We finally managed to beat the crazy queue and have a taste of the highly touted Saigon street favourite- the legendary Pho that truly lived up to its name.

We ordered their lunch promo set ($9.90 nett) which came with a piping hot bowl of Pho (we choose the beef steak slices), a plate of salad with fish cake and pork belly toppings, and a cup of lotus tea.

The Pho initially tasted a little bland, but as we continued with the meal, the taste gradually got more and more appealing. Indeed, the parting mouthful is always the best. I can finally understand why throngs of people keep coming back for this magically bowl of Pho. I especially love the thin beef slices that were tender and succulent. The noodles were quite silky and refined as well. However, the salad and lotus tea tasted pretty average though it was a nice addition to complete the meal.

For those who wanna beat the queue, do drop by around 11.30am before the lunch hour peak period.

We were at Swensens’ once again for their free Firehouse Birthday Sundae, this time round to celebrate mum’s hatch day Some hits and misses but generally still worth it especially with the lunch promotion that comes with free sides/sundaes with every main course ordered!

Sirloin Steak
Glad to taste some improvement from our previous visit. The steak was more flavourful and succulent. Spicy Seafood Pasta with Grilled Scallops
Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for the pasta. The sauce was diluted and lacked the zest and sweetness we were expecting. The seafood was alright but somehow didn’t go quite well with the sauce.

Grilled Fish Sambal
One of Swensens’ best offerings so far. The sambal sauce was very tasty and authentic and coupled with the dory that was fresh and soft, this is one hot dish not to be missed! Deep Fried Blue Mussels
Another miss. The mussels were not fresh. To make things worse, they were coated with a thick layer of flour that left us feeling sick, and our palates, overbearing. Spice ‘N’ Chick
Thankfully, the fried chicken cubes were good. I especially like the marinate which gave it a distinctive aroma and punch. Great for starters! And ta-da, mum’s birthday treat was finally served, alongside The Rock

We were here for a late lunch after catching a movie. As we were the only customers then, the servers were prompt and food was served fairly quickly.

We order their Kaika Set Lunch which consisted of Wagyu Beef slices, Salmon Teriyaki, Chilled Spicy Asari and Shanghai Green with Scallops. The set lunch was served with cold appetisers, rice, miso soup and dessert. As the husband was also craving for some seafood, we topped up our order with some squids as well. The Kaika Set was delicious. I especially love their beef as it was very fragrant (due to the garlic seasoning) and tender. The squids were pretty well prepared and not overcooked, retaining the natural juices and chewy soft texture.
The Shanghai Green with Scallops was equally tasty and crunchy.

Unfortunately, the Salmon Teriyaki was overcooked and tasted quite dry and flaky. Overall, it was an enjoyable meal with some really delicious offerings!

We were extremely disappointed with our visit to Pappasan after falling trap to yet another deal.com “scam”. This tapas dinner set was supposed to be meant for 2 pax, but seriously, the portions were pathetic and the quality, below par.

The cold tapas platter included (i) Hardboiled Egg, Guacamole & Salmon Roe, (ii) Chicken Ham, (iii) Smoked Salmon, and (iv) Cured Ham Bruschetta. The portion, as captured, was hardly enough for 1 pax. Simple cold snacks that tasted pretty average, period. The hot tapas included (i) Cheese & Ham Croquette, and (ii) Fries with salsa meat sauce. The croquette was probably left outside for some time as it was served cold and unappetising. The salsa meat sauce was kind of diluted and tasted blend. Honestly, the fries were better off served separately as the sauce somehow made them soggy overtime. Given the quality of dishes served, we did not pin too much anticipation on their Seafood Paella.

The seafood were pretty fresh but the rice was too dry and lacked the natural sweetness and fragrance of every decent Paella. The overall taste was kind of flat and we were struggling to finish it. Although the service was good and amicable, this would probably be our first and last visit.

We’ve been wanting to try their seafood platter for the longest time and when we finally had the chance to, it was an utter disappointment Surprisingly, it was their promotional set lunch that captured our hearts and melted our tastebuds.

Priced at $98++, the Hearty Chilled Platter was way too overpriced, considering the overall quality of their seafood was probably worth, say, $9.80++? The platter consisted of 6 oysters, 4 pieces of Alaskan king crab legs, 4 kinds of sashimi (the usual suspects) and 4 kinds of seafood tapas which we selected (scallop bouillabaisse, steamed prawns, lobster cocktail and white wine mussels). The seafood was not exactly very fresh, especially the Alaskan king crab legs which were soft and flaccid. The steamed prawns, mussels and sashimi were equally stale-tasting and terrible. Thankfully, the oysters and the other cold seafood tapas were passable though nothing to boast about. On the contrary, the $15 nett set lunch which we ordered in addition to the seafood platter, tasted thousand times better! I suspect the hefty price tag of the seafood platter probably deterred majority of the customers, resulting in the seafood being left on the shelf for an extended period of time. The cheaper alternatives were obviously more sellable and hence, they were able to maintain the freshness of the ingredients.

The Seafood Chowder was one of the tastiest I’ve tried! Rich, creamy and chunky, the aroma of the soup left us totally mesmerised and on cloud number 9. Seriously, you’ve got to try it to believe it! The Grilled wild snapper served with herb pesto risotto was delicious. The snapper was fresh with a tinge of buttery herb fragrance. Grilled to perfection, the soft and slightly charred fish complemented the pesto risotto well. Overall, an excellent combination and refreshing change from the usual fare. Unfortunately, the Sticky Date Pudding was anti-climatic. It was dry, flaky, and overwhelmingly sweet. Oh, and did I mention, they serve Evian water, freeflow! The price of the platter was probably used to defray the cost of the water.

In all, this goes to show that price tag is deceiving when it comes to nice food. Do give their $15 nett weekday set lunch a try and skip the platters!