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jankliciouz
This is jankliciouz .
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The White Rabbit Cry Oct 24, 2015   
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Categories : European | Steaks and Grills | Brunch

Last week, I visited The White Rabbit with some colleagues, wanting to have a nice set lunch to mark the start of the weekend. Set in an old chapel, the restaurant was a stunner, especially its backyard garden, which featured The Rabbit Hole, as well as lovely outdoor chairs.

 


Accessibility:

Not very convenient. Easier to go by taxi, if you do not drive.

Waiting for the food to arrive, we took the chance to explore the place and had fun. Our appetiser was served to us just after our exploration, and the timing was just right.

 

 

 

 
Their set lunch offerings are considered a good variety. A 2 course set lunch costs $38++ and 3 course costs $42++.

Here are their recommendations:

Starters - Ranger's Valley Wagyu Carpaccio, Pan-Seared Foie Gras, Seared Bay Scallops

Mains - Sauteed Japanese Seabream (Fish), Alaskan King Crab Tagliatelle, 36-hour Brandt Shortribs

Desserts - Chocolate Fondant, Fresh Fruit Melange

Let's Eat!
They will serve bread and butter, which is slightly salted. The bread is freshly toasted and remains warm. Very good, I thoroughly enjoyed this.

 
What I ordered for my set:

Pan-Seared Foie Gras

 
Set on top of quince puree and roasted pear, the foie gras was pan-seared to salty. It was a little too salty for me. It was a good texture on the inside, but seemed a little charred on the outside.

36-Hour Brandt Shortribs

 
When I ordered this dish, I was told that they don't have shortribs, only the beef's rump cut. When it was served, it was saltier because of the truffle miso glaze. I also felt that the field mushrooms were salty, which I felt was unneccessary.

 
I did like the rump cut nevertheless (super meat lover talking), and the rump cut was pretty well cooked.

Chocolate Fondant

 
The presentation was lacking, but overlooking that, I went straight to cut into the chocolatey cake, which was supposed to contain a molten caramel core. Nope, nothing flowed out. In fact, the chocolate had been hardened, nothing flowed out except for some oil. It wasn't a pretty sight, and I was utterly disappointed. The banana and rum icecream was also without oomph. This dessert failed badly.

My colleague's orders:

Ranger's Valley Wagyu Carpaccio (Starters)

 
Topped with shaved parmesan, celery cress, balsamic pearls and thin truffle slices, the truffle slices was the winning factor for this dish, but I had wished the truffle flavour would have been more apparent.

Chicken Roulade (Mains)

 
This dish was not bad, set on barley and topped with (supposedly) crispy kale. The kale was not crispy, if it was, this dish would have been much better. By the time it was served, the kale had turned chewy. This was the failing factor for me.

Alaskan King Crab Tagliatelle (Mains - no photo, sorry!)

Salty. I tried the pasta as well, it wasn't as impressive as it sounds. Contains Alaskan King Crab meat, cooked in pork broth and kombu.

Sauteed Japanese Seabream (Mains - no photo, sorry!)

Tender fish meat, set on top of creamed leeks, smoked mussels. My colleague enjoyed his seabream.

Fresh Fruit Melange (Dessert)

 
The grapefruit shaved ice tasted like orange cordial, over shaved ice. Did I also mention the shaved ice was coarse shaved ice? It was served on top of a dark chocolate bowl.

Lemon Meringue Tart (Dessert)

 
While the lemon meringue, topped with fruit bits, had tasted nice, the chocolate pastry it was set on was very hard and not a pleasant combination. Also on the plate, bland tasting acacia honey ice-cream.

I waited at least 10 minutes per dish to be served, and it was clear that the kitchen and the floor servers had messed up the orders, making the wait very very long. We were quite unhappy as we were running out of time to go back to the office. Overall, it is not a place I would specially return to eat, especially with such a price, long waiting hours and a confused kitchen crew.

Low-Down
The best bit:The bread and butter, as well as the dining surroundings (well, this is pretty pathetic, isn't it?!)

The worse bit: The super long wait for the food. The average tasting food.
 
Date of Visit: Sep 01, 2015 

Other Ratings:
Taste
 2  |  
Environment
 4  |  
Service
 1  |  
Clean
 3  |  
Price
 1

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Tim Ho Wan (添好运): Review Cry Dec 24, 2014   
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Categories : Cantonese/Hong Kong | Restaurant | Dim Sum | Noodles | Kids-Friendly

Tim Ho Wan 添好运 has been open in Plaza Singapura for a while now, and the fad has kind of died down a little. Riding on their success, they recently opened at another location - Bedok Point - an addition to the 4 other outlets scattered around Singapore.

