duck meat finishes.Here comes the signature dish. Braise de Poulet @S$13.80 which is served slow cooked chicken leg with potato, onion, garlic and leek in white wine sauce. The chicken was slow roast until the skin becomes golden brown. The combination of the roasted chicken with the creamy sauce is splendid.Next we have Escargot de Bourgogne, $8.80.Escargots baked with tomato fondue infused with garlic butter.It was chewy and nice but it has less garlic taste. Dessert is a must after dinner. We ordred Tiramisu @S$7.80. Combination of mascarpone cheese, sponge finger soaked in espresso and rum syrup. The serving is generous and it is just nice for two of us to share. We can taste the tiramisu moist and it is just as delicious as it's look.To summarize, Poulet serves affordable price and decent French cuisine. We paid S$56.73 which inclusive of 10% service charge and 7%GST for 2 pax.The food is acceptable and par value with the price to pay. As for the services, the staff was friendly when we seek for opinions when ordering. They are quite attentive to customers' orders. The serving time was within 10 minutes which is pretty quick. Thus, this explains their high turnover on lunch and dinner time.

2013-01-30

We actually went to Tippling Club a while ago, but this is one of the restaurant that you will remember for life once you have visited. It's a molecular gastronomy concept kind of restaurant, which located up at the Dempsey Hill. The kitchen is run by Chef Ryan Clifford, and one would love the interior design of the restaurant. It's glamorous in a sense, yet with a touch of laboratory feel. First Amuse Bouche is the potato soup served in a tiny flat container. One is supposed to eat the tiny cube of vegetable jelly while sucking out the coup at the same time. The creamy soup is pleasantly smooth, and definitely a good start to the molecular gastronomy journey! Next dish meant to be Curry Chicken Rice，but we were served with this delicate glass jar covered with foil! Pretty looking! After taking off the foil, a strong aroma of curry just burst out. The bottom layer in the jar is the curry foam, fluffy texture but rich in curry and spices flavour! And it's topped with a layer of crispy rice, which has been baked I assume. When two extreme textures come together, it's a huge surprise. I love this dish heaps! It's an effort shown by the chef who wanted to integrate the local flavour in his 'experiments'! Thumbs up! Smoked Quail Egg is another dish that served in a pretty glass jar. When the lid is opened, one could smell a strong scent of burning, it's the 'smoked' part. The quail egg itself is slightly sour, quite appetizing! I love how the Gazpacho is served in the test tube, reminds me so much of my chemistry lab! The clear looking soup is actually a blend of tomato and variety of vegetables. It tastes really good, light and chill. There's also a droplet of basil oil in the straw, that enhances the overall flavour of the soup! Another must-try. Smoked Eel is served with heaps Braun crumbs,fennels, spring onion, and weirdly Wasabi ice cream! Despite the funny combination, it actually turns out delicious! Love the flavour of the eel!
Good food keeps coming out hey! We then had the Bacalau white gazpachio. The balacau is slightly salty, yet balanced well with the fresh grapes and lots of rocket salad. The plating is gorgeous too! Gnocchi served with heirloom carrot broth probably another dish that easily catch one's attention. The colourful dish looks very appealing! The orange-coloured thingy that looks like carrot chunks are actually the gnocchi, surprisingly not very chewy in texture. Served together with avocado and the homemade carrot broth, slightly sweet, but tasty in a whole. It's a brand new experience dining at Tippling Club. Some flavours or textures might not be easily accepted by many people, but this is about experimenting and exploring! I love the fact that you won't know how your dish will looks like or taste like, until you actually see them and get to eat them. They might sound 'normal' on the menu, but you never know! Oh yea, they also serve very good cocktails if you're up for a drink after work!

There are quite a queue during the time we went there but was actually able to be allocated with a table by the staff without much waiting. The staff over at this restaurant is quite friendly though it is quite difficult to get their attention to take order or to request for things.

Environment wise, this restaurant is designed to be at level 2 of the old Jurong Point wings next to the walkway and courts is just opposite the restaurant. Tables between each other are actually not very spaced apart as they tried to make use of all the available space to accommodate more customer eating there. If the restaurant is not full, it should be quite nice and relaxing to eat in this restaurant but if it is very fully seated, you might find that the restaurant will become quite noisy as other people are very near to your table.

