I usually don't take photos or write blogs about business lunches with vendors as there is lack of opportunities and inconvenient to take photos most of the time. However, this lunch session was different, the vendors themselves couldn't help taking photos of the exquisite dishes served up by this classy restaurant.

We had a party of 20pax and our hosts had reserved the Ruby room which has a gigantic 20 seater table, the largest of the 4 private rooms at Hai Tien Lo. Even the fresh flower center piece was huge!Their CNY Set lunch menu were priced from $988++ onward. We had an 8 course Cantonese cuisine menu including the Yusheng platter.

Yusheng w/ Norwegian salmon, surf clams & crispy fish skin. The yusheng was served on a dedicated table for convenient louhei, with an impressive presentation.The yusheng sauce was very delicious, coupled with the fresh premium ingredient used, definitely one of the best I had for the year of Horse.

Double boiled Buddha jumps over the wall 佛跳墙, a luxurious soup with abalone, dried scallops, bamboo pith and pork ribs. This clear soup was powerfully flavored despite its humble looks...slurp.Steamed Soon Hock in superior soy sauce, fish was fresh and succulent...perfectly executed.Braised whole abalone 三头鲍 w/ dried oyster & black moss. Another chinese delicacy with a huge 200g whole abalone stewed in oyster sauce. The abalone was cooked just right, very tender and juicy...nice!Sauteed Hokkaido scallop & prawn w/ sakura shrimps. The plump king prawn and jumbo scallop were a delight to eat, the crispy savory sakura shrimps added a nice bite to the chunky scallop.Eight treasures herbal chicken, I'm not a fan of herbal anything and couldn't fully appreciate this bitter tasting dish. But judging from the speed this dish was devoured by fellow diners, I figured its good after all..The highlight of the day, Steamed rice w/ preserved meats in mini pumpkin. Now, usually the carbo dish served near the end of a chinese course meal is not the best dish of the meal even if it was very well cooked. But this one really stand out as the most impressive dish of the day! It scored full marks in terms of presentation, smell and taste...色香味俱全.I can already smell the fragrance of the lup cheong flavored rice while it was being served to other diners at the table. The presentation was undoubtedly cute with a nicely etched 福 word on the mini pumpkin. The steamed rice was fully infused with flavors from the chinese pork sausage, liver sausage, wax duck meat, chinese mushroom and the sweetness coming from the pumpkin flesh...thumbs up!

Last but not least, the dessert which consists of two portions, Double boiled hashima w/ ginseng roots, white fungus & red dates and Prosperity CNY cakes.

The CNY cakes 年糕 were pretty good...chewy and fragrant without being overly sweet.However, the luscious Hashima soup was way too sweet for my liking. I ended up scooping out the hashima to eat without drinking the soup. The ginseng roots were very bitter as well. This was perhaps the only disappointment of the day.I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch at the Hai Tien Lo and would highly recommend this place to all who has a deep pocket. The opulent ambiance, top notch service and premium grade cuisine will be worth every penny you spend here.

For detail review - http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2014/02/louhei-lunch-at-hai-tien-lo-pan-pacific.html

For full review - http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2014/05/dinner-at-hamanoya-robata-dessert-from.html

This was my 2nd visit to Hamanoya, they have since added many new items to their menu and I am here to suss them out.They have added many new sushi and sashimi items which are lacking in their previous menu. However, being the first Robata restaurant in SG, their forte is their slow grilled items so I'm still sticking to ordering ala carte charcoal grilled items for my dinner tonight.The food portion looks seemingly small in the pictures so I picked out about 5 savory items and an Onigiri as the carbo dish. The drink and a small complimentary appetizer was served right after placing order.The spinach cold dish was nice and refreshing. However, I was kinda disappointed that they have stopped serving complimentary skewered seafood as complimentary starter dish which I had on my first visit.
Grilled Onigiri w/ miso paste $3.99++, this was lightly grilled over charcoal fire to bring out the smokey aroma of the miso paste. It was very tasty and the chef did a good job of making sure the rice is still soft and moist despite having gone through the grilling process.Grilled Asparagus wrapped w/ Bacon $4.99++, this is a no brainer pick on my part as it is a guaranteed yummy dish. Who could resist anything made with crispy bacon?Grilled Chicken meatball w/ half boiled egg $4.99++, I had this before and I'm having it again, as this is way too delicious to not order again. The marinated minced chicken meat slow cooked on a large wooden spoon was extremely juicy and flavorful, and dipping it into the creamy half boiled egg just takes it to a whole new level. Must try!This is something new, Grilled Miso paste w/ fresh vegetables $4.99++. The Miso paste is the main focus here even though it was supposed to be the dipping sauce for the freshly cut veggies. The miso paste has added bits of finely chopped veggies to enhance its flavor and the grilling process gave it a really nice smokey fragrance. It was quite tasty but a tad too salty for my palate.Grilled Salmon belly $11.99++, another dish that I had previously and don't mind having it again and again. The restaurant has limited servings of these daily and it gets sold out pretty fast. It is not hard to figure out why it is such a popular dish. Being the softest part of the fish, the tender and succulent meat was oozing juicy goodness from within...simply divine!At this point, I already knew I had over-ordered for tonight. All the dishes served were really larger in portion as compared to what I saw on the pictures. It didn't help that my last dish was also a big portion one. Tonpei Yaki とんぺい焼き $7.99++, a Japanese Izakaya styled omelette with pork belly slices and chopped veggies topped with savory tonkatsu sauce and creamy mayo.This was a truly mouth-watering dish, there were generous amount of juicy pork belly slices in the omelette. I was pleasantly surprised that they are charging only 8 bucks for this dish! Definitely recommended.
I didn't manage to finish all my food in one seating so I packed them back for dinner next day. The pork omelette and the salmon belly remains very delish even after sitting in the fridge and being reheated after one day!
The service level here definitely scores high points in my good books, very professional and polite like in every authentic Japanese restaurant. Coupled with reasonably priced and fantastic food, this is Hamanoya's recipe for keeping their customers happy, and coming back again and again.

