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

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

On a casual Thursday after work, I dropped by the newly opened Star Vista and chanced upon this little Taiwan Confectionery Shop that offers a rather wide selection of Taiwan cakes and sweets. I recalled during my recent trip to Taiwan, I brought back many treats and souvenirs for my friends and family because that's probably the most appropriate gift since it's not easy to find them in Singapore.

But thanks to Sweet Musings, now not only can you find Taiwanese cakes in Singapore, you get to purchase freshly baked ones rather than imported cakes, which would not be as fresh. The onion cookie 洋葱饼 (30 Pcs for S$10) was the first that we tried, and also one of my favourite. Frankly, I am not a fan of onion and sometimes the smell of it deters me away. But the onion, along with the sesame seeds that dotted the cookie, has very well enhanced the aroma and ultimately the taste of the cookie; onion taste was not very strong and the whole cookie was crunchy and savoury. The special point about Sweet Musings is that fact that they produce the delicacies on the spot, instead of importing them in. Pudding in assorted flavorsUnlike the usual Sun Cake 太陽餅，Sweet Musings uses white maltose and honey as an alternative to the usual brown sugar. Sun cakes can range from hard ones to those that melts in your mouth. I would say the one here at sweet musings were just right in the middle standard, not too tough and not too so doughy.The star of the day was none other than the bestseller, Yam Cake roll (S$18). Yam cake wrapped with yam mousse. I then tried the one a shelf level below the onion cookie - Egg Roll 蛋捲 (2 pcs $2, 12pcs $12, 24pcs $24), which has a hint of Earl Grey Tea essence in it. What's more, it comes in an extremely adorable packaging and is the best to present it as a gift to friends or relatives. Something that caught my attention was the Egg pudding 雞蛋布丁 (5 Pcs S$12). Just like how the name suggests, the egg pudding was actually placed in real egg shells that they have meticulously prepared. We know how egg shells are really fragile, so this is surely something special. To emphasize the uniqueness, the egg puddings actually contain natural vanilla seeds that can nourish your skin.

Celine Chiam (HY)

For all other pastries at Sweet musings, visit my blog:
http://www.chiamhuiy.com/2013/06/sweet-musings-brings-taiwan-pastries.html

For the full review with photos, please visit
http://www.chiamhuiy.com/2013/06/jin-shan-restaurant-mbs-review.html

How did you celebrate Mother's day and the subsequent Father's day this year? My family usually picks a restaurant for a simple dinner and that more or less wraps up our celebration for such special occasions. That said, I was more than excited to try out the Chinese cuisine here at 金山樓 (Jin Shan @ Marina Bay Sands).Upon reaching, you'll be ushered through the lush inviting corridors into those 6-seaters VIP 'pot', or if you have more people with you, you can opt for their VIP rooms further into the restaurant. 金山特色三拼
Jin Shan Special Combination
(烧肉，烧鸭，油鸡)
My personal favourite among the three different meat was the roasted duck. Most of the duck meat has been deboned, well if not, the tender meat still falls off the bone at a mere prod of your fork. Apart from the tender juicy meat, the skin has been roasted to an extremely crispy thin layer with a slightly sweet taste to finish it. An absolutely no-frills meat among the three thanks to the boneless roasted pork served in cube size, I must say I am caught in a dilemma to decide if the roasted duck or this was my favourite. The pork pieces has a roasted top layer covering the chewy pork meat, with very minimal fats as seen in the photo. What surprises me was that it tasted really well by dabbing it with the wasabi, thoughtfully presented at the side in small tiny portions.
金盅海鮮湯
Seafood Soup Served in Mini Pumpkin
The Seafood Soup served in Mini Pumpkin was a bowl packed lusciously with scallops and prawn bits in the sweetest seafood broth. Finish off the soup with some pumpkin flesh as you conveniently scrape off the flesh along the edge of the pumpkin.
蛋白花雕蒸鳕鱼
Steamed Cod Fillet with Chinese Wine and Egg White
The steamed cod fish was then served in individual portions for all of us. A piece of cod fish was very delicately served on top of a pool of Egg White in Chinese wine sauce. Enjoy the best out of this dish by consuming the smooth fish and spongy egg white together with the chinese wine.
福建炒面线
Fujian Wheat Vermicelli with Shredded Meat
Another family's favourite could not escape the Fujian Wheat Vermicelli. Although the name itself did not mention, this dish actually comes with prawns and fried eggs apart from the bountiful shredded meat. The vermicelli itself was neither oily nor dry, proving itself a fine staple dish for family dinne咸蛋明虾球
Golden Sands Fresh Prawn with Salted Egg
The Golden Sands Fresh Prawn with Salted egg not only looked incredibly tempting, it also gave out a strong salted egg aroma when served. The salted egg sauce was unfortunately a little too grainy, which ended up making me cough a little as the spices caught in between my throat. Nonetheless, the sauce was great for its strong salted egg taste. However, the large prawn, although really juicy and fresh, seems to be a little bland on the inside.
杨枝甘露
Chilled Mango Sago with Pomelo
To end off the 7-course meal, we enjoyed the Chilled Mango Sago filled with aloe vera bits, mango chunks and pomelo. The sweetness was just right.

