Full review - http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2015/02/louhei-dinner-at-shin-yeh.html

Shin Yeh is a famous Taiwanese restaurant group specializing in fine Taiwanese cuisine. Tung Lok brought in this well known brand name in a joint venture with Shin Yeh, together with an experienced team of Taiwanese managers and head chefs, to bring the authentic taste of Taiwan to SG.

It has been a while since I patronize Shin Yeh, I love their food but they are quite pricey and the F&B scene in SG is constantly offering new dining options distracting me from going back to them. Finally, in a discussion with my fellow sistas for a venue to have our louhei dinner in the year of the Goat, we finally settled on the reasonably priced CNY set dinner at Shin Yeh.Dressed with oriental-contemporary furnishings with views of Clarke Quay and Singapore river by the full length windows, we managed to get a table with river view (upon request during reservation, subject to availability).

Table settings are kept simple but classy.A useful guide for the guests to enjoy their Yusheng the auspicious way!A bowl of shredded Bak Kwa Appetizer was served upon our arrival. It was quite tasty, however it's rather pricey at $5++ per bowl!We placed order for a Set Dinner for 4pax that comes with a Yusheng dish and 6 other dishes at $158++. We also ordered two Ala carte dishes, one which is my all time fave dishes from Shin Yeh.

But first up, we shall do our Louhei before everything else!挪威三文鱼生 Prosperity Salmon YuSheng

The waiting staff helped us with the proper steps of louhei, saying auspicious words while adding the sauces and seasoning to the plate. Once done, we helped ourselves with the tossing of the yusheng for a prosperous year ahead....huat arh!The salmon yusheng was very delish, I liked the combination of sauces which is a myriad of flavors from sweet, sour to savory, and the crushed walnuts added a nice crunch to the dish too. Thumbs up.

Next, we had our two Ala carte dishes Salted Egg Yolk Fish Skin $8++ and my fave Taiwanese-style Pan-fried Pork liver $16++.The crispy fish skin coated with creamy egg yolk was pretty addictive to eat. And the pork liver dish was a crowd pleaser as well. The liver slices were cooked just right with an irresistible juicy and tender texture, perfectly complemented by its special sauce. Recommended!

Back to the set meal, we had the ‘Tan Jia’-style Braised Fish Maw & Shredded Sea Cucumber 黄焖海蔘鱼鳔羹, which was a flavorful soup.Followed by a Taiwan-style Pan-fried Seabass w/ Soya Sauce 酱油鲜鱼煎. The fish was fresh and we liked the fragrant ginger & onion sauce.Poached Savoury Kampung Chicken w/ Spring Onion Oil 葱油咸水鸡. A quarter chicken serving size, lightly flavored with spring onion oil. We find this dish a tad bland though.Poached Seasonal Vegetables w/ Bamboo Fungus & Conpoy 干贝竹笙灼时蔬, an unassuming veggie dish that was loaded with flavors, all thanks to the generous serving of savory dried scallop bits.The star dish of the day, Fried Beehoon w/ Pumpkin 金瓜炒米粉. Quality Taiwan Hsinchu beehoon was used for this dish, the natural sweetness of the pumpkin puree was fully infused into the beehoon during cooking process which resulted in a surprisingly fabulous carbo dish. It was so tasty that we still cleaned our bowls despite already feeling quite full at this stage.And ending the meal on a sweet note, the dessert Glutinous Rice Dumplings in Walnut Cream 核桃露汤圆. Smooth, creamy and not too sweet walnut cream and two morsels of Black Sesame rice balls. It was pretty good.We had a great dinner at Shin Yeh, food quality has been maintained at high standards even after 7yrs in operation. Service is still good but waiting staffs doesn't speak Taiwanese accent mandarin anymore. Price wise I would recommend taking the set meals which are more worthwhile, or you may visit their sister restaurant Shin Yeh Bistro at Square2 (Novena) which has a casual dining concept. They serve a subset of the same menu with a more pocket friendly price tag. Shin Yeh will be a good choice for an occasional splurge on those special occasions.

Full review - http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2015/02/dinner-at-shin-yeh-bistro.html

After visiting my in law at TTSH, hubby and I decided to settle our dinner at Novena Sq/Square 2 area. We walked around a little to look see and spotted this new casual dining version of the famous brand name from Taiwan.

We loved Shin Yeh's food and after confirming that the menu is a subset of the original menu with more affordable prices, we gladly asked for a table for two.Pickles are served upon sitting down. This was sweet, tangy and refreshingly crunchy but we couldn't quite make out what vegetable or fruit this is.We ordered 4 dishes to go with Taiwanese sweet potato porridge. They were delicious, especially our fave Pan fried pork liver...it's still the best!In order of appearance, Pan fried pork liver $12.90++, Preserved turnip omelette (Chye por egg) $10++, Hiratake mushroom in claypot (三杯杏鲍菇) $12.90++ and Sauteed HK kailan $9.90++.As we didn't refill our porridge, we still have some space left for sharing one dessert, so we had the Coconut shaved ice w/ Yam & Red bean toppings (small $4.50++, large $8.90++). It was yummy!After we're done with our meal, the waiting staff serves up a complimentary herbal drink and muah chee. The muah chee was nice, but the drink which is supposedly good for blood circulation tasted really yucky. I only had a sip and gave the rest to hubby.That sums up our enjoyable meal at Shin Yeh Bistro. The food is still as good as what we had at the main restaurant but are priced a lot more friendlier to the wallet. Service was good, more casually done unlike its higher end counterpart. I would highly recommend this place to everyone who loves Taiwanese food!

