iceblossom's Profile

For those who are celebrating early - Gu Ma Jia is offering 10% discount until 29 January when you dine in at the restaurant. For those who are still deciding where to have your CNY reunion lunch/dinner on 30 January (Thursday) - Gu Ma Jia has CNY 2014 Set Menu Promotions with four timings to choose from: 12.00 pm – 2.00 pm, 2.15pm – 4.15pm, 6.00 pm – 7.45 pm, and 8.00pm – 9.45 pm. The restaurant will be closed on 31 January (Friday) and 1 February (Saturday) but operations will resume on 2 February (Sunday) - a great day to makan before starting work on Monday, if you have to work on Monday.Gu Ma Jia is famously known for its signature dish - Assam Fish Head ($28). Many bloggers have praised the delicacy and even celebrities have visited the restaurant to have a taste of this delicious dish. YES! I bet you can finish two bowls of rice with just the gravy. The gravy wins hands down by having the balance of 4S. It was sweet, spicy, savory and sour. The sweetness of the gravy was very "fishy"... in a good way! I later found out that the natural sweetness of the gravy came from the fish! The fish was cooked in the gravy to perfection with its meat still moist and tender. (FYI: Many places steam the fish head and then pour the gravy over it.) *Apologies for the absence of photograph.Some people travel all the way here just for its Assam Fish Head. But Gu Ma Jia offers many other good delicious dishes.For full review with photos, please visit:http://myfrozenreminiscence.blogspot.sg/2014/01/gu-ma-jia.html…Read More

For full review with photos, please visit:http://myfrozenreminiscence.blogspot.sg/2014/01/imperial-treasure-super-peking-duck.htmlChinese New Year is around the corner. An occasion for family to get together and feast! Have you decided what to have for reunion dinner? For those who have a budget of more than $80 per pax, you get to enjoy a feast of 山珍海味 at Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck Restaurant (Paragon). View the CNY 2014 menu here!Alternatively, if you want to keep your budget within the wallet-friendly category, visit the restaurant for its Peking Duck and dim sum on days that do not fall within the CNY dining days. If you wish to enjoy the renowned Peking Duck that placed Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck Restaurant at 49th in Asia's 50 Best Restaurants in 2013, it is highly recommended to call and reserve a table and the Peking Duck about 3 days in advance. …Read More

For full review with photos, please visit:http://myfrozenreminiscence.blogspot.sg/2013/12/fish-mart-sakuraya-west-coast-plaza.htmlAs I visit Japan often, my friends would always seek to find the tidbits I bought for them. I managed to find some of them here at Sakuraya! For those who cook Japanese cuisine, Sakuraya not only sells tidbits, it also sells vegetables (from Japan), Japanese rice, coffee, sake, shochu, sauces, seasonings, ice-cream, beverages and more.It's a very fishy business. . . in a good way! Because not only you get to choose what you want to eat from the menu, you also get to choose what sashimi you want! Remember the times where you comment that the table beside you got a better plate of maguro? Well, no problems here, cos' you can just select what you think it's best from the neatly displayed seafood.Step 1: Please be seated at a table first.Step 2: Order the food and drinks from the menu.Step 3: Take note of your table number. Go to the sashimi area to select the sashimi you want!Step 4: Pass it to the staff at that area.Step 5: You'll be asked if you want to takeaway or dine-in. If you're dining in, simply tell the staff your table number.Pumpkin Croquette is a MUST-TRY! I love how compact and solid it was! The pumpkin was also sweet and smooth. The exterior was so crispy that it was crunching every time I poked my chopsticks into it. Very good!Prawn Tempura Maki and Soft-shell Crab Maki have both hits and misses. Prawn Tempura Maki has big prawns but it lacks flavour. It was kinda bland. On the other hand, Soft-shell Crab Maki was tastier but it was slightly oilier than I expected. Sakura Sushi Set comprises of Maguro (tuna), Kanpachi (amberjack), Sake (salmon), Hotate (scallop), Tako (octopus), Ika (squid), Botan Ebi (sweet prawn), Tamago (egg), and Negi Toro Maki (fatty tuna and green onions). Well, I'll give a passable mark of 5/10 for this set. Everything was lacking of something. Maguro lacks freshness, salmon seems to have been left outside too long, tamago was not firm and toro was mediocre. The reason it passed was because this whole set is only $28 and it is enough to fill a lady's stomach. I would be visiting Sakuraya sometime soon! Not only the locations are easily accessible, the affordability of the food they serve is a good enough point to put Sakuraya on my to-visit-again list. Also, I need to stock up my Japanese tidbits and food ingredients, most importantly, to satisfy my endless craving of sashimi and other Japanese food. …Read More

