Todai Singapore an international seafood and sushi buffet restaurant opened at Marina Bay Sands in 2011. It is an international brand with presence in United States, Hong Kong and China South Korea, and has been hailed as 'The Mother of All Seafood Buffet' by a famous food critic. Todai Singapore presence in Singapore has not been exactly smooth sailing. In late 2011, a group of customers had food poisoning after consuming the oysters in Todai. Those who followed the news would have known that the Todai's management responded quickly and compensated the customers. It was heartening to note that they did not reacted negatively or defensively.

I have been wanting to visit Todai Singapore as I am a fan of Seafood. I have to try this 'mother of all seafood buffet'!

Todai Singapore is located at the corner of the basement of Marina Bay Sands (the portion nearer to Bayfront MRT station entrance / Exhibition Center).

For the month of May and June, Todai held a Premium Abalone Festival along with Alaskan Crab Buffet.

Stepping into the restaurant, I was most impressive with the long line of buffet spread. Todai Singapore had quite an extensive spread of food. The seating capacity was huge! Even on a weekend, they restaurant had just 50% of the tables occupied.

There were Salads & Cold Cuts, Sushi & Sashimi, Cold Seafood, Italian Pizza & Pasta, Brazilian Churassco, Korean food, Noodles, Western food, Chinese food, Deep Fry and Desserts.The King Crab, Snow Crab and Red Crab section, and the Baby Octopus, Green Mussuel, Scallop (Cold Seafood) section were the most popular sections.

Todai Singapore had a unique way of displaying the Macaroons in the shape of a pyramid. The dessert section was next to it.Food from the Cold Seafood section; Snow Crab, Abalone, Baby Octopus, Green Mussel and Scallop. The Snow Crab was great! Fresh and sweet! The best item among all the food in the Cold Seafood section. The mussel was average. The first batch of Scallop was very fresh. However, the subsequent batches were not as good.The highlight for the month was supposed to be the Abalone. It was small in size and taste wise was not impressive. The snow crab stole the limelight.The Abalone Porridge was tasty, flavourful and not diluted. Although there were only a few pieces of abalone bits in it, it was surprisingly delish.

The Sushi was just the tip of the ice berg. There were more different varieties of sushi available.

The Grill Lamb Rack and La Galbi (Beef Short Rib) were tough and hard. The other sections in the Deep Fry section was equally disappointing. Especially the Vegetable Tempura which had a thick coat of batter and were oily. The Miso Shisamo with Gratin Sauce had such a fishy smell that I did not finish it.The Salmon Steak with Digon Sauce fared better.The Abalone Gratin was a hard to get item. I walked past the counter several times to try to land my hands on it. They replaced this item at a very slow rate. Out of all the abalone items (Abalone, Abalone Porridge, Abalone Gratin), the Abalone Gratin was the most disappointing.The food at the Churassco section was incredibly oily. Even the mushroom was soak fully of oil. The chicken wings were overcooked and tasteless. The Italian food fared much better compared to the food at the Churassco section.I went back for more of the abalones and snow crabs. The Snow Crab was the only item which I went back several times for. Look at how big they are. The Macarons were not bad.I need to improve in using the ice cream machine. The ice cream was quite delish!

Overall, I only like Todai Singapore for their King Crab, Snow Crab, Red Crab and Ice Cream. Although there was a wide variety of food, I did not fancy most of the food. As we ate during lunch on a weekend, after adding up all the additional charges, the bill came up to $75.33 nett per person. Quite pricey, I would be better off going to Kuishinbo if I was to just spam on the Snow Crab (which was what I did).

For full review and more photos, please visit http://foodiefc.blogspot.sg/2013/06/todai-singapore-international-seafood.html

Wang Cafe first started off in Bugis in 1953 and was known as Wang Jiao. Over the years, it has restructured, revamped and rebranded itself and is now known as Wang Cafe. Having built up its reputation slowly, it has expanded into a chain of outlets specialising in serving kaya toast, soft boiled eggs, coffee and tea. A similar concept to Ya Kun and Toastbox. The outlet at Changi Airport Terminal 1 basement was filled to the brim with customers. Had to wait a fair bit before we managed to get a table. There was also a long queue as there was only one counter. I ordered the Chicken Macaroni Set which comes along with drink, Kaya Butter Toast and Chicken Macaroni Toast. Changed the drink to Milo.This was what was served. Nothing fantastic about the milo and toast. In fact, the standard of the toast was terrible when compared to Ya Kun's version. The reason why I ordered Chicken Macaroni was because, I had wanted something soupy and is a Chinese dish (before I fly off to Europe).

