I had the exciting privilege over the last week to eat roasted meats. Yes. I do love my char siew and roast duck. My mum being Cantonese is proud of her roasted meat taste standards, and I think besides my dad, the whole family, even my American wife can taste and know how good char siew is. She is "ahem," well trained.
Toh Kee (TK) at People's Park food center has been there forever. I ordered a plate of assorted roasted meats that came up to $16 for 2 people.
Long Jiang (LJ) at Jalan Pari Burong along Upper Changi Road is a new place I traveled to last week. We ordered also a plate of roasted meats that came up to $0 because I didn't pay for it.
Like all fair and balanced comparison, lets have an apple to apple comparison, or in this case, a meat to meat comparison:
Char Siew: I thought that the char siew at TK was much less in serving. In fact, I would say the quantity served at LJ was much more. But besides quantity, the flavor at TK was excellent. They made burnt ends of char siew taste like the best worst cooked meat in the world. You could still taste the sweetness and moistness of the char siew. The char siew at LJ was somewhat dry, not overly dry and still taste somewhat porkish.
Duck: This I say is a push. Both the ducks were succulent and smooth to taste. The bones had the rhiney and juicy flavor that you just want to suck the juice out of the bone. The skin was both crispy and and damp and the fat between the skin and the meat was right. It is well with my soul.
Roast Pork: I would say a slight edge to TK. The roast pork at TK was phat, sweet and crispy. You know its bad for you but you just want to eat more and more. There was no excess fat, the meat and fat was of the right amount. The coloring was right. Its a light brown skin and an almost beige white meat .... drool..... The roast pork at LJ was good also. It had the good amount of fat and meat mix. But the slight sweet salty after taste was missing. The skin was crispy and meat tender, but it didn't leave an impression in the mouth.
I highly recommend Toh Kee. I have been there for several years now whenever I can or am in the area, and I have rarely been disappointed. Long Jiang is worth a try. I might be wrong in my deductions but I stick by what I say. TK rocks.
Shortest Review Ever!
Carl's Jr is the BEST fast food Burger Joint in Singapore. Nuff Said. And so says Alby. (The dog in the picture)
New thing at StarBucks
Even though some people think that Starbucks is the evil empire of coffee just like Chelsea is to the EPL and the Yankees are to Baseball, their variety of new products never cease to amaze me. My new craze is the huge oatmeal raisin cookie. Its the best cookie I have tasted in Singapore. Its $4.50 (abit too much for a cookie me thinks) but it tastes great. Its soft and chewy. It warms my heart to eat it. I never understand why most other cookies are always so tough.
Have a try. Go ahead. You know you want it.
Have a try. Go ahead. You know you want it.
D Cup better than C Cup
Bigger is better. My colleague prefers a handful of it and I believe we should milk it for what its worth. C Cup is in. C Cup might be the new D Cup.
What exactly am I talking about? It's simple. CUPCAKES!!!!. Some of my over "sugar-fied" colleagues have recently been on a sugar binge and have caught the craze of cup cakes. As some of you might know, I'm not much of a sugar person and cup cakes isn't really my thing. When one of my female colleagues came over without saying anything and typed it onto my Internet browser the website, I was like, "What the heck?" But thank goodness, it was a website for cup cakes.
Apparently the orders have been coming in so much that we had to wait 2 weeks for our delivery. I have since found out that this is not a store front. This is business from a home! And I got this forwarded email from one of the other cupcake co-conspirators that they even told us which items they did not have enough to make one of the cupcakes and suggested to us that we should order something else. But of course, they were more polite than that. I respect this kind of service.
When the cupcakes came and the time for tasting arose, it did not fail. I thought the cupcakes were delicate and not too sweet. Will I order it again? No. But I think I might order it for people as gifts. The biggest cup cake in the website isn't really a cupcake. It was more of a mini-cake by my definitions but I digress. Just a note, you have to order up to $80 for them to deliver.
You should probably order cup cakes for your moms that are not on diet, your skinny girlfriend or just wanting to appease that irritating customer of yours. Its a creative gift. Hey, its sweet.
A syllogistic question: If cupcakes is to C Cup then what is to D Cup?