For full review & more photos - http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2014/03/bijin-nabe-at-tsukada-nojo-chinatown.html

Finally got to try this popular Bijin Nabe (Collagen hotpot) at the Chinatown Point outlet. We arrived at the restaurant at 6.30pm on a weekday and was told to join in the queue for a table.This outlet operates differently from the PS branch where customers are required to leave their contact numbers with them to join the waiting list, and do not need to be physically queuing for the table. However, they do provide complimentary Japanese tidbits and magazines at the waiting corner for customers to kill time as the wait can be long sometimes.In between the wait, we noticed some customers arriving with a 'reservation'...what? We always thought that no reservations was allowed for dinner after 6pm, but they were indeed being given priority to next available table when everyone in their party has arrived. Ok, we shall ask about it later. Meanwhile, we checked out the menu and decide what to order for our dinner.

We ordered the Must Try Bijin Nabe 美人鍋 Set ($25++ per pax, min 2pax to order), and some sides to go along with the hotpot. The friendly waitress took our orders when we have reached the first in the queue. Our wait lasted about 30mins with 2 groups of people jumping the queue with their reservations. Shortly after we placed order, our table was ready and we were being ushered in swiftly with the entire shop yelling "irasshaimase!!!"...officially welcoming us in to dine.
Table setting with built-in induction cooker and hotpot utensils.The much anticipated collagen 'pudding' arrived with a friendly Jap waitress explaining what we're gonna be eating. The pudding-like Jidori soup was made with highly prized free range Jidori chicken, raised in a controlled environment in Miyazaki prefecture, Kyushu. The chicken bones were stewed for over 8hrs and left to cool to produce this collagen pudding. The pudding is imported on a daily basis directly from their Miyazaki farms.When heated, the pudding gradually melted into a thick broth. The process took about 5mins, and we could already smell the aroma of the well made chicken soup. An organic chicken was revealed underneath the soup. The waitress then scooped up the chicken and a small cup of soup for everyone to taste the original flavor before the ingredients go into the hotpot. The broth was delicious!

The hotpot ingredients (4pax portion) has fresh prawns, minced chicken balls, Jap watermelon radish, zucchini, Jap beancurd, black fungus, enoki mushrooms and a variety of common veggies. All ingredients are carefully selected to make up the nourishing Bijin Nabe 美人鍋. The serving may seem somewhat lacking but looks can be deceiving, the noodle that comes with the hotpot set will fill up the gap later on.The friendly waitress again, helped us with the cooking of the ingredients, explaining the origins of each unique ingredient and their nutrition value during the process. We didn't need to lift a finger! A couple of mins later, the Bijin Nabe 美人鍋 is ready to be consumed. We all eagerly dig in. Everything in this hotpot was oishii, I especially liked the crunchy watermelon radish!

The fresh prawns and some of the veggies that has an extremely short cooking time were left by the side for us to cook as we desire. The prawns were sweet and succulent!The noodles (choice of egg noodle, mochi mochi noodle & rice noodle) was served last. The egg noodle soaked up all the goodness of the chicken broth and was utterly delish to eat.We were filled to the brim by the time we're done with the noodles. And the side dishes served in between the hotpot session did helped to make us full as well.
Nikumaki Onigiri ($3.50 - $3.80++ each) is one of their signature dishes. It is a bacon wrapped rice ball with 4 kinds of toppings. I had the original one and it was very nice! Definitely recommended.Do note that these rice balls are quite huge, please don't over order. One per pax is quite enough for ladies, maybe one more for big appetite guys.
Chicken Nanban $8.50++, is a Miyazaki specialty served with homemade tartar sauce. The fried chicken was uber tender and juicy, and pairs well with the creamy mayo-like tartar sauce...yums.Fried Kagoshima Sweet Potato w/ Honey Vanilla Ice Cream $8.50++. The crispy, sweet and mushy potato fries were incredibly addictive to eat.At the end of the meal, we were presented with a nice little dessert platter with a 'camera' in the middle, drawn with chocolate sauce, and the words 'Thank you for taking pictures!'. This is a little unusual as their drawings are usually chicken related. Perhaps we were really too busy taking photos of every single dish and sauces served here The bite sized sweet treat was Lemon Orange jelly. Flavor changes daily based on the chef's mood...nice!
Just before we leave, we were given a name card each. Every customer becomes an Assistant Manager upon their first visit to Tsukada Nojo. Then they will be gradually promoted through the ranks (based on number of visits) until they attained the CEO status. Check out the number of 'employees' on the leadership board.While making payment, we checked with the staff on their reservation policy. For Chinatown Point branch, reservation is allowed for bookings before 7pm. That explains it! We shall call up to book a table on our next visit.