Reading this on their website makes me very excited.

Tim Ho Wan, the hole-in-the-wall eatery in Hong Kong that defied all odds to gain an entry in the Michelin guide, has finally arrived in Singapore. Its dim sum have won the plaudits of food critics and the hearts of epicureans around the world.
Is it really worth the queue? I'm going to find out.

First, the surroundings:

 

 

 
Baked Bun with BBQ Pork 酥皮炬叉烧包 ($5)

 
The first dish, and one of their dishes in the 'Big 4 Heavenly Kings' series. 'Big 4 Heavenly' series consists of 4 dishes which they call their best of the best, recommended signature dishes to try at Tim Ho Wan.

 
And boy, this one did not disappoint. The meat was juicy and tender, well flavoured and goes exceptionally well with the puffed pastry exterior. Loved this one, and thumbs up!

Pan Fried Carrot Cake 香煎萝卜糕 ($4.80)

 
I did not like this dish. The carrot cake was served at room temperature, and was lacking in texture. I was scratching my head to understand how this is one of their 'Big 4 Heavenly Kings' dish.

Steamed Egg Cake 香花马来糕 ($3.80)

 
Honestly, I have no major gripe with this dish, but I would have liked it to be more fluffy. This is another one of their 'Big 4' dishes. Overall, this was just so-so, but one of the better dishes in the assembly of food I've ordered here.

Vermicelli Roll with Shrimp 鲜虾肠 ($6)

 
The prawn fillings were succulent and fresh, the skin was smooth as well. But be sure to eat it with the accompanying sauce to have it at its best!

Prawn Dumpling 晶莹鲜虾饺 ($6)

 
Dim Sum should be served piping hot. While this one was, the dumpling skin sure didn't taste like it. It was a little too thick for me but the prawn ingredients were nice and fresh.

Pork Dumpling with Shrimp 鲜虾烧卖皇 ($5.50)

 
I love Siew Mai, a.k.a Pork Dumplings with Shrimps. A lovely dash of colour as they used wolfberries to decorate the top of the dumpling. But no taste of the wolfberries were apparent during tasting. But overall, this dish was pretty alright.

Pork Rib with Black Bean Sauce 豉汁蒸肉排 ($4.50)

 
This is also one of my dim sum meal staples. This dish is meant to be oily, and the oily sauce was lacking! I'm a sad girl. But the meat was tender and I would order it again if I'm here, if just to satisfy my cravings.

Wasabi Salad Prawn Dumpling 青芥末明虾角 ($6)

 
A typical dish for me, and I felt that the wasabi mayonnaise was quite light - too light, in fact.

Yam Dumpling with Chilli Crab Meat 辣椒蚧芋角 ($5.50)

 
This was a really interesting dish, so I was quick to order it. Not many people like yam, but I do. The yam was nicely done, with a lovely crisp exterior.

 
The chilli crab paste was, however, slightly lacking in terms of flavour. As the yam paste can be a little too rich, a well flavoured chilli crab paste might be the answer to balancing that out.

It's a personal preference, but I do like my sauces a little more flavourful and stronger, so I can taste the essence. For this dish, that was what's lacking for me.

Congee with Pork, Century&Salted Egg 金银蛋瘦肉粥 ($4.20)

 
I was looking forward to tasting this dish because it was one of my dim sum staples. But I was disappointed. The porridge was not fine enough, and the flavour of the salted and century egg is not strong enough. This is called century & salted egg porridge for a reason, and I believe the hints of these ingredients should present itself well enough to satisfy lovers of this standard dim sum dish.

Rice with Chicken, Sausage & Mushroom 腊肠北菇鸡饭 ($6)

 
While the ingredients tasted just as it should be, I would have liked that the flavour of the ingredients could have better merged with the sauced rice to give it the unique flavour that this dish has. What I understand is that this dish is cooked together with the ingredients, and the sauce in the rice soaks in the merged flavours and fragrance of these ingredients - chicken, chinese sausage and mushrooms. Unfortunately, it tasted like it was cooked separately and the rice was not fragrant enough in that sense. I did like that the chicken was tender and had good texture.

