I had this 1-for-1 main course voucher from DBS Amex Black Card that was going to expire very soon, so I gathered 3 other friends to enjoy this offer for dinner since we hardly have such opportunities for fine dining experience. Here's my take on our first experience at Lawry's below.

We ordered 4 main courses: 2 California Cut, 1 New York Strip Steak and 1 Baby Back Ribs. Before the main courses were served, we were served 2 types of bread with fine butter. The white bread was softer and tasted better than the brown one. Hehe

After eating the bread, as stated on the menu, our Prime Ribs Dinner items arrived one by one, as follow:

The Famous Original Spinning Bowl Salad

It was an "eye opener" for us to see a waitress come in front of our table and prepare this salad in a spinning bowl. She tossed the romaine and iceberg lettuce, watercress, shredded beets, chopped eggs and croutons with a special salad dressing on a bed of ice. Then she served each of us a plate of the freshly tossed salad. Cool! The salad was really cold but very good! The lettuce was very crisp indeed, and the special dressing blended well in it. We were advised by the waitress to add Lawry's seasoned pepper to add to the salad flavour, and true enough the pepper was different from what we normally have elsewhere and it made the salad even more wonderful. All 4 of us enjoyed this very much.

Main Course

I had the California Cut. The chef came to our table and asked how well-done we would like our beef to be. I asked for medium while my friend asked for medium well done. I wonder how the chef did it but he cut out the beef from the huge trolley he pushed to our table. Not sure what do we call that trolley that all the various cuts are stored. Then he prepared our main course from there, right in front of us! OK, call us "suaku" but we were watching him closely hee.

I kind of regretted asking for medium done as my plate of beef cut still looked quite bloody, so I requested the waitress at our table to change it to medium well done. When my main course came back, fortunately it looked more acceptable to me already. I cut the beef and had a bite, it was very tender. I'm not a steak expert but I think it was really quite a piece of quality beef I ate. I also applied the wasabi-like dressing on my beef to enhance the taste as advised by the waitress. There was another dressing that was not as "choking" as the wasabi-like dressing, but equally good on the meat.

In addition, I also tasted a bit of the New York Strip Steak and the Baby Back Ribs which 2 other friends ordered. The ribs was quite tender too, but the fries wasn't very crispy. I wouldn't say this particular main course is a must-try in Lawry's. For the strip steak, you can choose the type of dressing to go with the steak, and my friend chose the last 1 on the menu which, according to the waitress, has an eggy texture. I tried some on the steak and I didn't really like it. I prefer my California Cut dressing.

Yorkshire Pudding

Together with our main courses, Yorkshire Pudding was also served. It came in a pan, with the pudding cut nicely into 4 pieces for us. It was puffy and golden brown. It was very soft and had a fragrant egg aroma when you bite into it. Great!

Idaho Mashed Potato

This was served on the plates of our California Cut. The mashed potato was really well done, very wholesome taste and the gravy wasn't salty at all. There were small potato bits in the mashed potato. I like!

Ala carte: Dessert of the Day - Apple Pecan Nut Pie ($10.90++)

We had a look at the desserts menu and thought the prices were not too expensive, so decided to share one just to see if they have quality in their desserts too haha. Unfortunately, it came as a slight disappointment as we were not expecting it to look like that (see picture). The pecan nut pie was very sweet. But if you like the nuts you will be delighted as it's full of the crunchy nut. There were many apple bits on the pie and a scoop of vanilla ice cream too. The ice cream was pretty rich and creamy. Anyway we thought this dessert was average only.

Nonetheless, this was still a great fine dining experience. From the time we were brought to our seats to the time I signed for the bill, the service and food were great. Probably that's why even on a Tuesday evening the restaurant was full house and many customers came in after dinner for a glass of wine at the bar counters.

My friend and I ordered 2 different types of baked rice so that we can try out more dishes, here's my review......

Baked Abalone Fried Rice
The baked abalone fried rice was served first. It's their signature baked rice so we thought we had to try once.;) There was only 1 whole baby abalone in the baked rice, together with tasty chicken meat & mushrooms.