What exactly am I talking about? It's simple. CUPCAKES!!!!. Some of my over "sugar-fied" colleagues have recently been on a sugar binge and have caught the craze of cup cakes. As some of you might know, I'm not much of a sugar person and cup cakes isn't really my thing. When one of my female colleagues came over without saying anything and typed it onto my Internet browser the website, I was like, "What the heck?" But thank goodness, it was a website for cup cakes.
Apparently the orders have been coming in so much that we had to wait 2 weeks for our delivery. I have since found out that this is not a store front. This is business from a home! And I got this forwarded email from one of the other cupcake co-conspirators that they even told us which items they did not have enough to make one of the cupcakes and suggested to us that we should order something else. But of course, they were more polite than that. I respect this kind of service.
When the cupcakes came and the time for tasting arose, it did not fail. I thought the cupcakes were delicate and not too sweet. Will I order it again? No. But I think I might order it for people as gifts. The biggest cup cake in the website isn't really a cupcake. It was more of a mini-cake by my definitions but I digress. Just a note, you have to order up to $80 for them to deliver.
You should probably order cup cakes for your moms that are not on diet, your skinny girlfriend or just wanting to appease that irritating customer of yours. Its a creative gift. Hey, its sweet.
A syllogistic question: If cupcakes is to C Cup then what is to D Cup?
Cedele at Wheelock Place
I once said not so long ago that one should only go to Cedele for soup and bread. I would just like to say now that I stand corrected. After going to Cedele at Wheelock Place twice in 3 weeks for me and the missus' late Sunday breakfast after church, I have to say that its pretty good. In fact, I would highly recommend this Cedele in particular more than the others.
Maybe its not a franchise or maybe it is. But there is something different with this Cedele. No longer is it a transient restaurant where you sit, eat and leave. Here, you seem somewhat invited to stay longer and order more food because the food selection is wider and I personally think that the food is better.
For the past 2 ventures, I have ordered the same thing. The big big breakfast, filled with 3 pieces of bacon, 2 sausages, scrambled eggs, a little side salad with balsamic vinegar sprinkled on as a mix and saut'ed mushrooms. It also comes with a cup of tea. All for $16.80. Some would think that how can you go wrong with bacon, sausages, mushroom, eggs and toast? It can. Trust me. It's not like I hate Macdonald's breakfast but that is almost the bottom of the barrel in terms of how breakfast should taste. The hotels kill the "American Breakfast," genre because they make it into an overkill, just too much stuff on a plate. And my wife who ordered her blue berry pancakes loved her pancakes. I might not be a connoisseur in pan cakes but readers should trust a person who ate pan cakes nearly all her childhood. So she knows good pan cakes.
The only times I have seen Diana Ser is when I am at Wheelock Place and the unfortunate thing is that I have not seen her the last 2 times. And that's the only down side of Cedele. I should write an ode to Diana.
Maybe its not a franchise or maybe it is. But there is something different with this Cedele. No longer is it a transient restaurant where you sit, eat and leave. Here, you seem somewhat invited to stay longer and order more food because the food selection is wider and I personally think that the food is better.
For the past 2 ventures, I have ordered the same thing. The big big breakfast, filled with 3 pieces of bacon, 2 sausages, scrambled eggs, a little side salad with balsamic vinegar sprinkled on as a mix and saut'ed mushrooms. It also comes with a cup of tea. All for $16.80. Some would think that how can you go wrong with bacon, sausages, mushroom, eggs and toast? It can. Trust me. It's not like I hate Macdonald's breakfast but that is almost the bottom of the barrel in terms of how breakfast should taste. The hotels kill the "American Breakfast," genre because they make it into an overkill, just too much stuff on a plate. And my wife who ordered her blue berry pancakes loved her pancakes. I might not be a connoisseur in pan cakes but readers should trust a person who ate pan cakes nearly all her childhood. So she knows good pan cakes.
The only times I have seen Diana Ser is when I am at Wheelock Place and the unfortunate thing is that I have not seen her the last 2 times. And that's the only down side of Cedele. I should write an ode to Diana.
Garibaldi at Purvis Street
The Food-critics aka me and my wife had a very brief discussion about Garibaldi with Mr and Mrs. Tasty Bites and for the sake of summary and purpose lets call this couple "The Gohs." The reason for this conversation was because I have been reading quite abit about the restaurant stating that its the best Italian restaurant in Singapore. The Tasty Bites thought that the food was decent but the quality of the food was not in proportion to how much it was. On the other hand, "The Gohs," loved the place. It was the beginning of the month and I had to date the wife, so I decided to experiment to see how good was this place.