The Chicken Macaroni was disappointing. The portion of chicken and macaroni given was pathetic and the soup was laden with MSG.

I can't believe that I wasted my last meal in Singapore having such food.. Even the food on the airplane tasted so much better. I am boycotting Wang Cafe.

I hope no one would be offended by the 'harsh' honest post..

For full review and more photos, please visit http://foodiefc.blogspot.sg/2013/05/wang-cafe-changi-airport.html

Commonwealth Crescent Fei Zai Eatery is located in Holland Village Food Centre. As it was my first time in the food centre, I decided to patronise the stalll with the longest queue. Hence, I found myself at Commonwealth Crescent Fei Zai Eatery. The stall seems to specialise in selling a wide range of dishes that revolve around noodles. There's prawn noodle, pig liver noodles, pork ribs & prawn noodle, fishball noodle, minced meat noodle and braised beef noodles. The prices of the items are listed in the photo above. I ordered the Pork Ribs & Prawn Noodle after noticing that two of the persons in front of me ordered that. The Pork Ribs & Prawn Noodle cost $4.50. What made it stood out was the pork ribs which was braised. Frankly, the Pork Ribs & Prawn Noodle was disappointing The soup lacked depth and did not taste like prawn soup. The taste of light and dark soya sauce overwhelmed any other flavours (if any) in the soup. It was no doubt salty. The prawns were not fresh. The only consolation was that the pork ribs were tender and separated from the bones easily. However, it was too salty too.

For full review and more photos, please visit http://foodiefc.blogspot.sg/2013/05/commonwealth-crescent-fei-zai-eatery.html

Another trip to Jack's Place at level 2 of Woodlands Civic Centre. As I have done a few posts on Jack's Place, I shall not do any introduction on this chain of restaurant. You can read more about Jack's Place in the previous posts.Signature white and green checkered table cloth and menu. All branches in Jack's Place looks and feels alike.

We decided to order the Executive Set Lunch - N.Z. Ribeye Steak with Brown Sauce ($17.90) and were ordered that. As we were informing the staff that we wanted to upgrade to Lobster Bisque Soup (+$2.30), we were informed that we should order from the Administrative Professionals Week - Set Lunch Menu which would be more value-for-money as it comes with a choice of Lobster Bisque Soup or Cream of Fresh Shiitake Mushroom Soup. In addition, tempura prawns were served with the steak.

The staff was right. We were so glad that she made that recommendation! We both ordered the Grilled N.Z Ribeye Steak & Tempura Prawns. The staff kindly accommodated to our request for it to be served in the hot plate instead of a normal ceramic plate. Nothing beats eating steaks out of a sizzling hot plate! I am impress with the service! Thumbs up! Garlic Bread was served together with the soup. One piece for each person.As usual, being mushroom fantics we had to order the mushroom soup - Cream of Fresh Shiitake Mushroom Soup. A hearty bowl of soup was filled with lots of small chunks of shiitake mushrooms and mushroom flavour!Ever since I tried the Lobster Bisque Soup last year, I could not resist the temptation to order it again. Great soup, rich in flavour and great balance in taste. In addition, several chunks of lobster meat were in the soup. So affordable! The Lobster Bisque Soup is one of Jack's Place house specialty.For our main course, we both ordered the Grilled N.Z Ribeye Steak & Tempura Prawns. The staff kindly accommodated to our request to serve it in a sizzling hot plate instead of the norm which is to serve in a ceramic plate. As usual, Jack's Place never disappoint me. Their steaks were good. It may not be the best, but its way above average. Their baked potato and vegetables were good too. The tempura prawns on the other hand was forgettable.We always request for extra brown sauce. We both polish off the sauce off by complementing the sauce with the steak. So yummy! If only, I know how they made the brown sauce. The extra brown sauce was enough to make me satisfy me. Funny, how simple/trivia things can make a big difference. We ended off the meal with the Day's Dessert and Coffee & Tea.The Day's Dessert was Cherry Cake. It was not bad; not dry. Dense and well-flavoured cake.

