If you are looking for a sumptuous spread of buffet, in particular korean buffet, you should never miss Todai located conveniently at Marina Bay Sands. Though labelled as 'Korean' Buffet, Todai is actually a buffet restaurant packed with an enticing selection of Seafood and International cuisine.

Todai introduces 12 sections in their buffet line, some of which are Churrasco, tepanyaki, sashimi, Korean cuisine, Japanese sushi and Chinese cooked food.

Indeed, Todai has unveiled a new menu consisting free flow of Sea Eel BBQ, Abalone Ginseng Chicken Soup and ala carte Alaskan King Crab that are simply irresistible. The local and international choices are aplenty at the buffet too.

And of course, the free flow of snow crabs.
Seafood lovers would definitely relish the free flow of premium seafood such as snow crabs and sashimi. Todai also provides a mouth-watering selection of premium and creative sushi. Satiate your palate with more than 15 sushi assortments here. My other favorite section at Todai is none other than the Churrasco section.
The Churrasco section has a wide variety of meat for you to enjoy as well.

Most of the meat are prepared to medium rare. You can actually request for a longer simmer if you do not prefer meat that are too raw. One of the recommendation by the Todai's management is their specialty - Korean Fish PancakeThe star of the night is the salty yet juicy Alaskan King Crab.Sea Eel BBQ
Hands down to the juicy and meaty Sea Eel BBQ. The Sea Eel taste great as it is coated with tasty BBQ sauce, but I personally didn't like how it was packed with soft and tiny fish bone although it is consumable. Brace yourself for a flavour explosion as your savour the Ginseng Chicken Soup, packed with an extremely succulent and chewy baby abalone

For full review and more photos, please visit
http://www.chiamhuiy.com/2013/08/food-review-todai-korean-buffet.html

You might not know what is Koh Grill and Sushi Bar, but surely you would have heard of the legendary "Shiok Maki". "Shiok" is a commonly used slang word among Singaporeans to express satisfaction.

Be it on instagram, facebook or any sorts of social media platforms, people have been raving so much over this Shiok Maki from Koh Grill. So I know I must get down to try it. Other than the shiok maki, I also tried other maki here as well.

In fact, I may actually have a different point of view regarding the makis here!

Pidan Maki $16.80
Combination of sashimi and avocado, served with very own homemade sauce

Pitan (century eggs) sauce is drizzled over the maki wrapping avocado and sashimi. We all know pitan taste really strong, so personally I didn't quite like the overwhelming pitan sauce that covers the taste of avocado and sashimi.

Yet on the other hand, my friend actually quite like this dish because of the sauce. So it depends if you have a thing for pitan (century eggs). Crappy Maki $18
Crispy soft-shell crab and seaweed wrapped with seared swordfish belly
I'm guessing the word "crappy" derives from the soft-shell crab used in this maki. The crappy maki fare much better than the pitan maki. There's no additional strong sauce to confuse the taste bud so I get to enjoy the true taste of the swordfish belly. The smooth tender swordfish belly wraps the Japanese rice very nicely with its adequate thickness. Most of the maki here are also topped with abundant amount of tobiko. Shiok!!! Maki $16.80
Heavenly combination of charcoal grilled eel wrapped with lightly roasted salmon
Each and every shiok maki drizzled with charred cheesy mayonnaise and topped with excessive tobiko (again) seems very addictive. Parts of the salmon sashimi that wraps the maki are also scorched so it gives a well combination of raw and grilled salmon sashimi maki.

As much as I love this a lot (been here thrice just for shiok maki), the standard differs every time I was here. Sometimes, the presentation can be really neat (like the one in the photo) and the taste is satisfying; but sometimes the whole thing just looks like cheese mayonnaise splashed thoughtlessly onto the salmon sashimi wrapping the maki, giving a very mushy texture.

Hope you liked this review

Love,
Celine Chiam

For full review and more photos, please visit
http://www.chiamhuiy.com/2013/07/food-review-koh-grill-and-sushi-bar-is.html

I've been to quite a few Ramen eateries and the most unforgettable one is the one recommended by my friend - Keisuke Tonkotsu King at Orchid Hotel.

Nonetheless, I got a chance to try out Ippudo Ramen at Mandarin Gallery, thanks to Openrice's invite. Here's my take.

For full review with more photos: http://www.chiamhuiy.com/2013/07/food-tasting-ippudo-japanese-ramen.html

The interior design is mostly furnished with wooden furniture and very dimly lit. You can choose to have your meal on the dining tables or along the ramen bar just for a quick fix. Very swiftly, my choice of drink was served. I tried the Choya with Lemon (Choya is fixed and you can choose from a few flavoured soda). Choya with lemon tasted more citrus and gassy, and it actually leaves a slightly dry aftertaste. Halfway through the dinner I got to try another drink - Umeshu with Cranberry, and this time I was bought over.