Glutinous Rice with Lotus Leaf 古法糯米鸡 ($6)

 
Nicely wrapped, this oily dim sum dish is not easy to make. Here's how it looks once opened.

 
I did like how the dumpling was cooked just nice, and the meat used with the rice had retained its juiciness.

Crystal Shrimp Roll with Century Egg 水晶松花虾卷 ($5.50)

 
Seeing this dish under the Chef's recommendation, I really wanted to try it. I took this photo right after it was served and the sauce was almost to the point of coagulation. After 5 minutes, the sauce did coagulate, so I wasn't imagining things. sad Thus proving the dish was served to us too late!

Anyway, I didn't really enjoy this dish as I felt that the entire dish would be better off with the century egg sliced thinner and the dish being served warmer. Or hotter!

Mango Sago Pomelo 杨枝甘露($5)

 
One of my favourite desserts to have, but not at this restaurant. I love sago, so one gripe is that the sago was not soft enough, felt like it wasn't cooked enough.

Tonic Medlar & Osmanthus Cake 杞子桂花糕 ($3.50)

 
Light and refreshing. I liked this dish, but I felt it should be served slightly more chilled. When served, it was close to room temperature and I didn't enjoy it as much as I should have if chilled.

So my conclusion?

No. It really wasn't worth the queue.

Sadly, it is widely raved for, but I'm not feeling it and it definitely did nothing to wow me at all. Their wait staff were not so friendly and most were concerned about clearing the queue, and because it's so packed and so many orders had to be served out - some slower than the others, some important aspects (like the temperature of the food to be served, etc) were compromised, thus affecting overall food taste and enjoyment.

But I'm sure of one thing: If I do return, I will order takeaway with the baked buns with BBQ pork for their claim of this 'heavenly king' dish was the only one I felt was worth the mention and did not disappoint.

Average spending per pax: $20 - $30

 

 
Recommended Dish(es):  Baked Bun with BBQ Pork
 
Table Wait Time: 30 minute(s)


Date of Visit: Nov 29, 2014 

Other Ratings:
Taste
 2  |  
Environment
 2  |  
Service
 2  |  
Clean
 2  |  
Price
 2

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Cato Singapore OK Nov 09, 2015   
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Categories : Multi-Cuisine | Bars/Lounges | Restaurant

 
Here we are at Cato Singapore, a new bar-cum-restaurant born in September 2015. Keeping to its shophouse, retro pub style on the second floor, that's where we enjoyed the evening with good drinks.

 
The picture above shows the second floor. The first floor, boasts a more modern black and white theme. (Sorry, didn't manage to get any pictures.)

 
Let it flow.

This is one beer I would highly recommend. Very awesome, even for someone like me, who doesn't take much beer.

 
Modern Times Beer Black House Coffee Stout

Prawn bisque with homemade cod fishball & coriander leaf ($12), listed under the Tapas menu, is flavourful. The bowl looks small because this is a tasting portion. The actual portion is bigger. Anyway, this was pretty comforting and a good starter to whip up your appetite.

 
Some interesting finger food included the Garlic Fries ($8), the Crispy squid in thai style glaze ($12) and Cato Wings in homemade chilli glaze ($15).

 
The squid and the wings are table favourites.

 

 
Chilli lovers, you will find the Chicken Noodle Salad ($16) a delight, Ghost Chilli seasoned noodles paired with Chinese tea smoked chicken and fresh greens. The ghost chilli makes it interestingly spicy.

 
There is also a healthier option available - Acai Cured Salmon ($18). Acai berries were freshly purchased from the Amazon, where Acai sprouts from. The portion was a tad small, we should take cue from the categorisation from the menu. Yes, this is parked under appetisers and probably would make a good one as it is topped with a light and refreshing calamansi creme fraiche.

 
Moving on to the mains, they have interesting ones like Aunty Jasmine's Fish Curry ($25) and the Steam Baked Pork Cheek ($28).

 
They serve the curry separate in a pitcher and will pour it in front of you. The dish is a Asian-Western fusion, combining a homemade family recipe for the indian-style curry and a New Zealand Ling Fish.

 
The pork cheek is tender, sealed in 'Fata' cooking foil and steam-baked in a Port Wine Mustard sauce together with veggies.

 
We also got to try the only 2 desserts served on the menu: Valrhona warm pistachio chocolate cake ($14) and the Papaya Nougat Glace ($14).

The glace is homemade, marrying the nougat and fresh papaya chunks and caramelised almonds. We saw many customers enjoying this dish and is probably one of the more special desserts they have to offer here.

