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Chiaki27
This is Chiaki27 living in East. I work in Central. I like to hang out in Central, East. Japanese, Korean, Singaporean, Taiwanese & Hong Kong are my favorite cuisines. I also love Café, Restaurant and Dim Sum, Ramen, Chicken Rice.
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Lacklustre food and poor service Cry Oct 27, 2013   
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Categories : Korean | Korean BBQ

Side dishes - banchan

Side dishes - banchan

 
We were famished by dinner time and simply decided to head to Kkongdon since we were at Marina Square. Unfortunately, things did not really get off on a good note because we were told that:
- The ginseng chicken soup takes a whooping 30 mins before it can be served
- We can't request the kitchen to cook the BBQ meat for us
- And service was really patchy because getting the attention of the waitresses alone was tough

Anyway, we still decided to order the samgyetang and not to do BBQ ourselves (since we were too hungry to cook) and ordered something else instead.

Although the banchan was free-flow, it was disappointing at best. The bean sprouts were too hard (not crunchy at all) while the radish kimchi tasted a bit odd. The lotus wasn't the usual sweet type I find in most Korean restaurants while the cabbage kimchi was only passable.
Fried kimchi and pork

Fried kimchi and pork

 
We ordered the stir-fried kimchi with pork which does not come with steamed rice so you have to order it separately. The meat itself is OK, succulent and absorbed the flavour of the sauce. However, the kimchi failed to impress and frankly speaking, the sauce was too sweet for me. Most versions I've tasted so far tend to be on the spicy side with a slight sourish taste from the kimchi so Kkongdon's version should suit those who prefer this to be toned down on the spiciness.
Kimchi hotpot

Kimchi hotpot

 
The kimchi hotpot was OK with quite a fair bit of ingredients like meat, mushrooms, kimchi, vegetables but given that it cost 20 bucks and that the meat was more fats than meat, it didn't feel like such a good deal. The soup was also rather diluted which I thought was a pity. If you want to order ramen, note that it comes separately at the price of $2.80 and it's just for one person.
 
Date of Visit: Oct 26, 2013 

Spending per head: Approximately $20(Dinner)

Other Ratings:
Taste
 3  |  
Environment
 2  |  
Service
 1  |  
Clean
 2  |  
Price
 1

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Categories : Mongolian | Multi-Cuisine | Halal | BBQ | Buffet

Sushi, salad and mussels

Sushi, salad and mussels

 
Was here for a company dinner so obviously, this was not a conscious choice on my part. It's situated within Park Mall which gets really quiet and dim at night but surprisingly, there were quite a lot of people who were here. I started off with the usual cold items i.e. sushi, seafood and salads. The mussels were OK but the sushi was rather disappointing and didn't taste as fresh as I would have wanted. As for the salad, it was merely passable.
Various dim sum and finger food

Various dim sum and finger food

 
Moving on to the dim sum and snack items, although there was a decent selection, I thought that there weren't many items which caught my fancy. It was as if nothing really tasted horrible and yet nothing could be considered as delicious.
Chili crab with buns & other hot dishes

Chili crab with buns & other hot dishes

 
I didn't like the chili crabs but found the deep fried buns better. Strange when you come to think of it because the side dish got into my good books rather than the main ingredient. The other meat dishes were mediocre. As for the famed barbecue meats, the queue was pretty long and I didn't want to wait for that so I skipped this section.

 
To end the evening, I had porridge which was really not what I would eat in most situations. I thought of using this to clear the saltiness that had built up over the evening but was unsuccessful.

Considering the price of around $30 in town, the spread is decent. However, more can be done about the quality so that it feels like a much better deal. Service was relatively quick i.e. clearing of plates was efficient.
 
Date of Visit: Oct 19, 2012 

Spending per head: Approximately $30(Dinner)

Other Ratings:
Taste
 3  |  
Environment
 2  |  
Service
 3  |  
Clean
 2  |  
Price
 2

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Customisable mains with OK sides Cry Oct 20, 2013   
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Categories : Thai | Malay | Restaurant | Rice | Kids-Friendly

Prawn cake and stuffed chicken wings

Prawn cake and stuffed chicken wings

 
Whenever I visit the Bali Thai outlet in Ion on a weekend, it's usually not fully packed which is considered good for me because I never like crowded restaurants to begin with. I've been pretty satisfied with the food served here so far but this visit seemingly wanted to buck the trend.

