Diner的個人專頁

If you can't find O'ma Spoon in Marina Square, just ask any passerby where the infamous Hotpot Culture buffet restaurant (publicized recently for a dead cockroach in its salted veg dish) is located and you'll get directions to the cafe. Owned by a Korean lady, O'ma Spoon is famous for its injeolmi bingsu or shaved ice with rice cakes and roasted soy powder. Not soya fans, my dining companion  and I opted for the signature 'OMG bingsu' instead. This is a heavenly combo of mango cubes, berries, almond slivers, cheesecake and shaved ice. 'OMG bingsu' comes in a slightly smaller, lower priced version which goes by the name of 'Mango Cheese  Bingsu' or if you're alone, you can order this item in a takeaway cup 'Petit Bingsu' but the mini version does not have almonds, berries and cheesecake. So it's better to visit Oma Spoon in a group so you can order the regular portion to share or try different flavours at one go.We've visited both Nunsaram and MOF Snowman for their bingsu but our vote goes to Oma Spoon for the best mango bingsu  in town, in terms of texture and quality of ingredients used. The ajuma owner certainly doesn't stinge on quality as we spied cartons of Paul's brand UHT milk in a corner of the shop. This is the milk that goes into the making of the shaved ice at Oma Spoon. The bingsu's texture here is finer, and the fresh mango topping for the bingsu is of better quality, compared with the desserts served at both Nunsaram and MOF Snowman. At Nunsaram, fake tasting dried mango strips are mixed with the fresh mango in the bingsu, while at MOF Snowman we were served acidic, unripe mango cubes in our bingsu.  The cafe environment at Oma Spoon is more pleasant and relaxed than both Nunsaram and MOF Snowman too (the latter is like a school tuck shop dining area located next to a busy corridor right in front of a table BBQ restaurant).Besides the injeolmi bingsu and mango cheese bingsu, the other item that is popular among customers at this Oma Spoon Cafe is the banana chocolate brownie bingsu. We will be revisiting this cafe soon to try this item.…查看更多

I was wary about trying Milk Cow's Korean soft serve ice cream after a sickly sweet encounter with a similar product, Honey Creme, but went along with my friends who insisted that I give their favorite new dessert stall a chance.Everything looked tempting but I avoided the honeycomb topping this time and opted for Snow Drop $5.90 which was a cup of their signature ice cream made of organic whole milk topped by a mound of candy floss. Can choose jelly beans or M&M to go with the ice cream and I opted for the latter. The ice cream tastes divine - it was  very smooth and every mouthful was full of the wholesome, rich and full bodied taste of full cream, fresh milk. This is a great way to meet my daily calcium quota. I liked that Milk Cow's soft serve was only faintly sweet so I can finish the whole cup without feeling guilty about consuming too many calories. It's very filling and perfect on a hot day.Milk Cow is not for the lactose intolerant as every twirl of the ice cream is power packed with the goodness of dairy milk. It's either a love it or hate it experience depending on whether you like or dislike fresh milk. Honey Creme's version contains more sugar and lacks the smooth, creamy taste of Milk Cow's soft serve. I would rate Honey Cream 3.25/5 and Milk Cow 5/5 on taste.…查看更多

