this is one ice cream place that you wouldnt want to miss if you are a ice cream lover. if u are a true blue durian lover, u will love the D24 or Maoshan King Durian. if not u can go for caramel salt, or stick to safe old strawberry, cookies and cream, chocolate, soursop, lychee..the flavours changed everyday and u can taste the real fruits/chunks of macadamia nuts...the daily lunchtime promo sees icrecream for $3 (except for durians - should be $3.50)

its a good place to go when u are feeling down or in need of a perk me up. the nice waffle aroma makes me feel as if i m in a gingerbread house, sans the decor. the shop aunties made the ice cream cones from scratch everyday.

the most important part of the steamboat is the soup base of cos. this restaurant serves yummy, delicious soup base that doesnt make u run for water after the meal.

the service staff were attentive and brought two stools for us to place our bagfuls of groceries. our table were already set for 3 (2 adults and 1 kid), with the kid's utensil as well. the service staff was a friendly waiter, who patiently explained the type of soup they serve, the recommended dishes (fish maw, beef balls). while preparing the steamboat dip for us, he explained whats each ingredient for and how the ingredient helps to soothen our palate.

the ingredients were served fast and everything looked fresh. we ordered the ma la (hot n spicy) soup and chicken soup. both soup were tasty and not laden with msg, unlike some the soup in other steamboat places.

the only down side were, we were not too impressive with the pan fried chive dumpling (the skin was hard and chewy) and xiao long bao (too cold). since the fresh ingredients were more than we could finish, we werent too concerned that the cooked food werent really as nice as we expected. afterall, it is a steamboat place.

this steamboat shop is opened by two brothers from china (sichuan maybe? ) the ingredients are fresh and variety is comparable to Chong Qing Huo Guo minus the price.
when the shop first open, they give out a $5 voucher for every $40 spent. not sure if they are still giving out the voucher cos we have ceased receiving them. u can enquire about it if u are a first timer.

the service is prompt and fast, 95% of the staff are from PRC and they are quick to respond to our requests every time. the portion of the ingredients are reasonable and the service staff seldom missed our orders.

the ma la (spicy) soup gives out all the right flavor. but the chicken soup's standard varies at times. there were a few times in the past, when we were there and drank some of the chicken soup. the MSG in the soup was way over and we felt so thirsty one hr after the meal.recently we went again and were happy that the chicken soup tastes better and does not contain as much MSG as before.

if u want to save on drinks, just order the dessert (included in the buffet price of $18+++) and ask the staff to add ice into the dessert soup (eg: longan soup, black jelly soup..etc) as the soup are not chilled.

we redeemed two $30 Conrad's dinning vouchers from Starhub rewards program, and thought its a fab idea to celebrate both V day and our wedding anniversary at this nice posh hotel.

i emailed the hotel on the use of the two vouchers (under two different names) and received prompt response from the hotel that they welcome the vouchers to be combined in one use.
Good First Impression of an Ah TAs hotel.

the restaurant was 70% full when we arrived at 1230pm. we were shown to our table quickly and were informed that the buffet includes tea (assortment) and coffee.

the spread is probably not as extensive as The Line or Straits Kitchen. the usual fare: appetisers, cold cuts, salads, sashimi, piping hot chinese, western, indian, malay cuisine.

chinese: the steamed cod fish was really good. fresh, succulent meat that practically melts in my mouth.
we didnt try out the indian, malay and western cuisine as they didnt look as appetising as those from STraits Kitchen @ Hyatt.

the noodle station was at the outdoor area, serving laksa (the gravy is nice and doesnt have an overload of coconut flavor), bak kut teh (doesnt have the herbal nor peppery taste), bak cho mee ( the chef prob likes my husband a lot - he got a lots of you mee with a giantic pile of bak cho).

the sashimi was freshly prepared as and when the guest's request. the cut was generous

the most interesting part of the buffet is this huge cheese bowl that was used to toss caesar salads in. the chef will toss in the iceberg lettuce into the cheese bowl and scrape the cheese from the inside of the bowl before serving the salad. interesting. the cheese was not as pungent as i feared, suits asian's palate.

at the dessert corner, there were mini cakes like cheesecakes, chocolate cakes, nonya kuehs, ice cream (8 standard flavours like vanilla, strawberry..etc) the ice cream toppings included soft candies, choc balls and chocolates. the ice cream is worth a try, we went back for a few helpings, and were never disappointed. u can help yourself to the heaps of soft candies (sour apple and likes).

the lunch was $58+++ , would be good if there is/are credit cards promotion or when u have vouchers to offset the hefty bill. do call the hotel beforehand to confirm the pricing againas hotel buffets pricing increased every now and then.

this is our third visit to this cosy, tiny shop opened by a Japanese. the gyozas fillings are freshly prepared in the shop as per our personal scrutization..hehe..as we like the gyozas, we usually order 3 sets to share between two persons, and i dont really remember how much is one set, but u get 6 pieces in one set..prob not more than $5 per set.

the gyoza skin is thin but doesnt stick to your teeth since they arrived piping hot. the juicy filling fills your mouth with sweet aroma taste of the minced pork.

the gyozas are pan fried as and when the customers ordered. Pay at the cashier and take a number. the gyozas will be served to u when its ready. the place is rather small like most easteries in japan. so do leave swiftly after u finish your food to let new customers in as such places are not suitable for chitchatting after meals.