For full review, please visit: http://myfrozenreminiscence.blogspot.sg/2013/11/ramen-kagetsu-arashi-cathay.htmlBefore I comment on the ramen, I have to admit that I am an amateur gourmet when it comes to ramen. But fortunately, I was tasting Ramen Kagetsu Arashi with two food gourmets and one of them is a ramen fanatic. Miss P ordered Arashi Genkotsu Ramen - Kagetsu's best-selling ramen. It features Kagetsu's house-made pork broth, simmered with pork marrow bones, fat and collagen. The natural sweetness stems from adding lots of garlic, onions, vegetables and various spices to the broth. On the other hand, Miss H (ramen fanatic) ordered Arashi Genkotsu Miso Ramen which features Kagetsu's original miso soup. Kagetsu says that they use the finest miso paste from the prefectures across Japan. Each provincial flavor is infused to recreate an aromatic yet flavorful soup.I ordered Arashi Genkotsu Shio Ramen. The soup was cooked with unrefined and natural sea salt which accentuates the flavors of the milky white broth.It was said that natural sea salt has a richer, and more complex taste than processed salt. Kagetsu says that this gives their soup base "a distinctively refreshing taste". Both Miss P and Miss H felt that the broth was indeed very thick. Compared to many other ramen, Kagetsu's broth has a very distinctively strong garlic taste and smell. While it is very subjective to comment whether it is aromatic or not, I must say that Kagetsu's broth did made itself different from many chain ramen restaurants. Even though the strong garlic-ness did hit a punch on everyone's face, I could still taste the sweetness of the rich broth.Noodles per se failed big time. Miss H, the ramen fanatic, only finished half of what was served. Not because she was full, but she just could not continue eating the soggy overcooked noodles. As for me, I thought the noodles was comparable to the instant noodles I cook. Hahaha.. I don't have high expectations lah. So I could say that Kagetsu does better than certain chain ramen restaurants like Ajis*n. But for the similar price, I would head for Keisuke's Ramen. Miss P, the slender girl with a huge appetite, was the first to bottoms up! I thought she cleaned it up because it was so delicious but hell no! She shook her head and said that it was not nice; she was just hungry. -_- It is an open secret that we can hardly find a good side dish at a ramen restaurant (besides Keisuke!). The pork cutlet (tonkatsu) was so floury and the batter coating was just too thick. Just imagine the ratio between the pork and batter is 1:1. The gyoza was much better, at least. The filling was pretty decent but the skin could be crispier. Also, either they should stuff it with more filling or they should use a smaller gyoza skin. The interior of the gyoza was so empty. Disappointing.In conclusion, Kagetsu's ramen fared 5.5/10 and the sides were about 4/10. The serving is quite big so it does fill your stomach but it would not satisfy the you who is looking for a good ramen.…Read More

