Part of the Tung Lok Group of restaurants, and fronted by celebrity singer/songwriter Dick Lee, MAD: Modern Asian Diner is one of those restaurants you definitely would not want to miss out on. Cast in soft warm lighting, stepping into this restaurant at The Grandstand is like walking into an art gallery of sorts. Decked out in bold bright colours, the decor is definitely befitting of Dick Lee’s eclectic and flamboyant sense of style.

Marrying the best of both Asian and Western cuisine, MAD serves up a good variety of Chinese dim sum and also some Spanish tapas. And if you’re ever in need of a potent drink any time of the day just head on down to their bar counter, helmed by mixologist Kino Soh, for a cocktail or two. =DWell, I’m not exactly a teetotaler but I seldom drink alcoholic beverages in mid-day unless I’m on holiday lounging on the beaches of the Caribbean or something. So I decided to go for a kiddie mocktail instead – Pink Thyme Lemonade($4), which looks equally pretty but without the alcoholic kick. =P You can really taste the crushed up herbs in the drink and it makes for a refreshing beverage to chill down on a hot day.One of the interesting dim sum that caught my eye was the Black Angus Siew Mai 黑安格斯烧卖 ($6.20). Sadly, the novelty of putting black angus beef into a siew mai did not translate into a palate-pleasing dish. Its chewy and springy texture was quite an interesting take on a siew mai, but it was a little bit on the dry side.Is it just me being ignorant? But I seldom come across Deep-Fried Liu Sha Bao 炸流沙包 ($4.80). In fact, this was my first time trying a liu sha bao that has been deep fried instead of the usual steamed version. And I must say that it is OH-SO-GOOD! The fluffy insides encased in a crispy skin and oozing golden salted egg yolk lava was simply divine. Well, it was a little on the oily side, but there’s no harm in indulging in a sinful treat once in a while. =DEveryone has been raving about how good the Wagyu Beef Claypot Rice is, but I decided to try the Lobster Crispy Noodle 龙虾面 ($32) instead. The noodles were deep fried to a crisp and there is this distinct smokey and burnt flavour to it even though it doesn’t look burnt. Plus, the lobster meat was really fresh and prepared skillfully such that the meat is springy and just about right, not at all overcooked. My only gripe is that the gravy was way too salty and the noodles were a bit difficult to eat since it was displayed in a standing tower of sorts. They also threw in some seaweed on the side which adds a splendid “oceanic” tone to the dish.Overall my experience at MAD: Modern Asian Diner was a pretty good one. What’s not to like about a chic ambiance, fuss-free ordering via iPads and all that good booze? The service staff were also pretty friendly and showed us how to make our orders via the iPad step by step – he even brought over an additional iPad instead of having the 4 of us share just one single device. I would probably pop by again for happy hour if I get the chance!

For more food reviews, check out my blog at www.jerjerjer.com!

I have been wanting to patronise Fei Kee Claypot Chicken Rice for a long time. Have heard several reviews about this place which dishes out delicious Claypot Chicken Rice.Fei Kee Claypot Chicken Rice is located at Luk Luk Eating House which is an old coffee shop. Dirty walls, dirty flooring that was cracked and olden days shutters. With a very clean signboard! It is between Beach Road and Aliwal Street near Bugis and Lavendar. There are three MRT stations nearby namely; Bugis, Nicoll Highway and Lavendar.The signboard states clearly that there is at least a waiting time of 15minutes. On the signboard there is a telephone number on it (8222 6360) and if you notice in the above picture, the 'chef' has a ear piece to his ear. The reason for this is so that customers can order before hand.Wow, look at the number of claypot he is handling at any one time during peak hours. And to the bottom left of the picture, he has a big bowl of uncooked rice ready. It is comforting to know that the rice is cooked in the claypot itself and no short cut was taken.Since there was two of us, naturally, we ordered the Claypot Chicken Rice for 2 person. I can't remember how long we waited, but it should be close to 15 minutes. The Claypot Chicken Rice arrived covered in black sauce, cabbage and ikan bilis.After mixing it, it is ready to be scooped into smaller bowl. The cabbage was fresh and crunchy providing a fresh and sweet flavour. At the sides of the claypot, surprisingly there was virtually no charred rice which I somehow missed. The rice was not dry unlike other claypot rice, it was slightly moist. However, it was not as fragrance as there was no salted fish was added. The star is its 'Grade A' Boneless Chicken Thigh Meat. The chicken meat was juicy, tender and boneless which is a big plus.

Certainly, I will be back to try it again.