First up were the sides i.e. prawn cake and stuffed chicken wings. You can get these at literally every Thai restaurant so it's a readily available dish. Unfortunately, the version served on this day tasted a bit odd. The prawn cake appeared thinner than usual so I could taste more of the batter outside rather than the filing. The chicken wing looked much lighter in colour than usual so the skin didn't have that crispy taste and the filling was rather bland.
Customisable main - seafood hor fun in satay sauce

Customisable main - seafood hor fun in satay sauce

 
As for the customised main dish, I chose seafood horfun in satay sauce which was what I tasted before. Strangely speaking, the 2nd time I tasted it felt a bit different and it felt oiler as you went further down the plate.

It does feel as if inconsistency is the key here because service was also less attentive than my first visit to this branch. I've tried other Bali Thai branches which were of a similar standard so it remains to be seen if it has improved now.
 
Recommended Dish(es):  Customised main dishe
 
Date of Visit: Oct 13, 2012 

Spending per head: Approximately $25(Dinner)

Other Ratings:
Taste
 2  |  
Environment
 3  |  
Service
 2  |  
Clean
 3  |  
Price
 3

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Categories : Japanese | Restaurant | Ramen

 
Was looking for a place to grab a quick bite in the forever crowded Orchard area and happened to see that there was no queue outside of Menya Musashi (it was about 20 minutes to 6pm on a Saturday evening). Wanting to satisfy our hunger quickly, we headed in and ordered the usual fare we would have in ramen places.
Gyoza

Gyoza

 
First up was the gyoza which was juicy and lightly grilled on one side. I think the volume of the filling and the size of the gyoza was just nice. One thing which needs improvement should be that it needs a bit more time on the grilled side to make it more crispy.
White tora chashu ramen

White tora chashu ramen

 
As for the white tora ramen, the noodles were OK but the soup was a little too salty and oily to my liking. The char siew was pretty big but then it didn't feel as tender as I would have wanted it to be.

I've not tried the other Menya Musashi outlets but just purely based on what I've tasted, I think the ramen here is decent but I probably would not want to queue up for it. I may return only if the restaurant is not jam-packed.
 
Recommended Dish(es):  Gyoza
 
Date of Visit: Sep 22, 2012 

Spending per head: Approximately $20(Dinner)

Other Ratings:
Taste
 3  |  
Environment
 3  |  
Service
 3  |  
Clean
 3  |  
Price
 3

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Categories : Chinese | Café | Desserts and Cakes | Burgers and Sandwiches | Coffee | Brunch | Kids-Friendly

2-Mushroom Chicken Soup

2-Mushroom Chicken Soup

 
If not for the fact that the food here is pretty good, I would not have even bothered coming here for a second time. The first visit did put me off quite a bit due to the poor service but I needed to grab dinner before class on a Saturday evening and this was the only place I found without a queue. I was keeping my fingers crossed that it will be better the second time round.

Well, in terms of the food, it did impress me. However, the service still leaves much to be desired. The restaurant was only half-full and yet you have the waiters and waitresses standing around while I waited for my plain water and order. It left me wondering if the kitchen was too slow in dishing out the orders or the waiters had too little to do. In the end, I did not even ask them to bring my bill to the table. I walked straight to the counter to pay or else I would have wasted more time waiting for the bill.

Coming to the food, this mushroom chicken soup was really great. It was rich but not to the point of being overwhelming and it had lots of ingredients which made for a hearty meal. I wasn't expecting such a huge bowl of soup so if you are a small eater, chances are you will be quite full after finishing this.
Chocolate Fudge Cake

Chocolate Fudge Cake

 
The chocolate fudge cake was passable though. It wasn't moist enough and felt a bit rough in terms of its texture but in terms of taste, it was just right i.e. not too sweet or bland. I would have wanted the chocolate and the sponge cake to be more moist.
Rosemary sea salt chick

Rosemary sea salt chick

 
The rosemary sea salt chicken was quite unique since it comes with the apple cranberry sauce which is sweet. Coupled with the savoury rosti and chicken, it was unexpectedly good. As for the salad, it was a bit too sour for me so I guess there was too much vinegar in it.

Frankly speaking, if you can turn a blind eye to the patchy service for the sake of the food or relaxed atmosphere here, I think this outlet will be suitable for you. Otherwise, you might be better off going to other outlets or else you risk spoiling your appetite due to the long waiting time. I still like Cedele's food but I prefer spending my time elsewhere than to wait here and spoil my mood. When you are in a bad mood, nothing tastes good.
 
Recommended Dish(es):  2-Mushroom Chicken Soup. Rosemary sea salt chicken
 
Date of Visit: Jan 26, 2013 

Spending per head: Approximately $30(Dinner)

Other Ratings:
Taste
 4  |  
Environment
 4  |  
Service
 2  |  
Clean
 3  |  
Price
 3

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