It's getting harder and harder to find a place that offers Japanese food of fine quality at an affordable price. I was hesitant to share the pocket-friendly lunch menu that Tomi Sushi offers. Because besides the good food, I enjoy the "less rowdy" environment.Tomi Sushi serves high quality Japanese rice from Niigata and I quote, Niigata is the prefecture "renowned for its tasty premium-grade rice in fields irrigated by the melting snow in spring".The menu is pretty similar to many Japanese restaurants in Singapore. They have several different menus, such as lunch menu and dinner menu, for different branches. Do check them out before visiting! To view them, please visit Tomi Sushi's website.The restaurant is rather spacious, which is not a common sight in Japanese restaurants. The service is good! I like that they constantly refill my green tea. That's nice. The most important factor of putting a "good" to a restaurant's service is that - the staff are always around and walking around.Q: Why I'd recommend such a common Japanese set lunch?!A: The price and the quality served!!!1. Yes, you can find similar Japanese lunch sets of this price range... BUT Tomi Sushi wins with its freshness of the sashimi.2. Yes, you can find sashimi that is as fresh or even fresher... BUT it won't be as affordable as what you can find at Tomi Sushi.I ordered Nigiri Sakura ($28).. The set was placed neatly on a tray. It comes with an assortment of sushi served on a plank, tori karaage (fried chicken), chawamushi (steamed egg), salad, miso soup and fruits. I practically loved everything that was on that tray! I can use words such as fresh, juicy, crispy, tasty, yummy, and etc.. But the best way to convince you how worthy my $28 was, is to go and try it yourself at Tomi Sushi!!…Read More

Koh Grill & Sushi Bar has a very extensive menu. They have sashimi, tempura, sushi, maki, grilled items, fried rice, udon and etc. You'll be spoilt with choices and might not have an idea what to order!And because you might not know what to order, based on my visit experiences, I shall recommend the following...Unsweetened Iced Green Tea ($1.50) - With all the strong flavorful food, I prefer something that will cleanse my taste buds.Salmon Sashimi ($8, 5 slices) - I wouldn't shout a loud "so fresh". But it would not be an exaggeration to say that the sashimi here is fresher than many sushi restaurants.Shiok Sushi ($6 per piece) - A mouth size sushi with aburi salmon. Basically, a mini version of the shiok maki with a larger slice of salmon wrapped around the sushi. Shirane Tofu ($8) - Fried tofu with crispy fish skin. The generous amount of sauce did not dampen the crispiness of the tofu and fish skin. The combination was so interesting and by interesting, I meant it in a weird way, but it was surprisingly delicious and refreshing. I like it.Foie Gras Maki ($28) - Foie gras sushi roll wrapped with aburi swordfish is the BEST maki I had in Koh Grill & Sushi Bar. Shiok Maki 2nd Generation ($16.80) - Crispy prawn sushi roll wrapped with aburi salmon is better that the original 1st generation, in my opinion. Or maybe because I prefer prawn to eel. Heehee...Crabby Maki ($18) - Crispy soft-shell crab and seaweed sushi roll wrapped with seared swordfish belly is a must-try if you love soft-shell crab. I like that it is not oily and the crisp remained even after being left on the table while I was busy snapping photos of other dishes.Tempura Moriawase Special ($15) - Comprises prawns, squid, eggplant, pumpkin, and soft-shell crab tempura. It would be too much and too heavy for one person. The menu also stated that it is ideal for two persons. The batter is light, thus the outer is very crispy. I like the tempura dipping sauce which added flavor to the rather plain tempura.Grilled Salmon Skin / Shake Kawa ($4) - This is different from the common fried salmon skin. As it is grilled, there's almost no oiliness in the dish. It is lightly salted and I enjoyed it as much as I enjoy potato chips! Maybe they could rename it as Grilled Salmon Chips. Hahahaa..Asparagus Pork Belly Maki ($3 per stick) - I'm being biased. It's one of my favorite grilled items. Hahahaa...Beef Fillet ($12) - Comparable to what is served at The Sushi Bar (Far East Plaza) but I'll prefer the beef fillet at Koh Grill & Sushi Bar because of the sauce that comes with it. The sauce is the key that made the beef fillet so delicious. The waitress questioned me in disbelief when I ordered two of this.For full review with photos, please visit http://myfrozenreminiscence.blogspot.sg/2013/10/koh-grill-sushi-bar.html…Read More