 
The chocolate cake was rich, in fact, a little too rich for my liking. But chocolate lovers, this might just be your thing. This lava cake, however, did not flow well when cut.

 
Overall, Cato would be a place where you would probably want to hang out if you would like to chill over some nice finger foods and taste their awesome alcoholic beverages.

 

\

This is an invited media tasting session.

 
Date of Visit: Oct 28, 2015 

Dining Offers: 試食活動


Other Ratings:
Taste
 3  |  
Environment
 4  |  
Service
 4  |  
Clean
 4  |  
Price
 3

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Choo Choo Chicken in Singapore OK Oct 24, 2015   
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Categories : Korean | Korean Fried Chicken

 
Yes! I'm here at Choo Choo Chicken. This was a super overdue post.

Was it a smooth ride on this chicken journey, or did I try to pull the brakes to a screeching halt? Check out my review below!

Accessibility:
Approx. 2 minutes walk from Somerset MRT Station

This place is super small. I think it can hold up to about 18-20 people, max!

 
Let's Eat!

We ordered the full chicken ($32) with the choice of 4 flavours: Soy, Original, Yangnyeom and Garlic.

 
The flavours were honestly, at best, average. The chicken marinates didn't seem to absorb well and it was definitely not only of the best Korean Fried Chicken I had.

I didn't exactly enjoy the outer layer of the chicken too. It needed to be more crispy and I didn't feel the oomph biting into it. I did like that the chicken meat was pretty tender, though only at some parts.

 
They really do need to work on its fried outer texture. A better balance between the sweet and spiciness of the yangnyeom sauce would also be appreciated.

 
We did enjoy the beers and the makgeolli though! Lovely!

 
Thank goodness for good company, though. (Pictured: Luna and me)

 
(Missing from picture: Hannah and Fidelia - one is busy pouring the makgeolli, the other is busy eating chicken haha)

Low-Down
The best bit: The makgeolli.

The worse bit: The outer layer of the chicken.
 
Other Ratings:
Taste
 2  |  
Environment
 3  |  
Service
 3  |  
Clean
 3  |  
Price
 2

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Sogurt OK Oct 24, 2015   
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Categories : Frozen Yogurt

This is somewhat a late post, but late is better than never! I walked past Sogurt one day and felt attracted by the bright lights and pink decor. Not that I like pink, don't judge me. (haha!)

 
Anyway, I had this sometime last month, so the flavours might have changed now. But they still do hold the same flavours albeit at different locations (they have 8 stores). Here's my quick review.

Accessibility:
Approx 2 minutes walk from Promenade MRT Station or 5-7 minutes from City Hall MRT Station

Let's Eat!

 
Get the staff's help to try the various flavours before settling down with one. Alternatively, get all! The picture below shows the plain yogurt, blueberry and salted caramel popcorn flavour.

The salted caramel popcorn flavour lacked the right amount of sweetness, it was blander than expected. The plain version tasted average and the blueberry flavour seemed the best out of all 4 flavours available. The other flavour which I did not capture on camera is the pink grapefruit flavour, which I think I like second best.

 
The huge cup. Only one size!

 
DIY~

 
Their in-house promotion.

 
Top it up with various toppings. It isn't easy to scoop the toppings without spilling it over the bowls that they're set in.

 
They do have a wide variety of toppings, including popular ones like lychee, longan, white and dark chocolate bits, as well as other fruit toppings.

 
If you only want to put sauce on it, feel free to do so. They have hershey's chocolate, strawberry flavour, and even condensed milk!

 
My cup of blueberry froyo with frutty pebbles and lychee burst bubbles. I think I paid about $6 for this, which is only fills up half the cup.

 
Honestly, I think their cup is too big, people can't really have a good gauge on how much they are buying, most likely will end up overbuying. (Since the usual buying style is to try to fit it to the top of the cup!)

The service wasn't the best either, as I was trying to get the attention of the seemingly tired looking staff (even when the shop was empty). sad

Low-Down
The best bit: The wide variety of toppings and sauces.

The worse bit: Only 1 cup size.

Despite having 8 stores over Singapore, which I do think it is a good feat for a yogurt shop, but overall, I didn't think the taste of the froyo was too impressive and enough to get me to make a trip there specially just to eat it.
 
Other Ratings:
Taste
 3  |  
Environment
 2  |  
Service
 1  |  
Clean
 2  |  
Price
 2

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