Baked Abalone Fish Fillet Fried Rice in Portuguese Sauce
Next came the baked abalone fish fillet fried rice in portuguese sauce (i.e. curry sauce). The curry was yummy! Similar to the 1st dish, I had to dig for my whole baby abalone hehe.

Both the baked rice didn't appear too big a portion, but yet we still couldn't finish the rice! Gosh... but it was indeed a satisfying meal.

Oh one thing I like about this restaurant is also that it's usually not crowded & so it's a good choice for a private little gathering with a few good friends to enjoy some reasonably priced good food.

Frankly, my first encounter at Ippudo Mandarin Gallery wasn't very nice, as I don't really fancy food with strong ginger taste, and also because we had to share tables with another couple, which baffled me a lot given that I wasn't having my meal at a hawker centre or foodcourt. Anyway since my colleague who is leaving us soon is the queen for today's lunch, I can't say much haha.

We were able to book the VIP room as it was a table for 10. The room was not very big, just nice for 10 people. There is this weekday lunch promotion for March - the Ippudo pork/ fish/ shrimp buns (2 for $5++). It actually looks like the Chinese kong bak pau and we decided to order that first as we were all hungry.I had the Ippudo Fish Bun. The fish was nicely fried, but seriously, it's actually like eating a Filet O'Fish, same kind of crispiness, just a smaller portion hehe.

Shortly after, the sides to our set lunches came. I ordered Set A which comprises of the green salad, gyoza and choice of drink (I chose the hot green tea). The price of the set is just to add $5++ to the ramen that you pick.The green salad was very yummy. I like the sauce they used (tasted like wafu sauce?) and the vegetables were very fresh & crisp. As for the gyoza, it was nothing to wow about although they were pretty delicious.Before I could finish my sides, my Ippudo Shiro ramen arrived! I remember I actually had this the other time at Mandarin Gallery and was not impressed. However surprisingly, this time round I felt it tasted better. Guess could be there wasn't any strong ginger taste lingering in the soup. This ramen is actually Ippudo's original Tonkatsu soup served with thin noodles, 2 pieces of Chashu, cabbage and black fungus. I asked for the spring onions to be removed. Since the ramen soup didn't "stink" of ginger, I could finish every bit of it, although I didn't finish the soup as I was too full by the time I finish all the noodles and my sides.

We were all so full after completing the set lunch, but my colleagues went ahead to order the desserts which I decided to skip in order not to torture my stomach further hehe.

Overall, I think the dining experience this time at this Ippudo Tao branch was more pleasant than the one at Mandarin Gallery. Besides, with the weekday set lunch, it's actually more value for money. So I don't mind going to this restaurant again.

My boss went to Arab Street for lunch and bought swiss rolls from this cake shop for our tea time. She told us the classic swiss roll in the shop is the Kaya version, and true enough it was divine!

The swiss roll texture was very soft and fluffy. Almost like could melt-in-your-mouth type. The kaya flavour was also adequately spread throughout the roll, and not too sweet. She bought 4 flavours and even gave us some per flavour to bring home.

I must say the swiss rolls are really good, because even as 2 nights have already passed and the swiss rolls are kept in the fridge, they are still soft and fluffy. I also like the strawberry flavour.

Next time I must visit this cake shop personally!

We decided to eat at this Hong Kong Kim Gary Restaurant at Tampines 1 on a Saturday late afternoon, since it has been quite a while that I ate some Hong Kong cuisine. ;) It was 5+pm and the lunch special menu was still applicable as it is applicable till 6pm! Haha what a good way to save some $ by having an early dinner.

I ordered the A-Mix Set Meal ($10.90++): grilled chicken steak, pork chop, sunny side up, ham, hotdog, black-pepper spaghetti and boiled vegetables. A small cup of cream soup was also served and I chose hot almond tea for my drink.I think this set is very value for money. Delicious & filling too! Oh for those who may not be able to take spicy food very well, think twice before asking for black pepper sauce to go with your spaghetti. I take spicy food, but I find that the pepper got too spicy as I ate, and had to drink lots of water after eating to cool my tongue.

If u happen to be at Vivo City or Tampines in the late afternoon, and feel hungry, maybe this restaurant will be a great place for you to satisfy your hunger pangs without burning a big hole in your wallet.