Another birthday celebration with fellow evil sista, who chose to dine at Forest 森 restaurant at Equarius hotel. Forest 森, named after celeb chef Sam Leong's wife, serves up Thai/Chinese contemporary dishes with western style presentation. Inline with this dining concept, the fine dining restaurant is designed to impress with majestic tree-like pillars shooting up the roof with branches sprawling across the ceiling. The dining area is brightly lit with natural sunlight flooding in through the full length glass windows.The restaurant also features an open concept kitchen with unobstructed view of the culinary team crafting out dishes to evoke the diners' senses.We all ordered the Special Sunday set lunch Discover Sam Leong’s Finest Creations at Forest 森 $68++, an 8 course set lunch consisting of 13 appetizer portion dishes made with premium ingredients. This menu is only available for Sunday lunch and the menu items are updated monthly. They also serve a 4 course Kids menu at $32++ per pax.Lemongrass Drink with Basil Seeds, available with every set meal for additional $5.00++. A refreshing way to kick start the meal.Soup of the Day was Winter Melon soup with wolfberries. Very nicely brewed soup that was packed with flavors...warms up the soul pronto!First up, Tuna Tartar marinated w/ Fresh Mango and Baby Abalone in Thai Style sauce. The tuna tartar was served in a charcoal waffle cone, fish was fresh and juicy with a hint of mango sweetness. The baby abalone sitting on a tiny bed of Thai mango salad tasted really good with a nice bouncy texture.Pan-seared Hokkaido Scallop in Black Bean Sauce and Vietnamese Roll w/ Sliced Lobster in X.O. Chili Sauce. The jumbo scallop was plump and succulent, and the Viet summer roll was mildly spicy...both were rather tasty.Deep-fried Prawn w/ Crispy Cereal and Chawanmushi w/ Crab meat & Flying fish roe. I love the silky smooth chawanmushi and its savory crab meat and tobiko toppings. The cereal prawn was well executed too.Steamed Cod Fillet w/ Yunnan Ham & minced Ginger, the cod fish was fresh and tender which tasted great with the rich and aromatic ginger sauce, extremely delish!Wok-Fried Cubes of Beef Tenderloin in Black Pepper Sauce & Pan-seared Foie Gras. A luxurious dish that is not just pretty to look at but tasted wonderful too, beef was really tender and goose liver uber creamy and fragrant.For diners who don't take beef, they served the Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Thigh w/ Foie Gras. The chicken thigh was nicely marinated and juicy in texture, and pleasantly complimented by the creamy foie gras.Japanese 'Ramen' w/ Crab Meat & Shredded Chicken in Chicken Broth and Wok-fried Japanese Pearl Rice w/ Smoke Duck & X.O. sausage. The ramen is actually mee sua cooked in chicken soup, the broth was sweet and flavorful...not bad. The fried rice was good though, has powerful wok hei aroma and the lup cheong was splendid.Last but not least, the final course Forest Delight, the chef's special dessert of the day. We had Pandan Kaya cake and Mango Pomelo in Shot glass. Both were fabulous, ending the meal on a sweet note.As this was a birthday celebration, the restaurant had prepared a complimentary slice of birthday cake with candle, completed with elaborate plating. My sista was a happy girl!We enjoyed our lunch at Forest restaurant immensely. The ambiance here is lovely, food and service quality is definitely top of the line. It is worthy of an occasional splurge. For price conscious diners, their Sunday set lunch is great value for money!

For full review: http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2014/07/sunday-lunch-at-forest-equarius-rws.html

For full review - http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2014/05/coffee-dessert-time-at-waffle-slayer.html

