One of the cheaper dining options in Liang Court, we decided to try the Italian restaurant. I had rather good impressions of it after my first visit. However, all that changed on my second visit.

We were seated at a table under which, the air-conditioning vent was turned on full blast. We looked around wondering if there were better seating locations we could move to. Alas, there were none. To prevent the legs from freezing out, we sat cross-legged. Not that it helped much.

The service here is commendable though. Very fast and efficient. There was a button on each table, which you press to call for a wait staff. It was like calling for a cab. Orders are taken and noted onto a palm tablet, held by each staff. Food was served just as quickly.

That's when we were disappointment.. by the lack of presentation and quality of the food. The steak we ordered was tough and pathetic, saved by the tasty mushroom sauce. The curry chicken baked rice was hardly in our impression, considered "baked rice". It was served on a 'hot plate' - which was not hot. It was warm. The meal was basically rice and chicken meat, covered in curry.
Portion size was; for small-eaters... considered small.

The friend and I both thought that we could get a better deal in a food court.

Approx a 10min brisk walk from Tiong Bahru MRT station, this restaurant is located alongside many other eateries. In fact, the mass of eateries here are all Teochew Cuisine..

Reservations are recommended during peak meal hours as the restaurant had not a single empty table whilst I was there.
Arriving at about 6.45pm on a Saturday evening, the restaurant was already packed. My reserved table was the only empty one.

The restaurant is not big and does not cater to al fresco dining. About 10 tables in all. A look around, the population were mostly aged, big clan families, dining together.

Service staff are quick to attend to you, they are mostly Mandarin/dialect speaking though. Service is prompt and courteous.

Here are the items we ordered: Gelatin pork belly, Omelette with oysters, green vegetables, Kong Bak (with steamed buns), Cold crabs, a steamed fish and a serving of Ngoh Hiang.
We had wanted to order noodles as well.. however, we realised that the only choice we had was Hokkien noodles.
The Fried Rice seemed popular. Almost every other table had a serving of it!

Gelatin Pork Belly -- erm.. seriously, the look of it was rather scary. Like clumps of plastic fat all over. Not my cup of tea. It is their special though...

To some, the Cold crab was alittle salty, to others, it was alright. To me, it was a tad dry. I'm more used to having crabs with lots of sauce/gravy!

The Kong Bak was tough. Would have liked it more if it was a bit more tender.

Best dishes for me? The Omelette and the vegetables. The omelette was wiped out after a turn of the Lazy Susan.

I would recommend this place for family dining and celebrations of birthdays - for the aged. The restaurant sells Longevity buns too. Pre-order is required.

Rendezvous nasi padang restaurant.. by the name, you would expect something 'malay' style, alot of chilli..

The restaurant is split into 2 sections, not sure why, din question why. There's the more high-class looking section while we were only one of the 2 parties of people occupying the less atas seating area.

Once seated, we could go to the front food counter to pick-out and choose the food we wanted. Everything is spicy. Maybe only the fried chicken was not covered in spice.

About 5-6 containers of chicken in various types of curry, one of lamb, one of beef.
Two variations of fish - one assam curry, another fried fish covered with sambal chilli.

Well, the food here is not cheap. But, quality wise, its top-notch. There was no one dish that disappointed us.
I particularly liked the rendang chicken. Sedap!

This is not a place for those who cannot take the slightest bit of spiciness in their food.

Always crowded, I'm not sure if the outlet adjacent to the original is a franchise or an expansion to the existing shopfront.
Anyhow, they are the same in terms of menu and prices.

The newer outlet looked more "atas" and was air-conditioned.
The place appeared to be governed by foreigners from China. I would have been skeptical about the service but, they proved me wrong. I left feeling very pleased.

Service was prompt. Food was served within a minute or two after order.

Payment is expected once all the dishes have been served. That said, wet tissues that are not required should be returned to them immediately or they will be billed to you. An unnecessary charge, in my opinion.

A bowl of standard Pork Ribs soup came with 3 tender ribs in a heavily peppered soup (S$6.50). There is a "premium" version of this for an additional charge of S$2.
Whilst eating, staff walking around will take the initiative to top-up your soup for you. Of course unless you stop them from doing so. The soup is best drunk while hot. It becomes a little salty when it gets cold.

An order of soup does not come with a serving of rice. A bowl of rice can be ordered at an additional charge of S$0.60 each. If you ask for less rice, it costs S$0.40 instead.

Yes, now I know why the place is always crowded. The Bak Kut Teh is certainly worth trying.
Whether it is worth the price paid, that is subjective.

I remember Waraku used to be the talk of the town when it first started out in Singapore.. starting the Japanese restaurant hype.

When I visited, the place was almost empty. Tables aplenty to choose from. Wait staff all fighting for your service.

Glad too that it was quiet, nice to have a quiet leisurely meal with a friend.

As the name suggests, don't expect anything other than pasta and more pasta. Every dish is accompanied with pasta.

So we have here the Mushroom Chicken Pasta and a Seafood Pasta.

The pasta was alright but the Seafood sauce mix proved too overwhelming - it was too salty. We had to wave the manager over to ask if the dish is usually this salty. "Yes" was the reply. Too bad then. We just had to finish it with no chance of an exchange.

Nothing to shout about about the Mushroom Chicken Pasta. Simple meal.

Rather pricey I must say, averaging S$15 per person.
Won't be back in the near future unless suggested or forced by others.