The restaurant concept is using open air style which include open view of their kitchen where you can see their chef cooking up the nice dishes for the customers. Overall, it gives us a nice comfortable environment to enjoy our meals together.This is one of the better pasta I will always order when I am eating at Ambush, The pasta is using fusilli mixed together with sauteed fresh white Clams and white wine sauce. Pasta is nicely cooked and you get to taste the freshness of the clam without the alcohol of the white wine.Fat and juicy mini Chicken Cheese and French Chicken Garlic Sausages are being nicely grilled and served with mustard and Brown Sauce. I like the taste of the Chicken Cheese Sausages as you are able to feel a bit of cheese flowing out when you give it a bite.Though the overall taste of this Rosti is great but I would still prefer the popular Rosti from Marché. The dish comes with a small portion of sour cream for you to eat with the Rosti.

2012-11-24

The restaurant is actually located inside Changi Sailing Club. Nevertheless, we manage to find the place and here we are, the restaurant is easily found when you entered the main entrance of the Changi Sailing Club lobby. The place is indeed a very nice place to relax as you are able to see the beach, the sea and some people having water activities near the coast of the Changi Sailing Club. The restaurant is designed in 2 different parts mainly members and non members and from the non members side where we are, the design is using open air concept so no air conditioning.

There are a few customers having their meals there and I feel that the overall feeling I get is that this is a nice place for a romantic dinner during the evening where you can view the nice sun set and enjoying the sea breeze. They provide quite a variety of dishes which includes Asian, Western, Italian, Indian cuisine and etc.Lamb meat are being diced till bits before making it to look like sausages style which comes with a piece of Indian pan cake. I think for those who do not like the smell of the lamb, keep away from this dish as the smell is stronger than most of the lamb dish that I have eaten so far. Overall taste is ok for this dish except that it would be 2 person to share this dish as it would be too much to eat by one person.The look of this dish is very presentable with big piece of Fish battered in nice coat of bead flour (If I am not wrong) and side dish of french fries and salad. The French Fries are thick and nice but the main dish of the Fish is super salty!!! I am not sure if the chef made a mistake or what but I think the salt is like free when putting onto the fish before frying it.The presentation of the Cajun Chicken is very nice and it make us think that the dish is delicious but after tasting it, it seems that the chef who cooked this dish kind of over-cooked it as the meat is quite tough and dry inside (I expect it to be juicy). It seems the side dish taste better than the main but still better than the fish and chips.

2012-11-25

For full review: www.dairycream.blogspot.sg
Similar to cupcakes, I would seldom buy pies because they can be made at home easily without any sophisticated equipment like the airgun or blowtorch. But words about this Singapore pie shop which opened in 2011 came into my ears and it seemed that many people found their pies very good. So how good were they? Banana Cognac Almond Brittle ($7)
My favourite is this Banana Cognac Almond Brittle ($7) even though I tend to avoid banana desserts. Though caramel juices at the base, the shortcrust pastry remained flaky and the bittersweet balls of almond brittle added extra crunchiness. Perhaps they could consider selling packs of almond brittle besides pies.The Grasshopper ($7) ,
a new item, is a mint chocolate mousse on top of a flourless chocolate cake topped with salty cookie crumbles. Well, the crumbs aren't that salty but the mint flavour is a refreshing treat and reminds me of the classic Andes Mint but I wonder if anyone can try mixing mint with something else other than chocolate......Sam Willows ($7.50)
Another of my favourite is the Sam Willows ($7.50), as the light fruity pear chantily cream nicely contrasted with the peanut butter mousse base. The guilt of eating this might be lesser if compared to a chocolate + peanut butter combination.Lemon Strawberry Pie($7)
The classic lemon meringue tart was given a beauty makeover into Lemon Strawberry Pie. Tube-shaped strawberry compote lined the pie base topped with luscious lemon custard. Though I find the meringue too sweet, the excellent lemon curd makes it one of the best lemon pies/tart in Singapore.
We also ordered some pourover coffee and the young servers were friendly too. I find that the team is very enthusiastic about their pie business and it is encouraging to have such amazing pie places in Singapore. Though they do have some latest additions of savoury bites, I believe I will still be attracted to their sweet items, especially if they have any new creations. Strangely, the decor reminded me of Little Red Riding Hood but I liked it a lot.

SGD 20(Supper)

Ever since Plaza Singapura had its new extension, there are so many new restaurants opened, and I am opened to so much more choices now!

AMBUSH pasta bar is one of the newly opened outlet, and I thought I could give it a try for one of my casual lunch with my boyfriend, since our school is so near.