Went cafe hopping on a weekday afternoon with friends. We've heard a lot about Waffle Slayer's savory Squid Ink Waffles, and we're here to find out how it taste.
The worn looking wooden framed glass doors that used to be Strangers Reunion's entrance. SR has now moved next door to a bigger shop space. Waffle Slayer has taken over this space and is dedicated to serving waffles, and everything available at SR.We were quite surprised to find that the cafe is almost full house at 4pm on a Monday. We had to squeeze at a small table at the back. Check out the crowd on a weekday afternoon!The tiny cafe was very packed when we arrived, so we decided to order food and drinks first and waited till around 5.30pm to take photos of this place (when majority of the crowd is gone).
The cafe is decorated with retro style fittings and mismatched old & new furniture. Check out the 70s light switches, old school wooden cabinet and the Formica coffee table.The Waffle Slayer's waffle & coffee menu and Strangers Reunion's food & drinks menu.Self service complimentary drinking water.We ordered 2 sweet and 1 savory waffles to share, 2 side dishes and one beverage each.
Truffle Fries $12.90++, this was supposed to be served with cheese shavings but since some of us don't eat cheese, we requested it to be served with only truffle oil and mayo sauce.The fries comes in a huge bowl, with the truffle oil and mayo served on the side. Both the fries and the sauce taste pretty good.
Spam fries $10.90++, with an interesting 'Jenga' style plating...cool. This was yummy as expected, an easy to prepare comfort food but yet the most popular. It was the first dish to be wiped out.Squid Ink Waffle w/ Smoked Salmon $18.90++, served with poached egg and Hollandaise sauce. The waffle itself does not have much taste of squid ink but overall still taste good with the savory salmon and creamy poached egg which were nicely prepared.Matcha Buttermilk Waffle $14.90++, served with Azuki beans, fruits and vanilla ice cream. This was the star waffle of the day. The waffle has a lovely matcha fragrance and goes well with the azuki beans and vanilla ice cream topping. Thumbs up!Red Velvet Buttermilk Waffle $14.90++, served with pistachio tuile, chocolate fudge & vanilla ice cream. We find the waffle taste quite bland and the chocolate fudge sauce a little lacking. Although the pistachio tuile and ice cream was rather delicious, the combination of all these ingredients was lacking the wow factor.For beverage, I had the Cafe Mocha $5.50++, it comes with a nicely done latte art, in fact all hot beverages with milk here comes with elaborate latte art. The mocha taste pretty decent though.Cappuccino $4.90++, with a graceful swan latte art. No complains from my friend so I reckon its good.Two of us had the Hot Chocolate $5.50++. I had a sip of this and find it rather chocolaty, not bad at all.Iced Chocolate $7.50++, served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and sprinkled with chocolate powder. A cool drink to have on a hot hot afternoon.Waffle Slayer serves reasonably decent food and drinks, and the service staffs are friendly as well. This retro themed space could have been a great place to chill, but the tight spaces between tables and the constant crowd makes it hard to do so. We probably wouldn't be back any time soon unless they have more new and exciting stuffs to offer.

For full review - http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2014/05/new-dim-sum-menu-at-crystal-jade-kitchen.html

The last time I visited Crystal Jade was like eons ago. I've since taken a liking to their competitions such as Paradise group and Imperial Treasures group and the likes. We chanced upon the new All Day Dim Sum menu on display at their Suntec branch and decided to give it a try.They have the regular Ala Carte menu on top of the All Day dim sum menu. The dim sum choices weren't too extensive (about 30 items) but there are some unique items that attracted my attention. Items not commonly found in SG includes the Pork Liver siew mai and Shrimp paste fried rice rolls.We ordered one pot of porridge and several dim sum items for sharing.
First up, Claypot Fish Shrimp & Pork slices Congee 鱼虾肉片大煲粥 $9.80++. At less than 10 bucks per pot, this claypot dish portion is large enough for 2-3pax to share.Huge chunks of fish and pork slices as well as deshelled prawns were found in the porridge. The ingredients used were extremely fresh and cooked just right, retaining the juiciness of the meats and their natural flavors. I highly recommend this dish!
Pan-fried rice rolls w/ Spicy shrimp paste 虾米酱煎肠粉 $5.20++. This dish is very HK style, the chee cheong fun were well coated with shrimp paste sauce and has good wok hei aroma. It was not the best I've eaten (the best is only found in HK) but was still very decently done.Pan-fried Carrot cake w/ dried shrimp & Lup cheong 香煎萝卜糕 $4.20++, another yummy dish with ample shreds of radish and fragrant lup cheong bits enveloped within.Old school Pork Liver siew mai 怀旧猪润烧卖 $4.20++, a dish that is unique to HK region and first time seen in SG (at least for me). The pork liver was marinated for long enough period before steaming, contributing to its soft and succulent texture which was well complimented by the pork and shrimp meat beneath it...very delish!The usual suspects, Shrimp dumpling 水晶鲜虾饺 $4.60++ and Crab roe siew mai 蟹皇蒸烧卖 $4.20++ were pretty decent as well, fresh and flavorful.Pork & chive dumpling 家乡韭菜饺 $3.60++, this was one of my fave. The chive used was good quality ones with robust aroma, and the chef was careful to not overcooked it preserving its crunchiness as well. Thumbs up!Beancurd rolls in thick soup 浓汤鲜竹卷 $4.80++, it is uncommon to find this cooked in soup. Crystal Jade's version was rather tasty but not outstanding though.We ordered one dessert each and I had the Aloe vera & osmanthus w/ honey soup 芦荟桂花蜜 $3.80++, a nice and refreshing end to a scrumptious dim sum meal!Crystal Jade has done well with their new dim sum menu, giving us little surprises here and there with their uniquely HK style dishes. Best of all, the prices are very affordable! They have now renewed my interest in them and I will definitely return for more delicious food.

