I had food tasting at Charcoal Thai@Nex. The restaurant has a good ambience.  The seating is usually long which can take 4 to share a pot.  The waiting time is about 5  minutes.

The first dish is the Thai Mookata BBQ Steambook Set ($39.95). As new customers, we asked what are the differences using the golden pot and silver pot.  The waitress advised that the golden method is cooked by electric method while the silver pot is the charcoal method.  Using charcoal method will give the food a better taste. 

In order to prepare for the BBQ, mwe melted the fat on top of the cover.  This serves as a layer of oil and will not get the meat from being burned.  We placed all the meat to be cooked.  Other items like prawns, vegetables, sauage, ham, fishball and stong etc are placed into the soap base with a choice of either tom yum or chicken soup.  Both soap bases are tasty.  I did not feel thirty after my meal.  The BBQ meat is tender. We moved on to the second item ie thai Beauty Collagen Hotpot ($57.95).  The waitress put the solidified white jelly ie collagen into the pot and it will slowly melt.  We were told that collagen is made of several chicken which boiled for several hours and then freeze the soap.  It does not take very long to melt the collagen to be the soap base.  While were waiting, it was a good form of bonding relationship.  As the collagen melted, we poured all the ingredients like pork, chicken, vegetables, cherry tomatoes and get them cooked.  My feedback of this dish is that there is real taste beside salty.  In order to enhance the taste, perhaps ginseng and add wolfberry to bring up the colour of the dish.  The texture of collagen is thick and stick if the soap is left to cool. 

As the theme of the dish is collagen, chef could consider food like fried pig skin, salmon fish skin, sea cucumber, chicken feet, fish belly. These are rich in collagen. 

I am disappointed with this dish.

The third dish is thai chicken Hotpot set ($19.95).  The Chef sahred with us little trade secret of preparing the sauce.  It lies in the fermentation process of the soya beans to cook this dish.  The taste is not salty but there is lack of unique aroma of the sauce.  If a little spice such as sesame oil or dry chilli, onion and garlic to fried the hotpot first and then add the sauce to cook before serving will make a great difference.  The taste is moderatelly spicy.
This dish is suitable to serve as a main dish and to be eaten with rice. I had Lemon Grass Drink to go with the dishes.  I order the Lemon Grass Drink ($3.95).  It was served lukewarm.  The taste and aroma were perfect.  I enjoy the drink. 

Thank you OpenRice for the Food Tasting event.
The group had a wonderful meal and sharing session.
The group was offered the first dish Big Breakfast at a promotion price of $12.  After the promotion period, the dish will price at $16.90.  Curious to know what is hidden in the big breakfast for healthy goer.  It comprises 2 scrabled eggs to fill your belly for the day.  Together sergved with chicken sauage and bean as the meat items.  Hidden in the middle of the dish is the sauteed mushrooms fried with black pepper to go with the carbohdyrate hash brown and toast.  A big breakfast needs to end with fresh fruits in sweet yoghurt.  Well, you are right that the yoghurt has apple cube marginated with yoghurt.  This is served in small cup.

Next excitment is the Portobello Burger ($12.90).  It is grilled portobello mushroom with onions and capsicum, tasty cheese, lettuce and sliced tomato on toasted brioche bun, served with fries.  I would recommend this for vegetarian.  If vegetarian diner is sick of bee hoon, what not give a try to this unique mushroom burger.  Please do not mistaken that it is the modified Buger King or KFC Mushroom Burger.  I would be surprised and pleased to see such a big mushroom sitting on the burger.  The taste is great and juicy. 

The 3rd dish is the Seafood Laksa Pasta ($16.90).  It is pan fried spaghetti with prawns and squid rings in special laksa sauce.  This is my favourite dish.  The laksa sauce is sufficient to moist the spahetti.  The prawns are of reasonable size.  I would suggest to take a little colour with berry tomatoes to brighten the dish.

The next dish is the Mixed Grilled Platter ($18.90).  It is grilled chicken and beef on skewers, black pepper chicken sausages served with fries and coleslaw.  I am disappointed with this dish as the meat was dried and not juicy.  There are too much sauage.  I would consider replace the extra sauage with maize

The finally long waiting dish is the Chocolate Waffle ($9.90).  It is cocoa flavoured waffle topped with chocolate ice cream, marshmallow and dark chocolate sauce.  The group learnt the ice cream is made in the restaurant.  The chocolate waffle is not too dry.  I wish the waffle could be a bit thicker. The price is reasonable and it can be on sharing.  The menu can be modified asking the customer for choice of ice cream cream or choice of fruit.

I thank you Open Rice for hosting the event and I could see the happy expression on every Openrice fan having enjoyed wonderful dinner at Orchard Area.

Dish 1 : Cajun Blacken Fish Taco is made up of avacodo mayonnaise, pickled onions, crispy shallots, cotija cheese and cilantro jalapeno watercress salad on tortilla shell. This dish costs $16. The taste is fine and not spicy. This is Seasons Bistro’s signature dish.