Jin Shan is a rather high class chinese restaurant not just because it's located in MBS. However, the quality of the food has pride itself and is worth every of your penny.

For the full review with photos, please visit
http://www.chiamhuiy.com/2013/06/jin-shan-restaurant-mbs-review.html

Hope you liked this review
Celine (Hui Yan)

I'm sure many of us have patronized, or at least heard about the large food chain of Chinese Culinary Restaurants - Crystal Jade. Not only does Crystal Jade serve comforting food that warms your stomach, it serves exquisite chinese culinary that you probably could find elsewhere, but fetching at an even higher price. And all because of this, Crystal Jade managed to be one of the great places to visit for family lunch/dinner, not forgetting to mention - their fantastic Xiao Long Bao and La Mian. I started off my dinner with a simple Honey Lemon Drink (Iced).
If restaurants always serve you diluted honey lemon drink and you feel cheated for paying for such a quality, fret no more because the honey lemon here is really sweet and soothing for the throat. It fetches a good balance between the sweetness from the honey and the sourness from the lemon. Steamed Soupy Xiao Long Bao 隆福一口小笼包
(4 pieces for $5.20)
It's no secret that the Steamed Soupy Xiao Long Bao receives tremendous popularity when the number of buns sold per outlet is 6000-7000. The thickness of the skin has been kept ideal - not too thin such that is breaks when lifted up, and not too thick such that the flour skin would cover the taste of the soup and meat. To enhance the taste, you may want to dip it with some vinegar and sliced ginger. Spicy and Sour thick soup “Sichuan” style 四川酸辣汤
$7.50
Everytime I visit a Chinese restaurant, I would order their Sichuan Spicy and Sour soup because I love the combination of spicy and sour. Do not belittle this humble looking bowl of soup here at Crystal Jade because it comes with generous amount of ingredients, as shown in the photo. Ingredients include sliced bamboo shoots, mushrooms and even strands of egg white. Chicken marinated with Chinese wine and wolfberries
鲜淮山杞子花雕醉鸡 ($9.00)
Give yourself a pamper and enjoy this dish filled with wellness and nutrients that are good for your health. Chinese ingredients like Wolfberries (枸杞子) and Chinese Yam (淮山Huai Shan) are used to create this dish with authentic flavour. I personally like the slightly chilled chicken texture (note, it's not served hot!) dipped in a pool of Chinese Wine. Not only does the chicken meat taste extremely succulent and tender, every bite reveals the chicken wine that was successfully absorbed into the meat. Braised pork belly (served with pancakes)
极品东坡肉 $14.80
Make a sinful choice and it definitely has to be the Braised pork belly. I know health conscious people will be very wary about having this dish but what's wrong with taking a sinful indulgence only once in a blue moon? To reduce the overwhelming greasiness from the layered fats, you may like to complement the pork belly with the plain pancakes. Sauteed Egg White with Fish Meat and Conpoy
翡翠艺品赛螃蟹 $13.50
If you understand mandarin, you may thought this dish has got to do with crab meat (赛螃蟹); but sorry that's not the case! This dish is actually a combination of egg white, fish meat and a little trace of dried scallop to resemble crab meat texture. As I bring a mouthful into my mouth, I could taste trends of white fish mixed within fresh velvety egg whites. It was indeed a unique dish that I've never came across before. Mango Pudding 芒果布丁 $6.00
We ended off our exciting gastronomical meal with a cooling Mango Pudding that comes with HK condensed milk, added with your own discretion. Some fun facts here: A bowl of mango pudding is actually made of a whole mange, half used to make the mango juice while the other half remains as the mango cubes aggregated into the mango pudding.

It gets really crowded during dinner time so make sure you make your reservation to prevent disappointment!

Hope you liked this review!
http://chiamhuiy.blogspot.sg/2013/05/crystal-jade-la-mian-xiao-long-bao-food.html

Hui Yan-