It's not easy to locate Snowman Desserts unless you hang out at NEX pretty often. You won't find a listing on the mall directory. It's actually on level 2 taking over half of the premises of Japanese restaurant MOF, near Watsons. The Korean owner started off at NEX with a branch of Daessiksin, the popular DIY Korean BBQ buffet that grew from a single outlet opposite Novena Church (now moved to United Square) into a chain of several restaurants. The enterprising businessman has turned the NEX shop space into a 3-in-1 restaurant, offering the Korean BBQ buffet for lunch and dinner, and the Ssiksin fried chicken and dessert (Snowman) throughout the day to maximize returns from the rent on his shop unit.Customers who order the fried chicken and desserts are seated at long tables at the front end of the restaurant, near the walkway in full view of the unending stream of weekend shoppers strolling in the mall. If dining as a couple or small group of three or four pax, you'll be seated with and rubbing elbows with other customers, just like eating at a school tuckshop at recess time.Prices start at $3.50++ for a cup of soft serve ice cream served with freshly fried churros. Takeaway price for these cups is $3.50nett. The highlight of Snowman's menu is Korean shaved ice or bingsu whose prices range from $10.50++ to $14.00++. We ordered the fruit-based bingsu for dining in at $14++ or $16.48 nett per bowl. Each bowl serves up to two pax. The cheapest bingsu in town is at Tom N Toms Coffee which are priced from $9.50nett with free wifi thrown in. Snowman's price point is on par only if it excludes service charge as there's no free wifi and the makeshift environment lacks the cool, relaxed vibe of a cafe where customers can chill and chat.The quality of Snowman's bingsu is good - its fine, smooth and velvety texture makes every spoonful a pleasure. Condensed milk is served on the side for the diner to drizzle on top of the bingsu to his/her desired level of sweetness.We would return only for the melon bingsu $14++ which looked and tasted great (See photos).  The strawberry bingsu $14++ was disappointing as it arrived with the strawberry snowman dropped on the serving tray. We had to send it back for the snowman to be fixed/perched on top of the mound of shaved ice so that the dessert was photo-worthy.  The chef was rather stingy with the strawberries too. The mango bingsu $14++ would have been good had the restaurant used sweet and ripe mangoes. Unfortunately the mango chunks served were so tart that the only way we could eat them up was to dip them into the tiny container of condensed milk. Our feedback to the server was futile; she shrugged her shoulders, looked blankly into space and proceeded to serve other customers. We felt that Snowman's staff are obviously more used to clearing tables for DIY buffet; they do not look approachable or perhaps they just lack the training to deliver a passable level of customer service. The lady behind the cash register was also mechanical and made no eye contact with customers who were taking turns to settle their bills.…查看更多

Maccha House is a Japanese cafe chain that specialises in green tea beverages and desserts, with several one dish meals offered for customers who want something more substantial. Hot beverages are priced from $3.40 while iced beverages, which has an upsized/large option, are priced from $3.90. Prices are lower than its competitors like Tsujiri and NaNa's.Tsujiri operates takeaway kiosk at 313 Somerset that uses disposable cups but Maccha House has seats and proper tableware for their drinks and desserts. The vibe here is casual but we prefer the Orchard Central outlet which has nicer ambience and more spacious seating capacity.We ordered the traditional matcha ($3.90) and the signature matcha parfait ($10.90). The former was great value. A bowl with a generous amount of good quality Kyoto green tea powder is served with a small pot of hot water for you to prepare your own beverage, and a bamboo bristle stirrer is provided for you to whisk the powdered matcha till it is well blended and dissolved. Full bodied matcha flavour with the sheerest hint of bitter ~ an acquired taste that needs getting used to. The beverage was accompanied by a saucer holding two baby mochi floating in maple syrup, to lift the bitter edge of the matcha. The concentrated green tea was so good that we ordered a second serving after we had finished our parfait.The signature green tea parfait was topped by a generous twirl of matcha gelato and two pieces of velvety matcha flavour nama chocolate. It was divine; we should have skipped dinner so that we could each have a glass of this delightful parfait to ourselves. My colleague and I prefer the matcha parfait here to the version served at Nana's Green Tea Cafe. The latter's version of matcha parfait is over the top, so heavy that it leads to sugar overload and a 'jelak' feeling (Malay for overloaded). Nana's version which costs $13.90 has two tiny scoops of ice cream, three pieces of nama chocolate and lots of whipped cream and green syrup. Maccha House's version is less fattening, but without giving any less pleasure, as the dessert artisan here had a very light hand with the cream and syrup.Service was prompt. It is a pleasant place to relax and chat, without free wifi to draw you away from your companions to your mobile devices.…查看更多

