While I do not take beef, I knew there were different cuts , types , marbling factors to consider for a slab of quality beef. Japanese Wagyu, Kobe & The Angus Beef are enjoyed due to their tender and degree of marbling. Now, the question is, where to enjoy them?- Lawry’s the prime ribs, Black Angus Steakhouse, Morton’s the Steakhouse..are some well-known places for quality beef.

If you would like to enjoy quality beef at a lower budget, consider Angus House, located at Level 4 of Takasahimaya Shopping Centre. They offer quality beefs as well as charcoal-grilled seafood . The food here is a fusion of Japanese & American cuisine & expect Japanese-styled salads and more.
The Menu is simple, the different types of beef, charcoal grilled seafood, a range of pastas and a set menu. The set menu comes with choice for your mains , bread, rice, dessert, salad, soup of the day & Tiramisu + coffee/ tea. I would suggest to order the set as it is only $6 difference in the pricing.

Soup of the day: Carrot soup

Salad
A japanese styled California Salad with Wafu dressing. They included 2 extra sides- corn grits and potato salad .

Charcoal grilled seafood set ( King prawns, cuttlefish & scallops ) $33++

The grilled seafood came sizzling and served on a sizzling pan. It smells aromatic due to the charcoal flame. The 2 King prawns were charred and smoky but the shell came off easily.The Cuttlefish were over-grilled resulting in tough and chewy texture, like eating rubber!

Charred King prawns
I forgot to take a shot of the Tiramisu cos the I was busy eating but anyway the Tiramisu is award-winning so it was good.

Verdict: I enjoyed the charcoal-grilled seafood and prices are reasonable . Reservations are recommended as the place seemed to be full on weekends .The scallops were juicy and infused with the smoky flavour… I like this!

Do not get mixed up with ‘‘ Salad Stop!’‘. Salad Stop! have various outlets in Singapore- Marina Square, Novena Square, George Street and OUB Centre while ” The Salad Shop” does not have any branches . Located at UOB plaza 2 ( facing the Singapore River), they offer salads for everybody.(herbivores/ carnivores). You get to customise your salads – Choose the salad base, dressings, toppings…etc.


The order form
Pick up the order form and start filling up before queuing up and paying .
Firstly, choose the salad base
Next, select the salad size, feeds and dressing.
Then, proceed to the salad bar with the completed form and to the cashier to pay .
Lastly, wait for your salad to be served to you (dining in)


The Salad bar
The people are busy preparing the salads. The queue is super long especially during lunch hours. It is advised to go before / after lunch hours to avoid standing around to wait for an empty tables and may even have to share tables. The Salad Shop is rather small thus it gets so crowded and packed during lunch hours. I don’t think it is an ideal place if you want to enjoy your salad in peace ( too many people staring, sort of rushing you to quickly finish up your food so they can occupy your seat).


My own creation ($12)
Complimentary bread being provided at the service station. You can take as many as you want ( dun be a cheapo and waste food).
I opted for the ” Elephant size” which allows me to have 6 main feeds, 2 supp feeds and 1 prime feed. My salad has alfalfa sprouts, brocolli, roasted pumpkin, onions, tomatoes, raisins, roasted peppers, grilled zucchini & Chicken Tikka tossed in Sun-dried tomato vinaigrette ( they offer 23 types of dressings). The salad is also well-tossed. You can opt for less / more dressing/ dressing @ the side.The ingredients were fresh and comes in huge pieces.

Verdict : The salad was good , mainly due to the variety of fresh ingredients. But considering the crazy Q, I was hesitating whether to return.

Le Bon Marche, used to be at Tiong Bahru ( next to CentrePs) and now they have moved to a new location at Alocassia Service Apartment. It along the main road, accessibility is a problem if you are driving.

Le Bon Marche adopts a Bistro style, offering French cuisine while it’s neighbour, Al Borgo offers Italian. The bistro resembles a mini supermarket, where they carry all sorts of ingredients/ food for French cooking. If you are looking for French produce to whip up some French cuisine, get them at Le Bon Marche!


Monthly set lunch menu

Monthly set lunch/dinner available priced at $30++ and $48++.The prices here are on the higher side but you pay for what you get! You can enjoy fresh and seasonal produce. They can even prepare a platter of antipasti for a group/ family.


Sauteed Vegetables ($10++)

I can choose the types of veggies I prefer. This bowl of veggies has carrots, broccoli, sugar snap beans and butter beans. The butterbeans belongs to the family of long beans but it is slightly yellowish in colour, sweeter and softer.