Detailed review: http://foodiefc.blogspot.sg/2011/10/fei-kee-claypot-chicken-rice.html

How can anyone resist blackball!
Originated from Taiwan it has now become very popular in Singapore!
It's my first time trying this cranberry shaved ice flavour
To combat the hot weather here, this is just what we need!
The challenge when it comes to eating blackball! is the small constraint space and crowd of people!
So it takes us like 10 mins or so from waiting of a table!
You can imagine we dig into or dessert when it comes
I like this alot, sweet and cooling
You can get a good bite out of red bean, grass jelly, pearl and white jelly

Decked out in Tiffany blue, Royal China at Raffles Hotel exudes an aura of grandeur and elegance. I love how the restaurant has a high ceiling with large windows from the floor up, letting lots of natural light fill up the space. It was surprisingly packed for a weekday lunch; the main dining hall was full so we were ushered to the separate dining area at the back instead.This area is probably more suitable for private dining parties and dinners, and unfortunately we were seated right at the corner where it was difficult to get the attention of the staff. Although it was a pretty nice and quiet environment to enjoy a relaxing meal. =]First up we tried the Pan-fried Carrot Cake 香煎萝卜糕 ($4.00) which looked fantastic but tasted pretty normal. It was good that it had some turnip slices in the 'cake' to give it a varied texture.We also ordered the Steamed BBQ Pork Bun 叉燒包 ($3.60). I thought the char siew filling wasn't as tasty as the I had at Imperial Treasure Nan Bei. It still had the rice wine taste to it, but it wasn't as prominent. Good thing that the skin of the pau was oh-so-fluffy! =DAnd of course, I never miss a dim sum without ordering the usual Steamed Pork Dumpling ‘Siew Mai’ 燒賣 ($4.80) and Steamed Prawn Dumpling ‘Har Gow’ 蝦餃 ($4.80). The siew mai here comes with a wolfberry on top, instead of the usual fish roe and had a slight mushroom taste to it which was rather refreshing. The skin of the Har Gow was paper thin and jammed packed with crunchy fresh prawns.While it's totally understandable that the restaurant is crowded and they are short on staff, it was disappointing that they got our order wrong. We actually ordered their specialty 3-in-1 Chee Cheong Fun (BBQ Pork, Prawn, Scallop) but only got the BBQ Pork Chee Cheong Fun 猪肠粉 ($4.80).

Even after we highlighted the mistake to the staff, they brought the plate of chee cheong fun back to the kitchen, only to serve us with the same thing again (*rolls eyes*). The rice roll was pretty silk and moist and the meat was good too, so it was a pity that we didn't get to try the other fillings.They also got quite a few of our other orders wrong - starting with the Deep Fried Beancurd Skin with Prawn 鮮蝦付皮卷 ($5.60) which took a very long time to be served and we even had to remind them twice. The only saving grace was that the food is good. The deep-fried beancurd skin was extra crispy and hot, and also very tasty.The Baked BBQ Pork Pastry 叉燒酥 ($4.00) was another item we ordered that they forgot to serve - really not a good idea to sit in such a desolated corner. One bite and the pastry was crumbling all over the place, which is a mark of a good 叉燒酥.This Steamed Custard Bun 流沙包 ($4.00) is quite interesting. Unlike the usual rich and flowy salted egg lava, this 流沙包 had a fruity note to it and I found out later that they had actually added mango juice to it which gives it a deep orange color. It was also more liquefied that normal. But overall, still equally yummy!To end off our very long lunch, we had some Baked Egg Tarts 蛋挞 ($4.90)! They were quite tiny and I easily finished mine in one bite. =D

Overall, although the service wasn't top-notch, I felt that the quality of food made up for it. Plus, the dim sum at Royal China was surprisingly affordable and not as expensive as I had expected. It would probably be better to make a reservation beforehand so that you don't get stuck in a corner where they will forget about you. I will definitely be back for more!

It was a nice place for brunch and hanging out with friends. I brought my friend to try on their all day breakfast. We ordered English breakfast and European breakfast and it was a huge portion for individual and we enjoyed the brunch. English breakfast which consists of scrambled eggs, back bacon, cumberland pork sausages, sauteed mushrooms,Dad's baked beans, breakfast potatoes, grilled wine ripened tomato & signature brioche. I love the taste of the tomato and the scrambled eggs are creamy smooth. The bread is soft and totally filling once you finish a slice of it.
As for the European breakfast, which consists of eggs Benedict with two perfectly poached eggs,sauteed mushrooms, imported Italian prosciutto and home made Hollandaise sauce on signature brioche. Well, the portion looks tiny, the set is actually quite filling. PH finished up the first portion and need to rest a while before can finish up the second one.

For more information, check out my blog post here
http://hazelnutlife.blogspot.sg/2012/04/wild-honey-scotts-square.html