For full review - http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2014/03/design-my-magnum-at-magnum-pleasure.html

I've been a Magnum ice cream fan for the longest time. I first heard about this DIY Magnum concept last year. This mobile store has been making its rounds around the island, moving from place to place every few months, and it has finally found its way to the heartlands, at Nex Serangoon (from mid March to end April 2014).The store is located at Basement 1, Market Sq (opp Shabu Sushi). It has Al Fresco seating around the store.The Menu, with choices of designed desserts, fondue and a handful of main courses.The Design My Magnum ice cream $7 is not stated in the menu. Just go to the cashier and request for one and make payment first, and then pass the receipt to the staffs at the Customization counter.Steps to Design your Magnum
1. choose a coating for your Magnum (Dark/Milk/White chocolate)
2. choose up to 3 different toppings for your Magnum (18 choices includes gold flakes, dried flowers, wolfberries, chili flakes, assorted nuts etc.)
3. choose the drizzle topping (Dark/Milk/White chocolate) and the Magnum logo choco chip (Milk/White) to complete the customized ice cream.And viola...my very own Magnum! Dark chocolate coating with Tricolor chocolate crunchies, Cereal gold flakes & Rose petals, topped with Milk chocolate drizzle and M logo.The dark chocolate coating was really thick and crackles loudly when I sink my teeth in. The vanilla ice cream inside was soft and velvety, combined with my chosen toppings which are all my fave...simply divine!
I will be back for MORE!!!

For full review - http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2014/03/new-menu-at-nanas-green-tea.html

I'm back again at Nana's after I spotted new food items on display at their entrance.The restaurant was already crowded at 5.40pm as school holidays has begun. Lotsa youngsters having desserts here. I got a table after about 10mins wait. They have a brand new menu with bigger and better pictures. Check out their new Hamburg rice sets and Millet rice bowls.As I don't eat beef, I decided to try the new Millet rice bowls. Millet rice is a healthy version of Japanese rice with 10 kinds of grains/cereals mixed with polished white rice. It is high in dietary fiber and contains extra minerals and vitamins that's good for the body.
Chicken Nanban Don $15.80++, has a crispy fried chicken fillet topped with Jap tartar sauce and served with fresh greens on millet rice. All rice bowls come with miso soup.The Chicken Nanban was quite delish. Although the tartar sauce is not as good as the one from Tsukada Nojo, I still like the well marinated crispy chicken meat. The fresh greens complimented the chicken fillet well too. The millet rice beneath tasted very good, it was still soft and fluffy despite the multi-grains mix. Thumbs up.
Tori Karaage Salad $6.80++, crispy fried chicken nuggets on top of assorted veggies and hard boiled eggs. This is served with a choice of Japanese dressings, and I picked my fave sesame dressing to go with the salad.The chicken nuggets were well marinated and crispy. Veggies were freshly chopped and taste fabulous with the yummy sesame dressing. Portion was quite ample for a $6+ dish.
Azuki Shiratama Soft Cream Latte $8.50++. I love this dessert-drink! The sweet and creamy latte was filled with robust flavor of Jap azuki beans and the Soft Serve ice cream simply makes this drink divine..slurp!I'm rather satisfied with the new dishes at Nana's. I will come back again to try more dishes.