Read the full review here!
http://chiamhuiy.blogspot.sg/2013/01/ambush-food-review.htmlThe place was really huge so there's no fear of not getting seats. In fact, I went in the afternoon and the place was generally quiet and peaceful. I like the ambience, unlike bustling and crowded restaurants. Ambush has certain weekday promotions which makes it a better reason for you to come! Toasted Focaccia Bread with Tomato Salsa
The appetizer that I ordered was Bruschetta. I was craving for something sour and thus appetizing, so I thought I would go for this.
Although the tomato salsa on the toasted garlic bread made it soggy, the bruschetta in overall was appetizing because of its tangy tomato salsa! Sauteed sliced streaky bacon and picnic ham
My boyfriend ordered this because he was having a sore throat and I banned him from eating anything fried or whatsoever. He likes bacon and ham too so here he goes.

To me, the cream sauce tasted a little diluted. It was not as creamy and thick like how usually pasta restaurants would. Give you a very relatable example - Pastamania! Pastamania's carbonara's cream sauce is really thick and I would usually feel sick after eating for long. But good thing about this dish is that since the cream sauce is not as thick, you don't really feel sick after eating for long. Pros and cons la huh. White clams, Mussels, Queen Sacallop, Prawns, Sliced bacon and Sausages
From the web: Paella is a saffron-flavored Spanish dish made with varying combinations of rice, vegetables, meat, chicken, and seafood.

Ooooh this was good by the way! I've never really tried Paella before, and this was my first time. I decided to give it a try because I've always liked seafood and tomato sauce. Since this is a combination of both my likings, and I wanted something filling, I went for this!

This dish has rice cooked in thick tomato sauce. It turned up to be a satisfying dish which was very filling.

Overall, this is a great place to have a quick lunch without waiting for very long. The waitress are pretty polite and react very fast to orders. The food was served very quickly as well. Fast-paced service, thumbs up! I really enjoyed the food here, especially the Paella. I am getting hungry now.

Hui Yan
http://chiamhuiy.blogspot.sg

I've always heard many friends talking about Twochefs, how good and cheap the food here is, making me all excited to visit this place and have a feast.
Even at 8pm when we arrived, the place was fully occupied!
Luckily we made a reservation, if not I guess we had to wait very long for an empty table.Read the full review here!
http://chiamhuiy.blogspot.sg/2013/01/two-chefs-zi-char-sponsored-review.html
Iced Milk TeaThis is not a plate of plain fried cockles; the cockles are stir-fried with vinegar (I suppose), making it taste very appetizing. It doesn't feel raw at all, the cockles were prepared well. I've always been a fan of cockles and I must say I've tried quite a few different types of preparing cockles, but this is the best type of cockles I've tried!!! Cold and tasty.A plate of vegetables submerged in the soup of 3 types of eggs, you might find it too common. But I wouldn't really agree so. Many of us thought this dish was very addictive. The normal egg makes the majority of the sauce, while the century egg adds texture to the soup. The vegetables in general was soft and smooth, which I guess it's why it's well-liked by all of us. With such a big quantity at only $12 (medium sized), I don't think this dish is pricey. In fact, having your pork ribs coated in milk powder really gives an amazing mouthfeel. Some of the powder melts in your mouth as you chew on the meat. The ribs are boneless as well!
This is one of their signature dish and it's definitely a must-have! Prawn balls are generally expensive at any zichar stall. At first I was still hesitant about Estelle ordering prawn balls because usually we don't get satisfied ordering prawn balls as they are very little and expensive. But here, Twochefs really prove me wrong. Their prawns are really huge and it was even complimented with pork floss and mayonnaise, all at the price of $20 only! I once had prawn balls elsewhere at a random hawker centre at $30, and boy, the quantity was much lesser and less tasty than this.
In my opinion, this is another must-have too! Fried beancurd was submerged in the sweet and sour gravy, coupled with plenty golden mushroom. This was a generally easy-to-swallow dish because of the smooth and gluey gravy, appetizing as well due to its sour element in it.

Overall, the food was in generally great in portion and reasonable priced. The total cost was about $64 only (for 6 of us)!!! That's like roughly $10 per person, for so many varieties! Sometimes, for such standards, we usually pay roughly $15-$17. So I must say this is a great place for zi char. Cheap and super good food.

I think it's a very good place for dinner with family. The place is 15 minutes walk away from commonwealth mrt station, so it's a little far and inaccessible. It will be better if you have a car though. Then again, for the good food, who minds travelling? ;)

Hui Yan
http://chiamhuiy.blogspot.sg

For full review: www.dairycream.blogspot.sg

As the place was not very big, we decided to takeaway some of their pastries but they were all oh so good. How good was it especially when they try to challenge the classic French recipes such as Opera, Sacher and Koufig Annan? Read on to find out!Sacher $9
Dense almond sponge cake sandwiched with seasonal French apricot jam and coated with a chocolate ganache.