Another piece of good news, only at Chinatown Point outlet, the Bijin Nabe is served all day on Sat/Sun!
Our dining experience at Tsukada Nojo was an exceptional one. Premium quality food, Jap standard warm service and down to earth pricing...we couldn't ask for more! A repeat visit is already in the planning 

For full review - http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2014/08/dinner-at-poulet-bedok-mall.html

I've heard about Poulét's famous french roast chicken for a while now. I'm not the sort that likes to queue very long for good food, so I waited till there's an opportunity to eat at one of its outlets without queuing for a table. At about 6.15pm on a regular Friday evening, I decided to have my dinner at Poulét, Bedok Mall. No queue.The open concept eatery has an Eiffel tower theme decor like all other outlets. They have a couple of new dishes in their menu now. They also serve fish and pork dishes on top of chicken dishes. No main courses are priced above 31 bucks, pretty affordable.Since I'm here to try the french roast chicken, I picked the Poulét Roti half chicken with their newly introduced cranberry sauce. And added one side dish and a drink to complete my meal.
Poulét de Cranberry (half) $17.90++, served with tangy cranberry sauce and double Pommery & Dijon mustard. True to its reputation, the roasted spring chicken is uber tender and juicy...I love it! The cranberry sauce was nicely done which gave the chicken a refreshingly sweet and sour taste. The mustard is quite sour and I'm not a fan of wasabi so I don't know how to appreciate it, luckily there's only a small amount on the plate.Sauteed Wild Mushroom $7.90++, assorted wild mushrooms served with an expertly executed poached egg. Check out that runny golden yolk...another great dish that I liked very much.My drink Raspberry Lemonade $4.90++, it was a lemon soda with raspberry flavored syrup. It tasted quite nice too, no complains.Poulét gave me an amazing first impression, serving delicious and good quality french food at pocket friendly prices. Waiting staffs are warm and smiley and are quick to clear away empty dishes. I'm already thinking about what to eat on my next visit!

For full review - http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2014/07/weekend-brunch-at-symmetry-cafe.html

This is my 3rd visit to the Symmetry cafe, I've eaten lunch and dinner here during weekdays and we're back here again to try their hugely popular weekend brunch.Their brunch menu consists of quite a number of hearty breakfast dishes that has eggs and toast as the staple ingredients. We each ordered a main course, and shared a side and a dessert.
My Ham Hock & Pancetta Steak $23++, comes with smoked Italian bacon steak, shredded pork knuckle, scramble eggs, hash brown, crispy toast and some greens. The roast pork knuckle was very well marinated and cooked till extremely soft, I love eating this with the eggs on the toast. The savory pancetta steak was tender and juicy which was delish, and the crispy hash brown was yummy as well.The BIG Breakfast $24++, has 2 eggs of choice (scrambled, poached & sunny side up), maple glazed bacon, smoked salmon, chicken cheese sausage, sauteed mushrooms, hash brown, crispy toast and greens. My friend had her eggs poached, and they were served covered with melted cheese, she loved it! The giant cheesy sausage and the other ingredients makes up a really huge and filling dish, my friend had trouble finishing all of them.Steak & Eggs $29++, comes with grilled steak, sunny side ups, chunky bratwurst sausage, toast and greens, served with honey mustard & caramelized onion sauce. My friend was happy with her steak which was well done but still tender, the juicy German pork sausage and eggs were nicely executed too.For sides, we ordered the ever so addictive Prawn Popcorn w/ Wasabi Remoulade $17++. Still bouncy and succulent as expected...yums.The breakfast dishes were huge portioned so we're left with only small space to share one dessert dish. Our order was none other than the Waffles $16++! The crisp and fluffy waffles were served with berries compote, peanut butter, nutella, maple syrup, honeycomb ice cream and chantilly cream. One of the best waffles we've eaten...thumbs up!Our beverages, Grapefruit Citron $13++, Berries Smoothie $10++ and my Chocolate Crunch Milkshake $10++. My milkshake was uber thick and chocolaty...its almost as good as the one I had at Prive Cafe, almost.Another enjoyable meal session at Symmetry cafe. Their Brunch menu is the most value for money option, serving superb quality food at pocket friendly prices. We foresee many more visits in the future! Do remember to make advance reservations to avoid disappointment.