Maccha House is a Japanese cafe chain that specialises in green tea beverages and desserts, with several one dish meals offered for customers who want something more substantial. Hot beverages are priced from $3.40 while iced beverages, which has an upsized/large option, are priced from $3.90. Prices are lower than its competitors like Tsijuri and NaNa's. Tsijuri operates takeaway kiosk that uses disposable cups but Maccha House has seats and proper tableware for their drinks and desserts. The vibe here is casual but we prefer the Orchard Central outlet which has nicer ambience and more spacious seating capacity.We ordered the traditional matcha ($3.90) and the signature matcha parfait ($10.90). The former was great value. A bowl with a generous amount of good quality Kyoto green tea powder is served with a small pot of hot water for you to prepare your own beverage, and a bamboo bristle stirrer is provided for you to whisk the powdered matcha till it is well blended and dissolved. Full bodied matcha flavour with the sheerest hint of bitter ~ an acquired taste that needs getting used to. The beverage was accompanied by a saucer holding some two baby mochi floating in maple syrup, to lift the bitter edge of the matcha. The concentrated green tea was so good that we ordered a second serving after we had finished our parfait.The signature green tea parfait was topped by a generous twirl of matcha gelato and two pieces of velvety matcha flavour nama chocolate. It was divine; we should have skipped dinner so that we could each have a glass of this delightful parfait to ourselves. My colleague and I prefer the matcha parfait here to the version served at Nana's Green Tea Cafe. The latter's version of matcha parfait is over the top, so heavy that it leads to sugar overload and a 'jelak' feeling (Malay for overloaded). Nana's version which costs $13.90 has two tiny scoops of ice cream, three pieces of nama chocolate and lots of whipped cream and green syrup. Maccha House's version is less fattening, but without giving any less pleasure, as the dessert artisan here had a very light hand with the cream and syrup.Service was prompt. It is a pleasant place to relax and chat, without free wifi to draw you to away from your companions to your mobile devices.…查看更多

YAYOI can always be relied upon to serve up hearty, wholesome Japanese set meals or teishoku. In Singapore where a pseudo Japanese meal from self serviced food  courts can cost $7 or $8 without drinks, it is a joy to have food and free warm or iced water served to us at the table, with teishoku priced from $9.90++ for main courses like mackerel/saba, sauteed pork or beef. With free flow of hot green tea at only $1++, there are plenty of choices on the menu to choose from, making it possible for diners on a budget to pay no more than $20.00 nett per head for a satisfying and tasty meal. Those who crave carbs can help themselves to additional portions of piping hot rice at no extra charge. The restaurant does brisk business at dinner time even with the plethora of dining options at The Star Vista which is a good walk from the residential areas in the Buona Vista/Dover/Ghim Moh area. The interactive tablet screen at every table makes ordering a breeze, and our drinks were brought to us almost as soon as we had submitted our orders. If you need a tea refill, just tap on the button at the base of the tablet. A large jar of pickled cabbage sits next to the condiments and cutlery tray at every table.The chicken teishoku at $13.90++ was great value with a huge, juicy chicken patty seared to a delectable golden brown. It was served with a bowl of house salad, a cube of chilled tofu, a bowl of miso soup with wakame and diners can help themselves to the pickled cabbage. However, the mixed toji teishoku, also priced at $13.90++, did not come with any salad. The mixed toji is good for meat lovers as it contains half a slab or breaded pork cutlet (rather fatty according to my dining companion), a piece of ebi fry and a decent portion of sautéed sliced beef or pork served on a sizzling plate and bathed in a savoury scrambled egg and onion gravy that is great with rice. Yayoi serves Meiji ice cream at $3.50++, in flavours such as goma (black sesame) and matcha (green tea) but we were satiated enough to pass the dessert. Yayoi is a good place to refuel after a workout. Easy on the pocket too so it's also recommended for those who prefer eating out to cooking at home.…查看更多

MFM has a new set lunch menu (see photo) priced from $13.95++. The disadvantage of the new menu is that the main course is fixed every day and the price of your meal depends on the what is served on the day of your visit. However diners continue to have a choice of buttered rice or French fries for their carbs. What is nice about the menu is the choice of beverages, starters and desserts (see photo). Previously diners who opted for the set lunch which was then priced at $9.95++ could only choose between soup of the day or a small cup of green salad. Along with the higher set meal prices now, you can opt for any two side items to complete your meal. However the portion is fine for people with small appetites but certainly will not satiate a sportsperson after a full workout. I opted for fries instead of rice to go with the day's entree of cherry snapper. Three small and thin fillets, each no more than 8cm long, less than 4cm wide and thinly sliced like fishcake less than 1cm thick. Thus I was not at all surprised that the fish was a little overlooked coz it was sliced too thinly. The fillets tasted rather bland but the chilli dip solved the problem. Next time, it would be better to opt for rice as the chips seemed to have been fried ahead and kept on the warmer. Then again, I may find the fries subpar coz I am benchmarking them to McDonald's standard. Water is charged at $0.50++ per glass. Ok for a light lunch, but MFM in Singapore is no longer the great value casual dining restaurant it used to be.…查看更多