What I liked:- The ambience was kinda relaxing. The swimming pool was right outside and you could see the Changi golf course. I felt like I was away from the city (which I really was) and time just slows down.- The attentive and friendly staff were prompt in refilling my glasses and clearing my table. Good job!- The chefs kept the buffet counters very clean! Also, some of the chefs were very very friendly and willingly to chat with customers. That's nice~Flaws: - When I collected food at the outdoor area, I was holding my plate of satay in one hand and a cup of teh tarik in another. Then I realised, I had to pull open the door. NOT PUSH! If only it could be pushed, I could do it with my hands full. Fortunately, there was a nice lady who opened the door for me. - Travelling all the way to Changi Village could be a hassle for some. It took me more than an hour to get there on public transport.- No sashimi! I was pretty disappointed because even some cheaper buffet restaurants offer salmon sashimi. However, I admit I'm being biased here.Verdict: Overall, I thought that the buffet spread substantiates its affordable hotel buffet price. The quality of the food was quite decent in general. It's a buffet place recommended for family and especially for those with elderly members in their family. For FULL review with photos, please visit:http://myfrozenreminiscence.blogspot.sg/2013/08/saltwater-cafe-changi-village-hotel.html…Read More

Wanna have some ice cream? Let's have the scientists concoct ice cream in a dark and mysterious laboratory down in the basement!Just Like It! has just opened another outlet at ION Orchard (Basement 4) on 3 August. The novelty of this conceptualized ice cream store? They do not use a regular ice cream machine to make ice cream. Instead, they use mixer and add liquid nitrogen.When the scientists (staff) starts mixing in liquid nitrogen, this is the part of the experiment where the crowd starts to gather. FYI: Liquid nitrogen is odorless, colorless and non-flammable. The method of using liquid nitrogen to prepare frozen desserts has been widely used and commercialized recently. Verdict: For novelty's sake, try it! It tasted "just like" ice cream, though I get to enjoy the visual effects of the making of the ice cream. Not complaining, but I'd rather get my favorite gelato that's almost the same price.For full review with photos, please visit:http://myfrozenreminiscence.blogspot.sg/2013/08/just-like-it-ion-orchard.html(^________^)…Read More

The Crispy Chicken was indeed crispy and chunky, but it was quite oily as well. On the other hand, (literally on the other hand) the fish fillet kinda reminds me Big M's fish fillets. It was soft and moist! It could be a healthier choice over the oily fried chicken.I thought that the taste was rather light overall, but the texture was rather springy and soft. However, the bun absorbed some of the oil from the fried chicken and the overflowing sauce. Somehow, the bun lost its flavor and became a little soggy when I was eating it halfway. Verdict: Though the buns lack a bit of the yummilicious factor, the appealing appearance of the buns is the selling point! Most of all, the wide variety of buns and sauces allow customers to mix and match, and experiment to come up with a delicious bun! I will be back, for sure. For full review with photos of food and menu, please visit:http://myfrozenreminiscence.blogspot.sg/2013/08/bear-bites.html…Read More

Baked Chicken with Japanese Pepper Sauce Set ($11.99) was under Healthy Meal category. The chicken was rather bland (haha.. maybe because it was supposed to be healthy?). It seemed as though the chicken was not marinated at all. The biggest disappointment was that even though it was baked, the chicken was not fragrant. Fortunately, it was still quite juicy and the pepper sauce on the outside helped to add some flavour. Not to forget, the set is not even $12! Look at the generous chunks of the chicken!Saba Shioyaki Set ($12.99) was really worth it!! It's about the same price as what you can get at food courts but look at how big and fat the saba is! Besides, it was really juicy and tasty! Good!Verdict: Of course I will be back! It seems like they introduce new appetizers (such as dumpling, tapioca chips and lotus roots chips) every now and then.. Good! The environment is casual and spacious too.. I can leisurely spend my time munching the appetizers.. Walking up and down to refill my drinks multiple times then end my meal with a hot beverage (fave: mocha!).. And at the end of my meal, I'm paying less than $20 per pax! O.M.G.For full review and photos, please visit:http://myfrozenreminiscence.blogspot.sg/2013/07/hifumi-japanese-restaurant-marina-square.html…Read More