Umeshu with Cranberry is definitely stronger and smoother with a hint of fruity taste thanks to the cranberry. It leaves a slightly stonger alcohol aftertaste. I prefer this drink to the previous one because I like how smooth the drink is. Choya with lemon is a little too gassy to my likings due to the soda that was paired with the choya. Goma Q
Fresh Japanese cucumber with sesame
Start off the meal with a refreshing appetizer, Japanese cucumber coated with Ippudo's sesame sauce. I find the sauce perfect because it comes with a tangy and spicy taste. The only complain is that the cucumber was a little too thick, so the taste of the cucumber very quickly overwhelms the sesame sauce after much chewing. Pork Bun (recommended)
Steamed bun with braised pork and Ippudo's original sauce
If you are hankering for some braised pork but not served in a pool of ramen broth, try the Pork bun at Ippudo. This deceptively simple sounding item turned out so well, no wonder it was one of the best seller and many diners' favourite. The pork bun comes with a smooth soft bun sandwiching the succulent braised pork, drizzled with Ippudo's original sauce. Spicy Shrimp Mayo (Recommended)
Lightly battered deep-fried succulent prawns served with home-made spicy mayonnaise dip
At first glance, the size of the prawn and the way this appetizer was displayed already won many hearts. Dipped in a spoonful of spicy mayonnaise, the huge fresh prawn itself was crunchy and juicy. Beef Tataki (recommended!)
Pan-seared tender beef slices served with a tangy sauce
My apology for recommending so many dishes, but most of them are honestly my favourite! This is especially for the beef tataki.
The beef tataki are medium-rare wagyu beef slices. It goes very well with the tangy sauce on the side, if not the soya sauce that comes with it. In fact, it taste as good consumed on its own. Surprising to say this but the original ramen (Shiromaru Motoaji) itself already possess an extremely rich and thick broth that suggests how long the broth has been boiled. That said, it doesn't require any additional miso paste or anything and it's marvelous on its own. Akamaru shin-aji
Ippudo's original broth enhanced with the special blended miso paste and fragrant garlic oil. Served with thin noodles, buta bara (pork belly), kikurage and spring onions. A refined, modern-style ramen.
This time, the second ramen has additional miso paste which added a saltier taste to the broth. Instead of Chashu (pork loin), Buta Bara (pork belly) was used for this ramen. I personally don't prefer the broth to be so salty. So it really depends on your preference actually. If you prefer a much stronger and richer broth (saltier), you can try the Akamaru Shin-Aji.

For full review with more photos: http://www.chiamhuiy.com/2013/07/food-tasting-ippudo-japanese-ramen.html

Celine Chiam

On a typical 12pm lunch hour, the queue was tremendously long. Not sure if it's because of the launch of Hawker Heros Challenge that causes the sudden surge in people trying out Tian Tian. There were roughly 20 people in front of me, and the waiting time was about 20 - 25 minutes. Cold Hainanese Chicken rice (S$3.50)
This humble looking chicken rice cost only S$3.50, but little would you expect it to be packed with extremely fragrant rice and tender chicken drizzled with thick marinated sauce.The best part of this plate of chicken rice that eventually won my heart over is the fragrant and moisture chicken rice. Because it's moist enough, the rice aren't too firm and hard. As for the taste, the rice was honestly very fragrant and tasty, so good that I think it's better than the chicken

It is quite a disappointment to find out that the chicken meat tasted really mediocre. To make sure it's not only my own opinion, I asked my fellow colleagues (about 4-5 of them) and they all agree that the chicken was not the winning point for Tian Tian. The chicken meat itself is indeed tender and succulent, but they lack the ability to retain the moisture in the chicken meat. The chicken meat served was slightly thick and wide, so the texture wasn't too nice. Tender and soft, but dry and not so moist.

However, I do like the flavourful chili sauce that comes with the chicken rice. Not only is it spicy, but it has a hint of lime sauce and sugary taste. This is probably one of the best chicken rice chili sauce I've ever tasted.

More photos on http://www.chiamhuiy.com/2013/07/food-review-tian-tian-hainanese-chicken.html

Wan Fu Lou is a newly opened Chinese Restaurant nestled in the area of Lavender. It serves quite affordable chinese cuisine and therefore an ideal place for family lunch/dinner.Fresh Vegetable Juice $2.50
Instead of carbonated drinks, how about opting a freshier alternative, the vegetable juice? Surprisingly, the juice doesn't taste much like vegetables, but rather a very sweet taste. Pan Fried Garoupa Fish with Pomelo Sauce (S$19.90/ S$32.90)
Though the name indicates 'Pomelo', the sauce ultimately taste more like mango sauce instead. Comes with real mango and dragonfruit bits, the sauce promises a more unique taste for this dish. Besides,with the sour nature that comes with the 'Pomelo' sauce, you will probably find yourself picking up the crispy fried chicken without stopping! Crispy Seafood Delight and Otah with crepe (S$17.90)
This was one of my favourite for the mayonnaise complements the crispy crepe that wraps that fried otah underneath. Otah was not spicy at all so people who can't take spicy can enjoy this with a peace of mind. Crispy Lotus with Salted Egg
On the flipside, the Crispy Lotus faired better. Not comparing an apple with an orange, but comparing in terms of the uniqueness of the dish. Lotus in a soup, I've certainly tried before. But definitely not fried lotus slices drizzled with salted egg seasonings. Surprisingly, the seasonings do not cause a very salty taste, so I guess it's quite a good choice for families with elderly. Stir-fried French Bean with Dried Shrimp
Frankly, there isn't anything special about this, though I admit I was a victim of the dried shrimp because they taste so addictive. Salty though! Fried prawn in Shan Zha Sauce
Shan Zha (山楂) itself meant something sour. This whole juicy prawn that comes with shan zha sauce was honestly an irresistible one, especially when prawns are cut open for easy shell-removing. It was a slight pity though cause the flesh did not really lock in the sauce flavour.Lobster porridge ($29.90 for 2 pax approx)

The one that everyone was looking forward to was none other than the Signature Lobster Porridge. You can even spot several posters promoting their signature dish hanging on their walls. Nonetheless, the texture of the lobster was there for its chewy and succulent meat.

Full review at:
http://www.chiamhuiy.com/2013/07/wan-he-lou-chinese-cuisine-review.html

Celine Chiam