If you have read my earlier scripting about Menottis, please note that I just wasn't too impressed with the place. The pasta was closer to Pasta Mania than Babbo's but the desserts were decent. I made a reservation for 830 pm because I thought the place wouldn't be too crowded on a Friday night and boy was I wrong.
The restaurant is a dimly lit restaurant with an L shaped architecture. The walls looked dark green with the yellow light and there were a lot of foreigners. When I stood at the door of the place, the server had to slide the door open for me to allow my wife and I to enter the restaurant. Cool. Our wait for a table lasted only 30 seconds before a nice lady came out and called my name sounding like I have been there every other week. So far, the service has been fantastic. The impression is good.
As I sat in between more foreigners, the servers started coming around to tell us what the specials were and handed us the menu. I actually thought that the menu price was decent. I mean, if it is the best Italian restaurant that so many people claim it is, it has to be pretty expensive right? We sat down ordered the prosciutto Ham appetizer, my wife ordered the typical American Steak and potatoes which the place is famous for, I ordered the scallop and marsala risotto - I have just been in a marasla phase recently, and 2 types of desserts. The warm chocolate cake and some pistachio based chocolate dessert. 2 glasses of the cheapest wine and the free flow bread!
Is it wrong to state that the best dish of the day was the free bread? A very nice server came and constantly walked by our table and kept asking us if we wanted the sundried tomato and cheese bread. How could you say no? To a point that I had to stop the server from giving me bread because everytime she walked by and asked, I would always say yes. I told her to stop. And she smiled when I told her but somehow she refused to listen to me! Damn, the service is good.
When our dishes came, I have to admit that I was almost full, but I soldiered on. The risotto was decent. There was 3 pieces of scallop and I could tell that the risotto broth had some dried scallops as well. The blend was soothing and comforting. The marsala and scallop mix was good only after several bites. But I liked the flavor. It was something unusual and daring. My wife loved her steak and potatoes. It looked good. The beef was smooth and slippery in the mouth. One can taste the balsamic vinegar base of the steak. The appetizer was fantastic. I never understood how the saltiness and the toughness of ham goes so well with the sweetness and juiciness of melon. The ham was also paired with asparagus and fresh mozzarella cheese. Loved it.
My wife doesn't really drink wine. In fact, I have to say that she likes fancy places and this was one of it. Oh, and she likes to drink wine at fancy places. That's when I know I'm getting lucky that night also by the way.
The desserts were great. The warm chocolate cake with the liquid melted chocolate center was well received. My pistachio dessert was a hit and miss but the pistachio cream was pretty tasty.
I have to say that in the end, I guess I stand in the middle of both the Tasty Bites and the Gohs. I liked the place. In fact, I would say it is the best Italian restautrant in Singapore but it was not worth the amount paid I thought. The dinner bill was $200 some dollars and I was satisfied but not fully satisfied I guess. I highly recommend this restaurant if you are out to impress your wife or girlfriend. Just expect to pay quite abit for dinner!
If you have read my earlier scripting about Menottis, please note that I just wasn't too impressed with the place. The pasta was closer to Pasta Mania than Babbo's but the desserts were decent. I made a reservation for 830 pm because I thought the place wouldn't be too crowded on a Friday night and boy was I wrong.
The restaurant is a dimly lit restaurant with an L shaped architecture. The walls looked dark green with the yellow light and there were a lot of foreigners. When I stood at the door of the place, the server had to slide the door open for me to allow my wife and I to enter the restaurant. Cool. Our wait for a table lasted only 30 seconds before a nice lady came out and called my name sounding like I have been there every other week. So far, the service has been fantastic. The impression is good.
As I sat in between more foreigners, the servers started coming around to tell us what the specials were and handed us the menu. I actually thought that the menu price was decent. I mean, if it is the best Italian restaurant that so many people claim it is, it has to be pretty expensive right? We sat down ordered the prosciutto Ham appetizer, my wife ordered the typical American Steak and potatoes which the place is famous for, I ordered the scallop and marsala risotto - I have just been in a marasla phase recently, and 2 types of desserts. The warm chocolate cake and some pistachio based chocolate dessert. 2 glasses of the cheapest wine and the free flow bread!