I wanted to have breakfast at the Big M but I lost my vote to the majority. Hence, we settled for breakfast at Killiney Kopitiam @ Marina Square. Each meal set comes with coffee or tea. If you wish to change your drink, there's an additional charge. Of course, ala carte menu is available.Aglio Olio was unexpectedly good. The spaghetti was cooked to the right texture and the prawns were sweet and succulent. Of course, it can't be compared to restaurant standard. But for a cafe, especially Killiney that is famous for its traditional toast, the Aglio Olio was above my expectation. (^O^)Supreme Mee Siam is supreme because of the two prawns. According to my Peranakan food expert, the gravy was good for its price. It faired well in the hitting the spots of spiciness, sweetness and sourness. You get what you paid for! Halibut Fish & Chips came with a generous portion of fries and three smaller than expected fish fillets. It was served with ketchup and (big spoonful of) tartar sauce. I like how this fish & chips was freshly fried and served hot! But there was nothing fascinating about the taste. Quite plain to be exact. Please note that this fish & chips came after a twenty-minute wait 'cos they fried this upon ordering. So, don't order this if you're rushing for time. Verdict: Hmmmm.. Good to have a change in breakfast choices every now and then.. But there's a good reason why people stick to traditions.. Maybe next time, I'll order their traditional toast instead.. Heehee~~For full review and photos, please visit:http://myfrozenreminiscence.blogspot.sg/2013/07/killiney-kopitiam-marina-square.html(^______^)…Read More

For full review with photos, please visit:http://myfrozenreminiscence.blogspot.sg/2013/07/somes-roasts-culture.html(^________^)Service: I think the place is run by a family. They were really friendly and smiling all the time. The boss was patiently explaining the menu to me when I was there the first time. He was very honest in recommending what was nice and popular (Crispy Pork) and what was normal (shall not mention). Hahahaa~ Ambience: Though the place is air-conditioned, the door was left open so it was only rather cooling. But that was good enough. If the door was closed and we are eating in a fully air-conditioned place, I think I'll be tabao-ing the roast meat smell back to office. The place is spacious and they have tables for groups of four and even to a big group of ten!Value: Worth! Maybe I should try the $10 (four meat choices) combo next time. Heehee.. (^___^)Verdict: Yes I will be back again! Food was served fast and considering the quality and quantity, I think my $7 was very well-spent! Moreover, it's not easy to find a place that is not packed during lunch time, air-conditioned and serves good food.…Read More

I like the setting in every way and on many levels. Firstly, the DIY part. Taking my food when it comes to my table on the "Express way", then press the blinking button to send the Express tray back.. Making my own matcha.. cleaning and inserting my plates into the dish slot.. Genki Sushi is an "engaging" restaurant in a way..Secondly, the convenient way of ordering food. I always have trouble flagging down a staff for assistance in some restaurants.. Is asking for a refill or enquiry about my 40-minute late order a problem? Huh? Huh? With the iPad, I can order what I want when I want to.. Please note that if you buy take-outs, you order with iPad too!Thirdly, the combination of first and second reason.. I can clear my own table and make space for more food! Hahahaaa.. For full review and more photos, please visit http://myfrozenreminiscence.blogspot.sg/2013/07/genki-sushi-chinatown-point.html…Read More

Part of my review:Experience: It was like a roller-coaster ride.. Among those dim sum items that I've ordered, a few were nice and some that did not make the mark.. Judging from the marketing point that Bosses offers dim sum that are different from usual, I like that it serves many items that most dim sum restaurants don't.. However, it still lacks a bit in the tastiness..For full review with photographs, please visit:http://myfrozenreminiscence.blogspot.sg/2013/07/bosses-restaurant.html(^_____________^)…Read More

Spring Ramen: Basil and Parmesan Cheese is recommended for food adventurers and people who loves cheese! Verdict: I will visit again~ but maybe in another two weeks or so. I admit the "Normal" broth (authentic Japanese taste) is really tasty but too much of it can really make me feel uncomfortable. I'm not Japanese mah.. Let me make a date with Keisuke's ramen in two weeks' time then~ and I will be choosing "Light" for my soup the next time!For full review with photos, visit:http://myfrozenreminiscence.blogspot.sg/2013/06/ramen-keisuke-tonkotsu-king-four-seasons.html …Read More