How can I give this classic Austrian cake a miss when it finally appeared in Singapore. It is a very filling cake given it's dense texture. But luckily it is not too dry and the cake contains generous amount of cocoa nibs or chocolate shavings, which makes the cake crunchy. Sacher $9 cross sectionThe ganache just simply melts in you mouth along with the cake. And it is not just ganache, but the top is covered with a crispy chocolate round. I do not usually go for butter or pound cakes or similar pastries but this was really not oily or too sweet. Not to mention that this contain the aftertaste of mixed spices...
Indeed....I think Pave has reinvented a classic successfully...it was really "moist and with a lingering chocolate flavour". The homemade apricot jam really fused with the cake and the whole thing tasted as one, not as separate components.Opera $9
Chocolate mousse and sponge
coated with a ganache and dusted heavily with cocoa powder

Unlike the usual classic kind that is ganache, coffee buttercream and sponge. This one is just mousse and sponge. However, it is so good that you can forgive them for leaving out the buttercream. This one uses very good choc and does not taste too heavy on the palate. Some choc cakes are just too rich and takes a long time to finish one. But this...gone in a minute or so...Heavenly.Kouign Amman #3
Famous Brittany buttery pastry

This is a baked pastry that is made by overfolding butter and sugar btw layers of puff pastry and baked until the whole thing is caramelized brown. However, I'm not too sure if berries marmalade were supposed to be added so much. I like the sides of the pastry as it is really crunchy but the centre of the puff pastry was slightly underbaked. As the jam in the centre was very sweet so I would prefer the buttery pastry part.Chocolate Orange $8.50
Did not expect to try this as it was not featured in their blog. The dome of mousse taste like milk chocolate but the centre was another pleasant surprise- the orange marmalade that was luckily not as thick as jam.The entire thing sits on a soft and not dry sponge.The chocolate and orange pairing seems like a new experiment after pairing chocolate and apricot. I'm not a great fan of chocolate with tangy or citrusy fruits but I would like it if both manages to blend well together. This one....yes. Highly recommended.

In short, the service here is very friendly as they will take time to answer your questions regarding the knowledge of each cake, signs that the staff know at least what they are selling. These are slightly better and more affordable than TWG for similar quality. Do try their canele too if you have not yet tried one before. It gives out a subtle aftertaste of rum so if alcohol desserts lover would like this.

I suddenly feel like flying to Paris.

2012-11-07

SGD 10(Tea)

We went there at about 2pm. Very nice and quiet place. This place is good for coffee (top Batista here!), but what about the food? I had to try for myself. This restaurant is too easy find, being located just beside Somerset MRT. You can choose to sit outdoors to enjoy the weather and chill, or choose to sit inside to soak in the coffee aroma.Cappucino. Tastes good. And I must say that it heart looks very good!Latte. Prawn Bruschetta. I am not really a fan of crunchy prawns, but this was good. It was not over-crunchy, and most of the prawn flavour was still intact. Bread was soft inside.Raisin Scones (devonshire clotted cream. raspberry grappa jam). I thought this was pretty average. Nothing special or bad to complain about. I liked the cream alot though. Not too heavy, goes very well with the SconesCaesar Salad. Everything was right here, especially the amount of dressing. Philly steak & Cheese (beef striploin, onions, peppers, swiss cheese, baguette). I must say I was really disappointed with the baguette/bread. It felt alot more like the regular buns for hotdogs at IKEA. Thank heavens the cheese and strip loin were made up for it. Cheese could have been melted more.

Good coffee. Ok food. Or maybe I should try one more time.

2013-01-26

SGD 30(Lunch)

We always trying to order different dishes everytime when we visit Shin Yeh. This time round, we had the whole Pomfret with garlic ($48). It might be slightly pricy, but I reckon it worths the price. The fish is quite big, and it tastes good. The pomfret is seasoned with salt and pepper before deep-fried to crisp. It's very crispy outside, yet the meat still maintain the tenderness. And those garlic slices definitely adds lots of flavours to it. Prawn roll with yam ($8) serves a good snack. The crispy roll has the yam and prawn filling, just the right seasoning, and not greasy at all. Sauteed prawns with pineapples ($20) is appetizing. The prawns are sauteed with mayonnaise sauce and heaps of pineapples chuncks. The sourness of pineapples balances the creamy of mayonnaise. Quite nice. Fried rice with pork ($14) is ordinary. The fragrant is good, but nothing too special. However, it could be a good replacement for white rice, to go along with other dishes. Stir-fried mustard heart ($16) with dried scallop is pretty good, in which the bitterness is sort of being reduced to minimum. If you are not a big fans of this vegetables, do give it a try at Shin Yeh. you might change your mind.

2012-11-28