For $18.90++ this meal was so value for money. In addition, I like their service. Staff are well trained, attentive and prompt. It was great that they made recommendation which was relevant to our needs wants. Great Job Jack's Place! I will be back! Nom Nom Nom..

I wonder how their other affiliated company - Eatzi Gourmet fares. Eatzi Gourmet serves similar food, the difference is that it is certified halal.

For full review and more photos, please visit http://foodiefc.blogspot.sg/2013/05/jacks-place-administrative.html

Saboten is a Japanese restaurant chain well known for their Tonkatsu (fried breaded pork loin cutlet). Saboten was first started out in Shinjuku, Tokyo in 1966. Today, it is one of the biggest Tonkatsu chain in Japan with over 500 outlets. It has also expanded overseas to South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore.

In Singapore, Saboten has two outlets. One located right in the middle of the city at Parco Marina Bay, next to Suntec City while the second is located at Changi Airport Terminal 1.As we were in Suntec City, we decided to pop by Saboten at Millenia Walk for dinner during the weekend. Thus far, we had enjoyed our dining experience (food, ambience, service) at Saboten. Hence, the repeat visits. Another reason why we are back is because of their tonkatsu!

Their tonkatsu (Pork Tenderloin and Pork Loin) are so delicious because only a certain breed of pork is used. In addition, these pigs are grained fed. Barley is added into the feed to make the meat sweeter and tenderer. Saboten uses only mature pigs of more than 180 days of age as they would have higher fat ratio. I like the environment and ambience at Saboten. It is quiet, clean, spacious and bright. With its Japanese wooden furnishing, it gave a cozy yet classy feel to the restaurant. Although the restaurant was full, we were quite lucky as we did not need to queue and got a table immediately.

As Saboten was having the Oyster Fest, I could not resist the chance of savouring freshly imported oyster from Japan! Hence, I ordered the Oyster and Loin Set $23. The partner on the other hand ordered the Saboten Special Set $25.

Both sets came with free refill of Rice, Miso Soup and Cabbage. The 'tools' for grinding the sesame seeds - bowl and wooden stick. After the you are done with the grinding, scoop the tonkatsu sauce from the earthen urn into the bowl with grated sesame seeds. Mix well and dipping sauce for your Pork Loin and Pork Tenderloin is ready!While waiting for your mains to be served. Start off with the cabbage. The fresh cabbage are served cold. Choose either the Yuzu (Citrus) Vinegar or Creamy Sesame or both sauces and mix it with your shredded cabbage. Its very addictive. We easily polished the cabbage off and requested for three refills! Personally, I prefer the Creamy Sesame!The Oyster and Loin Set $23 consisted of Pickled Vegetable, Rice, Miso Soup, 2 Oysters and Loin Cutlet.The 2 oysters were coated with bread crumbs and fried. They were big (fat), juicy and more importantly - fresh. The loin (fried breaded pork loin cutlet) is one of Saboten's signature item. It did not disappoint. The pork loin cutlet coated with crisp golden bread crumbs was tender, soft and slightly moist. The fat to lean meat ratio gave it a melt to mouth sensation. It was a joy savoring it, sinfully delicious. Best eaten when it is warm. As for the Saboten Special Set $25, consisted of Pickled Vegetable, Rice, Miso Soup, Breaded Shrimp, Mini Pork Tenderloin, Half-size Pork Loin and Crab Cream Croquette. If you want to try a little of everything, this would be the set to order. The Pork Tenderloin was darker in colour (slightly pinkish) compared to the Pork Loin. Although it had lesser fat, it was surprisingly soft. The long Breaded Shrimp was fresh. Its meat was firm and succulent. As usual, the norm here is to ended of the meal with a scoop of Matcha (green tea) Ice Cream. Milky with a mild sweet yet bitter green tea taste.

Another great meal at Saboten! Although the items were deep fried, the chef perfected the heat and timing. Each piece was deep fried perfectly and were not oily. Service was good too. I has been since I encountered such good service. The staff promptly refilled our hot green tea (without us requesting) and also cabbage. I will certainly be back for more!


For full review and more photos, please visit http://foodiefc.blogspot.sg/2013/05/saboten-parco-marina-bay-2nd-post.html