Is it wrong to state that the best dish of the day was the free bread? A very nice server came and constantly walked by our table and kept asking us if we wanted the sundried tomato and cheese bread. How could you say no? To a point that I had to stop the server from giving me bread because everytime she walked by and asked, I would always say yes. I told her to stop. And she smiled when I told her but somehow she refused to listen to me! Damn, the service is good.
When our dishes came, I have to admit that I was almost full, but I soldiered on. The risotto was decent. There was 3 pieces of scallop and I could tell that the risotto broth had some dried scallops as well. The blend was soothing and comforting. The marsala and scallop mix was good only after several bites. But I liked the flavor. It was something unusual and daring. My wife loved her steak and potatoes. It looked good. The beef was smooth and slippery in the mouth. One can taste the balsamic vinegar base of the steak. The appetizer was fantastic. I never understood how the saltiness and the toughness of ham goes so well with the sweetness and juiciness of melon. The ham was also paired with asparagus and fresh mozzarella cheese. Loved it.
My wife doesn't really drink wine. In fact, I have to say that she likes fancy places and this was one of it. Oh, and she likes to drink wine at fancy places. That's when I know I'm getting lucky that night also by the way.
The desserts were great. The warm chocolate cake with the liquid melted chocolate center was well received. My pistachio dessert was a hit and miss but the pistachio cream was pretty tasty.
I have to say that in the end, I guess I stand in the middle of both the Tasty Bites and the Gohs. I liked the place. In fact, I would say it is the best Italian restautrant in Singapore but it was not worth the amount paid I thought. The dinner bill was $200 some dollars and I was satisfied but not fully satisfied I guess. I highly recommend this restaurant if you are out to impress your wife or girlfriend. Just expect to pay quite abit for dinner!
Tubby Man
I have to admit that over the last few weeks, I have not been inspired to write anything. Some friends of mine, including Pampadam (we shall name her this because this is after all a food blog) suggested that I look at other bloggers to get inspired. Inspired I was not. A sense of insipid horror came upon me that writing for the sake of writing or writing to entertain some of my friends because blogging has become a professional sport. Some of the blogs that I have seen are walking advertisements with great pictures and boring writing or writing with so much inferred winks that it would seem as if the writer was paid by the restaurant to write what the blogger writes.
Some of you might be thinking that the food-critic is keeping his amateur status because he might want to compete in the Olympics someday but sadly, that is not the case. Blogging has to be fun and amateurish in nature. That is the essence of blogging. There are professional bloggers but at least its clearly stated. Don't be fooled by those who you think are actually amateur but are in fact professional.
Since I have opened myself up to much criticism, I have also, at least I think I have, turned on the comment option. Before, I turned off the comment option because I thought since people were just reading this for fun, there was really nothing much for people to say except to shut up and listen. In my ever disgusting need to contradict and be ironically objective, I have decided to turn the comment option on so as to participate in some kind of open forum or at least fun debate on food and food places.
To quote the hatred Bill O'Reilly, the comments have to be pithy.
So with this, I take a small step in my blog, but a giant step to the nearest bathroom because the critic needs a leak.
Some of you might be thinking that the food-critic is keeping his amateur status because he might want to compete in the Olympics someday but sadly, that is not the case. Blogging has to be fun and amateurish in nature. That is the essence of blogging. There are professional bloggers but at least its clearly stated. Don't be fooled by those who you think are actually amateur but are in fact professional.
Since I have opened myself up to much criticism, I have also, at least I think I have, turned on the comment option. Before, I turned off the comment option because I thought since people were just reading this for fun, there was really nothing much for people to say except to shut up and listen. In my ever disgusting need to contradict and be ironically objective, I have decided to turn the comment option on so as to participate in some kind of open forum or at least fun debate on food and food places.
To quote the hatred Bill O'Reilly, the comments have to be pithy.
So with this, I take a small step in my blog, but a giant step to the nearest bathroom because the critic needs a leak.
Crystal Jade at Holland V
Crystal Jade is a type of place that stands in the gap between hawker food and restaurant food. Its higher class than a food court because you are served by servers but lower class that restaurants because real estate around your table is about as much as how far your legs can go. So the food has to be where its deigned to be at. Mediocre.
We ordered the Wontan noodles, frog leg porridge, pepper beef and fried squid. It was mediocre. But I have to say the place was uber crowded and the servers were really helpful with the ordering. The value of the food was mediocre and it was all good for me because I sort of expected it.