Subway's $5 combo meals comprising a made to order 6" sub and a 16oz soft drink are fuss-free and fair value lunch option. Buyers get to pick one of five types of bread but only five of their 15 types of subs are offered for the value meal combo. These are Veggie Delite, Egg Mayo, Ham, Cold Cuts and Spicy Italian. The last two are the most popular value meals.I opted for the Spicy Italian which was tasty but not spicy at all. My 6" sub was filled with a slice of cheese, two thin slices each of salami and pepperoni :)  and fresh salad. I like buying my subs from this outlet as they toast the bread thoroughly and are generous :) with the salad (See photo). There is always a queue at lunchtime but it moves quickly. Tables are fully occupied at lunch so it was a takeaway meal for me.…查看更多

We wanted to try the udon but the tables were fully occupied when we arrived shortly after 1pm. Having tried Umi's don and sushi on previous occasions we decided to pick one of their many colourful salad bowls for a light meal instead.Lunch companion and I bought the salmon salad $4.00 and lobster (surimi) salad $4.80 for a takeaway. The salmon salad had wakame and pickled ginger to tickle the palate. The surimi lobster salad had a hint of wasabe but on the whole was rather bland. What was disappointing was  the plain soya sauce provided instead of salad dressing. The soya sauce did not enhance the taste of the bland iceberg lettuce leaves which made up 70% of the bowl's content. Umi Sushi's salads are best eaten as side dish or snack. Less than two hours after lunch break, we were freeling peckish and groping for snacks from our office drawers.…查看更多

QQ rice wrap is a good grab-and-go meal option. It is fuss-free and filling so if one wishes to lunch at the office desk, it is nice to have a freshly prepared oblong rice parcel customised to individual tastes and preferences. QQ rice parcels are priced from $4.50 each with a choice of rice type and any five toppings from a wide variety of vegetables and meat. Beverages are priced from $1 with any rice purchase. This makes QQ a pricier meal than a regular burger meal which costs from $4 to $5 at BK and McDonalds respectively. But healthier food usually costs more. There are three HPB-recommended 'healthier choice' vegetarian rice balls that cost $4.80 each but customers can't choose their rice and fillings. I picked this as there was an on-going 10% off promotion on these three items at $4.30 nett for each. Here is a cross section photo of the vegetarian rice parcel I bought. The fixed fillings in my rice parcel were broccoli florets, straggly stems of green veg (without any leaves:(), stewed peanuts that tasted like canned food:(, vegetarian meat floss and a miserly pinch of mock meat (瓜仔肉). The staff who assembled my rice ball was probably a newcomer as she dared not put more than a teaspoonful of each topping :(on the rice; it was also not compact with the rice grains and fillings dropping out when I bit into it:(,  something that does not happen often. The rice ball was warm and moist but it was bland and tasteless:(. Next time I shall stick to the regular DIY rice balls so that I can pick my favourite grains and fillings.…查看更多

Had pleasant dining experience at Nara Restaurants in Bangkok and Singapore but this visit made me decided to boycott this Nara outlet for good. The restaurant was busy when we visited at lunch but it was certainly not understaffed. So there was no excuse for the lack of hospitable service usually extended to customers at Thai restaurants. We had to ask twice before we were served iced water and when we asked for chilli sauce and sliced chilli padi the  waiter brought the condiments without providing any saucers. Always ready to put up with crappy service if the food is good, we remained in good spirits but we're let down huge time.The set lunch remains at $13.90++ but now does not come with soup or salad and a choice of beverage. A scoop of mango salad or pomelo salad for $3.90++ and a scoop of ice cream for the same add on price. Here is their signature Nara Thai Boat Noodles (see self explanatory photo) which was served with a deep fried chicken wing hacked into four pieces. If Nara Ion had a change of chef or the recipe for the dish that made the restaurant famous had recently been tweaked, it was a change for the worse. The soup was clear and tasteless. The pork balls were replaced by frozen fish balls that had a faint fishy smell. The minced pork had not been marinated, was overcooked and appeared as unappetizing clumps. Even fishball bak cho mee from a hawker stall or cooked by China staff at a food court looks and tastes better than what I was served at Nara Ion. I will leave it to my makan kaki to review his set lunch of Thai fried rice and his side order of pomelo salad. The side dishes are not worth the trouble, neither was the so called Boat Noodles that I was served that weekday.…查看更多