Dish 2 : pan seared fole gras ($19) comprises the ingredient pain de mie, chocolate ganache, bacon jam, caramalized bananas and granola crumbs. The sauce from the bacon jam and chocolate ganache have come out an unique taste. It is apetitising. This is Seasons Bistro’s signature dish.

Dish 3 : Superfood Salad ($18) is served in plate with quinoa, broccoli, chick peas, blueberries, capsicums, avocado, baby spinach, herbs, pomegraqnate & pumpkin seeds, citrus vinaigrette. This is as good as fruit salad with all the anti-oxidant fruits. The broccoli is cut to large size. I would suggest to use baby broccoli. This is a popular dish among the diners.

Dish 4 : Baja Cobb’s Salad ($19) is served in salad bowl. It has Cajun spiced chicken, eggs, beans, bacon, olives, corn, greens, watercress, tomatoes, avocado, blue cheese and red wine vinaigrette. The dressing is light and does not destroy the freshness of the fruits and green salad. This is a popular dish among the diners.

Dish 5 : The Seasons fried chicken is served succotash and deviled ranch dressing and homemade catsup. It is a half spring chicken cut to portion. It is not oily but the flour could have thickened much of the chicken fresh and lose the meat’s moisture. It would be better if the display of the spring chicken is arranged nicely would enhance the look of the dish such arrange like suckling pig. This dish costs $25 and I would hardly consider for second try.

Dish 6 : Jerk Spiced Pork Meatloaf ($29) is made up of maple bacon, spinach, mashed potatoes & gravy. The meatloaf is made up of muster, pork sauage, oat, garlic, chilli flake and celery. It is a perfect meatloaf. It symbolizes the chinese ‘Ngo Hiang’ except that some of the herbal spice can be reduced and not to overpower the meat. The meatloaf is soft and can mix with mashed potatoes will be a good mix. The interesting part is the maple bacon does not make the bacon too salty. This is one of my favourite dish.

Dish 7 ; Seasons Cheese Burger ($25) is made up of homemade 200gm USDA beef patty, stripy jack cheese, brioche bun, carmelized onions, bacon, mushrooms, home made catsup and mustard with fries. The bun is soft. The beef is tender. Given a big burger, the fries is slightly too skinny.

Dish 8 : Lamb Reck was a surprise dish to Food Tasting Participants. It costs $32. The lamb is lightly marginated so that it will keep the tenderness and sweetness. The smell of the lamb is not strong. There could be some secret seasonal done to remove the smell

Dish 9 : Southend Pasta ($22) uses homemade tomato sauce, tagliatelle, Seasons Bistro chorizo sausages, fennel, tomatoes, basil, chilli & loads of parmeasan. The tomato sauce is well blended with the fennel. The fennel is neither too long or short for bite. The texture is not too thick with too much carbohydrate.

Dish 10 : Miss D’s Pecan Pie ($12) has a vanilla ice cream sitting on the Pecan Pie. The ice cream is too sweet which Seasons Bistro obtained from supplier. The Pecan is not broken and given as full pecan to bake together in the pie. The pie crust is neither too thick for bite. Just eating the pie can be filling for a meal.

Dish 11 : Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake ($12) has a biscuit crust as its base and together with maple pumpkin as the main character in this dish. The cheesecake is not sweet. The cheese did not overpower the pumpkin. The dessert is good for couple for sharing and dine in a hot afternoon at Seasons Bistro.

I was at Cathay and ordered Maki San salad. 

I was given ordered form to fill and select the choices that I wanted.

I ordered the Mega salad at $11.90 with the mixed letture, 6 essential like cherry tomatoes, shredded carrot, apple, peach, parmesan cheese and boiled egg.  I have salmon sashimi as my special.  raisins and seasame dressing to fill the salad bowl.

The salad is fresh especially the sashimi, vegetable and fruits.  The dressing is not tasty and yet thick in texture.

I had a wonderful steamboat at the newly opened Beauty in the Pot.

As the name of the shop, eating for beauty which many women desire for it I entered the restaurant and ordered a wonderful dishes.

I ordered a twin flavours broth ($25) comprising spicy soup with herbs like gingsing, dried longan, red dates and wolfberry seeds.  The soup though mild yet it is still spicy for my tastebut.  The other broth is the concentrated pork broth.

The following items will go with the broth :

- Sliced chicken thigh (half thigh at $5).  The thigh meat is tender.
- Crunchy gourmet chicken sausage ($2).  The chicken sausage is not salty and crunchy in the skin.
- scallop Paste ($12) - This is a paste for me to roll into a ball.  The paste is soft.
- Fried fish skin ($5) - This is one of the best dish.  Can be eat raw like cracker or dip in the hot broth.
- Sliced Pork Collar ($5)- The pork is fresh and crewy.
- Sea cucumber ($11) - This is the real cucumber and bite is spongy.
- Babyt chinese spinach and Baby Romanine Lettuce ($2.50 each). The vegetable is fresh.