Full review - http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2015/01/lunch-at-jamies-italian-singapore.html

We've been wanting to try this most talked about restaurant in town since its opening, and only got around to doing it when the hype has finally died down. We made advanced reservations just in case. The busy restaurant was not 100% full at lunch hour on a Sunday. Small groups can be seated immediately if all in the party are present.The eatery is positioned as a casual diner with rustic bistro-like interiors. There is a small retail corner selling merchandise and Jamie's cookbooks.We were seated at the 'Singapura' corner with a nicely painted backdrop of our iconic Merlion and national flowers. Table settings are kept simple.In line with Jamie's beliefs, only the freshest, carefully sourced sustainable produce are used in their dishes. All pasta are made inhouse daily with organic ingredients.

Some drinks for starters before the food arrives...Berry Blast $8.50++ and Apple Mojito $8.50++

As usual, we ordered sides for sharing on top of our main courses. Crab & Avocado Bruschetta $14.50++, Crispy Squid w/ garlicky mayo & lemon $11.50++ and Baked Mushrooms w/ smoked buffalo mozzarella $12.50++.The cheesy baked mushroom is not for me. I had the other two dishes which were both delicious and well made.

For my main course, I picked the Grilled Pork Chop $35.00++, marinated & cooked under a brick with parsley bagna cauda, apple, kohlrabi, lemon & crispy crackling (fried pig skin). The chunky pork chop was almost an inch thick, but was evenly cooked and did not lose its tenderness accept for some parts that was all lean meat which tasted slightly dry. It had the smokey BBQ aroma and tasted fab with the crunchy apple slaw. The crackling pig skin was great, like the ones we ate in Bali. I was pretty happy with my choice.Some other main dishes ordered were Lamb chop lollipops $32.00++, 220g Rump Steak $28.50++, Crab Spaghettini $16.00 / 24.50++ and Burger Italiano $27.50++. Most dishes were well received probably due to the quality ingredients used and fine execution.They also have kids menu for the kiddos, with cute names like Chicken Lollipops and Puppy Dogs. Free range chicken and organic sausages were used to make these mini set meals. None of the kids like the mini salad that comes with the meals, though they all gladly finished the main courses.We had an enjoyable meal at Jamie's, food and service was up to our expectations of a Celeb chef 's diner. Prices may be a little steep for some but food is hearty portioned, and made with fresh and healthy organic ingredients that don't come cheap. We thought it was well worth the money spent to dine at a restaurant where its owner is one of the most influential chefs in the world.

Full review & more food photos - http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2014/12/dim-sum-brunch-at-hai-tien-lo-pan.html

This was the last birthday celebration of the year for our evil sista, the grand finale took place at the Cantonese fine dining restaurant, Hai Tien Lo 海天樓, at Pan Pacific hotel. The semi open concept eatery is located at level 3 with some tables overlooking the uber chic lobby and bar below.Contemporary oriental decor theme and table settings...The Weekend Dim Sum Brunch menu ($68++ per adult, $38++ per child, exclude drinks) is Ala Carte buffet style with limited selection of premium dishes and unlimited offering of dim sum and Cantonese delights.

For the premium dishes under the Chef’s Signatures section, everybody gets a serving of Mini Buddha Jumps over the Wall and Braised Abalone w/ Beancurd in Conpoy sauce, and also 2 choices (out of 5 dishes) of the restaurant's signature creations.

The Buddha jumps over the wall soup was loaded with huge chunks of dried scallops, a whole abalone, bamboo pith and cordyceps flower. Every scoop of this delicious soup was bursting with flavors. The Braised abalone with beancurd was another luxurious crowd pleaser.虫草菌炖迷你佛跳墙干贝汁扒鲍鱼豆腐

As for the 2 choices of chef's creations, we picked the Hokkaido Scallops & Coral Clams in Homemade XO sauce and Deep-fried Sea Fish w/ Mushrooms in Supreme stock. Both dishes were well executed and really tasty.极品酱爆带子珊瑚蚌松菇金汤炸海上鲜

We ordered two servings of Cantonese Roasted Combination Platters with almost everything that's available under the BBQ dishes section. The platters were wiped out in a jiffy!烟薰鸭胸, 烧鸭, 蜜汁叉烧, 脆皮烧腩肉 & 青葱姜酱醉鸡片