I don't know why I always order the wontan mee, even though I don't really even like it? Weird. I should try to order something else when I'm there.
We ordered the Wontan noodles, frog leg porridge, pepper beef and fried squid. It was mediocre. But I have to say the place was uber crowded and the servers were really helpful with the ordering. The value of the food was mediocre and it was all good for me because I sort of expected it.
I don't know why I always order the wontan mee, even though I don't really even like it? Weird. I should try to order something else when I'm there.
Dempsey Hut
I actually thought that in Singapore, its quite impossible to find an area filled with trees and old styled buildings with very niche restaurants. So you would think that the restaurants are pretty good right? Nope.
Dempsey Hut was a last minute resort. Something happened while waiting for a friend and we ended up there not really by choice. The place was outdoors-ish and there was absolutely no air conditioning, Whenever we drove pass that place, I always thought that it seemed like a pretty cool restaurant.
So the male server who looks like Jonathan from this season's Singapore Idol served us. He asked us our drink of choice and stood there. Wondering if we were going to order more and just stared at us. Being silly, I stared back and wandering why in the world was he standing there? And then it struck him. This couple who just came in who had barely 5 minutes to look through the menu did not know what they wanted to order.
After 5 mins in the dark, as the tables were lit by little candle type thing and tiki torches, we decided. My wife ordered the Fish and Chips and myself the sausage. They were ordinary. Nothing outstanding. What I think you pay for is the surrounding and you can tell people that you hang out there at Dempsey Hut. Its a beer place. I was surrounded by a diverse mix of families and middle aged women and what I think to be dating couples.
So if you happen to be in any of this group, you'll fit right in.
Dempsey Hut was a last minute resort. Something happened while waiting for a friend and we ended up there not really by choice. The place was outdoors-ish and there was absolutely no air conditioning, Whenever we drove pass that place, I always thought that it seemed like a pretty cool restaurant.
So the male server who looks like Jonathan from this season's Singapore Idol served us. He asked us our drink of choice and stood there. Wondering if we were going to order more and just stared at us. Being silly, I stared back and wandering why in the world was he standing there? And then it struck him. This couple who just came in who had barely 5 minutes to look through the menu did not know what they wanted to order.
After 5 mins in the dark, as the tables were lit by little candle type thing and tiki torches, we decided. My wife ordered the Fish and Chips and myself the sausage. They were ordinary. Nothing outstanding. What I think you pay for is the surrounding and you can tell people that you hang out there at Dempsey Hut. Its a beer place. I was surrounded by a diverse mix of families and middle aged women and what I think to be dating couples.
So if you happen to be in any of this group, you'll fit right in.
Wiener Kaffehaus
Sure. Go ahead. Make fun of the name. I did.
I was told that this place is the only place in Singapore that serves real Belgian coffee. I mean, they serve their coffee on a freaking silver tray! I was there twice with clients 2 days in a row and I have to say that I thoroughly like it. Not loved it. But liked it a lot.
You have tons of choice for coffee, and the apple strudel is pretty darn good. They have separate menus for food and drinks and its a really cozy atmosphere. The deco is a type that has old fashion chic and walls littered with art. The service is okay but the coup de tat of the whole place is the coffee. Someone should go and try it because it is great!
I was told that this place is the only place in Singapore that serves real Belgian coffee. I mean, they serve their coffee on a freaking silver tray! I was there twice with clients 2 days in a row and I have to say that I thoroughly like it. Not loved it. But liked it a lot.
You have tons of choice for coffee, and the apple strudel is pretty darn good. They have separate menus for food and drinks and its a really cozy atmosphere. The deco is a type that has old fashion chic and walls littered with art. The service is okay but the coup de tat of the whole place is the coffee. Someone should go and try it because it is great!
Lei Garden at Chijmes
A Chinese food connoisseur I am not. But do I actually enjoy fantastic Chinese food that is both expensive and ridiculously good? Yes!
I have had the opportunity to eat at Lei Garden this past week at Chijmes. I made a reservation the day before for a business lunch and 2 hours before my reservation, the restaurant called me and reconfirmed the booking and asked me if I wanted to pre-order some dishes like the roast park and their special double boiled soup. Since I was not paying for lunch. I said yes!
But much to my short sightedness, one of the guests was vegetarian. Fortunately, the servers were very sensitive. They saw that one of my guests was vegetarian and made some vegetarian dishes to replace the meat dishes without me asking. How cool was that?