Watami never fails me when I need a nice Japanese meal without spending a bomb. The staff are friendly, the dining environment is pleasant and laid back and the colourful, droolworthy menu has almost every type of popular Japanese food one can think of ~ sashimi, sushi, sukiyaki, takoyaki, tempura, tonkatsu, udon, ramen, yakitori, etc...something for everyone.  We headed here for an early dinner prior to our movie, and were fazed by the choices available. Arriving just shy of 5pm made life easier as we could order from their menu of weekday value sets, priced from $9.80++ to $17.80++. Each set includes a side salad, miso soup and choice of coffee, tea or soft drink. I opted for the tori oyako don while my dining companion had the ishiyaki buta don. Our main courses arrived within ten minutes of placing our orders. :) While Watami is positioned as a casual family restaurant, we spotted students, couples and working adults during our visit, and the items we ordered, while not top end Japanese food, were tasty, served piping hot and contained good quality ingredients. The tori oyako don had plenty of chicken chunks and a MSG-free scrambled egg gravy that was the perfect consistency to stir into the rice beneath and coat each grain thoroughly.   My makan kaki, a self-confessed, fussy diner, could not find fault with his order  either. The buta don was topped by juicy, thick slices of pork and was served in a sizzling stone pot. The buta don had a fabulous aroma when the server brought it to our table. Having the set meals meant we were eligible to order selected appetizers and desserts at half price. The teba (usual $7.80++, only $4.00++ with set meal) i.e. deep fried chicken wing mid joint, would be a great accompaniment with beer. The teba was served with a sprinkling of fragrant sesame seeds and drizzled with black pepper sauce that made them delightfully crispy and morerish.We had neither space in our stomachs nor the time to order any dessert. After such a hearty and satisfying meal, it would take a movie with eye candy and a riveting plot to keep both of us from snoozing in the cineplex. …查看更多

Paradise Inn has a range of set menus priced at $10.80++ to $11.80++ which are available on weekdays during lunch time. These are one dish rice or noodle meals that are served with a bowl of double-boiled soup of the day, blanched lettuce and an appetizer. The main course is served in a stone pot but serves no purpose since the dish is cooked separately. The office crowd does not have the luxury of time to afford a lengthy or leisurely lunch break so it is redundant to serve the main course in a container that keeps the food warm over an extended period of time. I picked the seafood vermicelli set - the noodles were tasty if a tad salty, and were cooked with exactly three pieces of each ingredient - shelled prawns, calamari rings and fish sliced as thinly as fishcakes in a typical bowl of fishball noodles. To get more bang for your buck, opt for what my colleagues did - plain rice with a choice of either fried pork rib, sweet sour pork, sautéed chicken, etc - all similarly served in a heavy stone bowl. Drinks are no longer included in the latest menu of lunch sets, though water is served at no extra charge.…查看更多

Paradise Dynasty's newest branch takes over the space at T3's mezzanine floor overlooking the departure hall which was hitherto occupied by Crystal Jade. We are delighted with the new restaurant as it means that we no longer need to head to their flagship restaurant at Ion Orchard to satisfy our cravings for handcrafted noodles and xiaolongbao with innovative soup base. The quality of the food and service at T3's Paradise Dynasty surpasses that of the previous restaurant occupying the same premises. The marinated jellyfish with seafood was a palate pleaser, as were the original xiaolongbao, foie gras xiaolongbao and black truffle xiaolongbao. The limited edition offering of a basket comprising four each of the danggui xiaolongbao and shiquan xiaolongbao received mixed reviews; some of our family members could not appreciate the robust medicinal herb-based soup filling. The staff were kept busy with the never ending stream of weekend diners but were cheerful and efficient, unlike the apathetic attitude of the Crystal Jade crew that served us during our previous visit to T3 in January.…查看更多

Nara's 2nd outlet in SG is more spacious than its first restaurant at Ion. We skipped the queue by opting to sit at the alfresco dining area. Prices here are steeper than at other Thai restaurants in SG but the quality of the food makes up for it. The Erawan Tea Set $12.99++ is served from 2:30pm - 5:30pm and comprises a three tier rack of Thai finger food and petite portions of Thai cakes and Nara's popular sticky rice with mango dessert. Not entirely satiated with the palate-teasing bites from the tea rack, we ordered Nara's homemade coconut ice cream which was served with eight types of toppings for the diner to create his/her own sundae. Nice but a tad pricey at $8.80++ per scoop. Service was run of the mill.…查看更多