There is only about a dozen items under the dim sum menu but we certainly found some hidden gems in there. Staple dishes such as Har Gao and Siew Mai were expertly done. And, new creations such as Sesame Purple Potato Balls w/ Minced Chicken & Mushrooms and Fried Prawn Rolls w/ Mixed Fruit Salad were pretty impressive as well. The Fried Carrot Cake in XO sauce was quite disappointing though, the rest were passable.白玉鲜虾饺鲜肉烧卖皇芝麻蕃薯球Purple Potato Balls w/ Minced Chicken & Mushrooms什果沙律虾筒樱花酱皇萝卜糕肉酱炸豆腐

Some picks from the Appetizers menu, all 3 dishes were delectable.青芒果鱼皮沙律七味椒盐白饭鱼小墨鱼海蜇沙律

The myriad of Main courses we had were all great dishes made with good quality fresh ingredients, we have no complains at all.咸蛋金沙鲜中虾沙丹芥未明虾球镇江香醋排骨皇白灼海中虾鱼子鲜虾仁炒饭

And last but not least, dessert and complimentary birthday cake for the birthday girl. We managed to have a small bowl of yummy Mango Sago dessert despite having 24 dishes prior to this!

The complimentary chocolate fudge cake was chocolaty but too sweet for our liking.杨枝甘露Our dining experience at Hai Tien Lo was a magnificent one, food quality was exceptional and so was the service rendered. However, we felt that they should arrange additional staffs to cater to more patrons during the weekends, getting the staffs to attend to us was taking longer than it should have been for a fine dining establishment like this one. That being said, this is still a fine restaurant worthy of an occasional splurge for those special occasions.

Full review - http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2014/12/heritage-afternoon-tea-at-clifford-pier.html

Finally got to try the recently introduced Heritage Afternoon Tea menu created by Shermay Lee, owner of Shermay's Cooking School, and also author of Peranakan Cookbooks capturing traditional nonya recipes past down from her grandma. This menu is available at the newly renovated upmarket restaurant, Clifford Pier, at the Fullerton Bay hotel. 

The first thing that struck us was the imposing X'mas tree beautifully dressed in classy Tiffany blue theme, with a huge Tiffany gift box at the base.We arrived a little early and got to hang around the posh lobby taking photos while waiting for the restaurant to start sitting guests for afternoon tea.I took a dozen photos of the stunning Clifford Pier, with iconic colonial style ceilings and stylishly designed decor and furnishings. This restaurant has the best hi tea ambiance so far among the 5 stars hotels I've been to.At exactly 3.30pm, the restaurant opens for afternoon tea, and we were ushered swiftly to our seats. Check out the simple and chic table settings and condiments.Cream cheese, Pandan kaya, Pineapple jam, Fruit jam, Chilli sauce & Butter.

The Afternoon Tea menu ($43++) consists of 8 savory treats and 8 sweet treats that has distinct Peranakan influences, and a selection of local (Teh Tarik, Kopi Kosong & Air Bandung) and western favorite beverages to go with the food. Both food and drinks are free flow.

For starters, I ordered the Teh Tarik while hubby had the Cafe Latte. The Teh Tarik was not too bad but a tad sweet. I'm more impressed with the ice Bandung drink which was really fragrant and refreshing.In the midst of sipping tea, the restaurant suddenly came alive when a pianist started playing at the grand piano in the middle of the restaurant and singing live for the patrons. And, he sang quite well too.The first dish arrived after a short wait, and it was served on a plate. A pair of Kurobuta Pork Kong Ba Bao & Chilli Crab Mantou. Both were delicious, the braised pork belly was soft and well infused with flavor, and the chilli crab filling has got chunky crabmeat with tasty tomato sauce. A nice start to the meal!When we're done with the starter dish, the waiting staffs served up a 3-Tier afternoon tea goodies. On the top tier was scones, Buttermilk scones & Tropical fruits scones. They were not too buttery and taste good with the pandan kaya and pineapple jam. Some scone lovers may find them not buttery enough though.The middle tier contains the savory snacks and sandwiches. Handcrafted Kueh Pie Tee, Mini Po Piah Wrapped in Nonya Egg Skin, Nonya Chicken Curry & Roti Jala Wrap, Bak Kwa Finger Sandwich, Hae Bee Hiam Sandwich & Otak Sandwich.

The savories were my favorite, we ordered second helping of the Chilli Crab mantou and the Kueh Pie Tee. The Chicken Curry & Roti Jala Wrap, Bak Kwa & Hae Bee Hiam sandwiches were commendable too. The only disappointment is the Otak sandwich, the otak is low quality and chewy, not nice.At the bottom tier were the sweet treats. As it was X'mas month, they replaced some of the original pastries with Christmas pastries. We have Roselle Jam Linzer Cookie, Bandung Macaron, Red Velvet Swiss Roll, Mixed Fruit Cake, Christmas Fruit Cake & Pear Tart.

The sweets were not very impressive, I only liked the Red velvet swiss roll and the Pear tart cookie, the Bandung macaron was overly sweet and '漏风'! The rest were forgettable.Despite having some minor misses with food quality, the afternoon tea experience was pretty awesome and we really adored the gorgeous ambiance of this elegant establishment. Service rendered here was good, I would gladly return to try the original menu after the festive seasons.