We ordered doubled boiled pork rib soup, mixed summer vegetables, roasted pork, Peking duck, fried noodles with duck and specially sliced fried beef. The lunch was about $600 for 8 people. Sure. That's a lot of money but I haven't had such a good Chinese lunch in a long time.
Now, please understand that some of you might be thinking that this food-critic equates price with quality. I would politely have to disagree with you. A $600 lunch is a lot! Its really a lot! But it was really good.
Invite your potential future in laws to this place if you are going to announce your engagement.
I have had the opportunity to eat at Lei Garden this past week at Chijmes. I made a reservation the day before for a business lunch and 2 hours before my reservation, the restaurant called me and reconfirmed the booking and asked me if I wanted to pre-order some dishes like the roast park and their special double boiled soup. Since I was not paying for lunch. I said yes!
But much to my short sightedness, one of the guests was vegetarian. Fortunately, the servers were very sensitive. They saw that one of my guests was vegetarian and made some vegetarian dishes to replace the meat dishes without me asking. How cool was that?
We ordered doubled boiled pork rib soup, mixed summer vegetables, roasted pork, Peking duck, fried noodles with duck and specially sliced fried beef. The lunch was about $600 for 8 people. Sure. That's a lot of money but I haven't had such a good Chinese lunch in a long time.
Now, please understand that some of you might be thinking that this food-critic equates price with quality. I would politely have to disagree with you. A $600 lunch is a lot! Its really a lot! But it was really good.
Invite your potential future in laws to this place if you are going to announce your engagement.
My thoughts on food times
Post Script: Cafes shouldn't have different dinner times. I resent the fact that some outrageously pretentious restaurants what I might have somehow already referenced feel that people should eat at only 2 dinner times on any day? I personally think its ridiculous. When your dinner times is 630pm or 830 pm, and you show up at 7, they tell you that you only have 60 mins to eat. Now that is ludicrous.
First of all, the darn restaurant isn't even full. Second of all, the servers tell you that they only can let you eat for an hour and still not apologize, how arrogant is that? And thirdly and lastly, its just a darn cafe. Are you kidding me?
Word of warning, the next time you try to go to a cafe that tell you specifically what time to eat? Don't go.
First of all, the darn restaurant isn't even full. Second of all, the servers tell you that they only can let you eat for an hour and still not apologize, how arrogant is that? And thirdly and lastly, its just a darn cafe. Are you kidding me?
Word of warning, the next time you try to go to a cafe that tell you specifically what time to eat? Don't go.
Le Bristrot at Joo Chiat Place
So I went to eat some French food with Mr. and Mrs. Tasty Bites. I have a feeling that they wanted to test me just in case if ever we were to step into St Pierre, I might pay lots of money and then hate the food. So I would like to thank my friends for that.
French food at Joo Chiat Place? As sure as the French once occupied Vietnam, sure enough there would be a French restaurant in Joo Chiat Place in the middle of Little Vietnam. I have always thought that French food is pompous, outlandish and surprisingly small and pretentious. And how was I wrong. Le Bristrot is nothing but. The servers were outstandingly polite, food was delectable and dessert was outstanding.
The menu is broken up combinations of appetizer, desserts and main dishes. So the amount you pay is dependent on the different combinations of what you order. Of course, you'll save some money if you order all 3 types but I ordered only 2. Somehow it worked out that the ladies ordered the rack of lamb with couscous. The men ordered the rump steak. My appetizer was a duck pate, Tasty Bites had fried cheese, Mrs. Tasty Bites had French onion soup. The dessert ended up to be Lemon tart.
My duck pate was cold and it went fantastic with bread and a side of Dijon mustard. It was light but you can still taste the duck. It was a fantastically robust pate but that was the way I liked it. It was nothing like liver or something that I absolutely detest. What it did was that it set up the entire meal for me because it whet my appetite good and proper. The fried cheese was fantastic. I had a small slice of it and I had to admit it was was sweet and light, not cheese tasting at all. It made me want to eat more! I heard that Lady Bites loved the onion soup!
My perception of rump steak is something like its the worst part of the beef. Tough and totally unsucculent at all. And again I was wrong. The beef order had to be either medium or rare, so I ordered medium. The steak was delicate, and juicy. Fantastically delicious! The side salad that came on the plate complemented the beef. And with the garlic butter melting on top of the steak. All was good in this world.