Pan Roasted Racasse Fish fillet ($32++)
I was interested to try this ‘’ Racasse fish’’ and it turns out to be Scorpion fish. Did a goggle search and realized this fish is aptly known as Scorpion fish due to it’s venomous spines that can inflict a painful, even deadly, sting.It’s dangerous to capture this fish so I must savour it slowly. But, will the poison be passed to the person eating, I’m not too sure… cross fingers…xx


Scorpion Fish fillet

Anyway, the scorpion fish has a firm and lobster-like meat. The meat was rather mild but when you dip in squid ink sauce, it brings out a rich flavour. The braised fennel were so soft and melts in my mouth in every bite.There were pieces of sun-dried tomatoes in the couscous, It has been a long while since I had couscous and I like the combination.

Verdict: You pay for what you get here ( the quality), I saw bottles of white truffles ( tartufu biano), black truffles carpaccio , white truffle cream … all the gourmet items, I wish I could buy all of them home.

I used to work part-time @ Sweet Salty Spicy Thai Canteen and it has been many years, many changes took place over this period of time. Cafe Epicurious collaborated with Sweet Salty Spicy Kitchen, offering Western + Thai cuisine.
The Manager ( Suraj ) still worked there ( same position ) and I’m surprised he still remembered me after so many years.
Since both Western & Thai foods are available, I made a quick decision and had :
Asian Salad & A turmeric marinated chicken

Asian Salad ($10.50)
This looks more like a Japanese salad imo with slices of nori sheets and smoked salmon. The salad leaves were withered and the smoked salmon was thin and tasteles. Salad were tossed in a sesame dressing.

Turmeric marinated chicken ($14++)
The Turmeric marinated chicken was offered in the Thai menu. Personally, I am a fan of chicken meat marinated in herbs – Turmeric, Marsala, lemongrasss… you name them all!
The Chicken meat was marinated in strong turmeric and preserved black beans and grilled till perfection. The chicken meat was very tender , bursting with flavours in every bite. They serve a dipping sauce ( lime + chilli + preserved soy beans ) along with the chicken. The only complain , too much raw shredded cabbage offered ( underneath the chicken ).

The previous visit to Halia restaurant was a blogger’s brunch outing. This time round, I came for lunch. Halia- means Ginger in Malay ( Teh Halia – Ginger tea) nestled in the Ginger Garden of The Singapore Botanical Gardens.

The Set lunch menu
The Menu changed recently and they changed 80% of the brunch, lunch & dinner menu. However, the favourites still remains in the new menu.
I would STRONGLY RECOMMEND to order food from the set lunch menu. If you going ala-carte, be prepared to spend. Individual dishes cost around $20-$30 for appetizers, $40 & above for mains and $10 & above for desserts. I felt that prices are set on the pricey side .
The set lunch, $28++ for 2 course and $32++ for 3 course is much worth it. A few of the dishes are selected from the ala-carte menu, offered during lunch time.

Mesclun salad, avocado, orange, radish, corn chips, cucumbers in tangy citrus dressing.

Light citrus dressing provides a refreshing salad. I was not a fan of avocado & they were generous with the avocado and served 2 large slices in the salad.

Focaccia sandwich with Tandoori spiced chicken fillet
A warm & crusty focaccia bun is served instead of bread slices. The chicken fillet is marinated with tandoori spices and grilled. I felt that the chicken fillet was rather dry and lacked in flavour. The cubes of mangoes and pickles laid on top of the chicken fillet was good though.

Cappuccino ” dunkin pit” without brownies
Even though I was already 80% full, I wouldn’t want to miss out the desserts ( ha… only $4++ difference). The Cappuccino ”dunkin pit” is supposedly to serve along with 2 chocolate brownies but since the brownies contain walnuts, I had ” dunkin pit” without the brownies .This is a sinful indulgence and best to be shared. This small glass of dessert contains layers of warm chocolate, cool vanilla cream & coffee iced shavings. The chef recommended me to eat it in 1 whole scoop ( from top to bottom) since I didn’t had any brownies to ”dip” with. I followed his recommendation and eat it in 1 whole spoonful and it was indeed rich and shiok! The chocolate was very rich and gooey and it’s like a chocolate milkshake . I felt jerlat after finishing the dessert but was worth every calorie.

Verdict: Recommended to come for lunch / brunch ( set lunch/ brunch menu ). The service was attentive but prices are on the higher side.