The rack of lamb with couscous was pretty good too. The couscous was filled with raisins and sweet. It complemented with the lamb and I have to say that I love meat! There was still that slight lingering lamb taste, but I could live with it. The rack of lamb was really a rack. Bones and everything. That was something I really appreciated.
The Lemon tart was both tart and light at the same time. Completely contrasting taste but it went so well. It left me wanting more French food. Gulp! I said it. French food rocks! Even though Tasty Bites was trying to go through with me the different French cooking techniques used in other forms of cuisine, I have to say that Tasty Bites has pretty damn good taste in food.
Biggie ups.
French food at Joo Chiat Place? As sure as the French once occupied Vietnam, sure enough there would be a French restaurant in Joo Chiat Place in the middle of Little Vietnam. I have always thought that French food is pompous, outlandish and surprisingly small and pretentious. And how was I wrong. Le Bristrot is nothing but. The servers were outstandingly polite, food was delectable and dessert was outstanding.
The menu is broken up combinations of appetizer, desserts and main dishes. So the amount you pay is dependent on the different combinations of what you order. Of course, you'll save some money if you order all 3 types but I ordered only 2. Somehow it worked out that the ladies ordered the rack of lamb with couscous. The men ordered the rump steak. My appetizer was a duck pate, Tasty Bites had fried cheese, Mrs. Tasty Bites had French onion soup. The dessert ended up to be Lemon tart.
My duck pate was cold and it went fantastic with bread and a side of Dijon mustard. It was light but you can still taste the duck. It was a fantastically robust pate but that was the way I liked it. It was nothing like liver or something that I absolutely detest. What it did was that it set up the entire meal for me because it whet my appetite good and proper. The fried cheese was fantastic. I had a small slice of it and I had to admit it was was sweet and light, not cheese tasting at all. It made me want to eat more! I heard that Lady Bites loved the onion soup!
My perception of rump steak is something like its the worst part of the beef. Tough and totally unsucculent at all. And again I was wrong. The beef order had to be either medium or rare, so I ordered medium. The steak was delicate, and juicy. Fantastically delicious! The side salad that came on the plate complemented the beef. And with the garlic butter melting on top of the steak. All was good in this world.
The rack of lamb with couscous was pretty good too. The couscous was filled with raisins and sweet. It complemented with the lamb and I have to say that I love meat! There was still that slight lingering lamb taste, but I could live with it. The rack of lamb was really a rack. Bones and everything. That was something I really appreciated.
The Lemon tart was both tart and light at the same time. Completely contrasting taste but it went so well. It left me wanting more French food. Gulp! I said it. French food rocks! Even though Tasty Bites was trying to go through with me the different French cooking techniques used in other forms of cuisine, I have to say that Tasty Bites has pretty damn good taste in food.
Biggie ups.
Aiyoyo!
I just realized I haven't contributed in a looooooong time!!!! Gaaaaaaaawwwwwwwd........ will start trawling the island soon for good eats. Talk to you soon!
Boston, its whats for dinner!
On my final assault of Quincy Market, I decided, well my boss decided to bring some Singaporeans to Quincy Market. We actually had dinner at the Cheers restaurant! A place where everyone knows your name. Well, not really at this Cheers but they service was nice and friendly. The restaurant was uber loud because it was still the summer holidays and there were tons of kids. I ordered Sam Adams for all the men and I ordered a side of Clam Chowder for myself together with my blackened cajun fish sandwich.
First of all I have to say that this chowder wasn't very good. My blackened cajun fish sandwich wasn't very good either. Wow, I was actually quite disappointed with Ted Danson and Frasier Crane all of a sudden. Not that I always had high expectations of a bar/novelty restaurant, but I comforted myself by saying that it was just a tourist spot. Food isn't supposed to be good. Everybody else were happy with their food. There was an order of Fish and Chips, steak and potatoes, chicken salad, and some seafood dish. Everybody loved the Sam Adams, I liked it. Crisp and tender. Not too thick. Our mixed platter appetizer is the same type you can get any where.
On my way to New York from Boston, my flight was delayed for over 3 hours. I got hungry and decided to tell myself to go grab something to eat. I had to take a chance to eat bad airport food. I was left with a choice of Burger King and La Famligilia. The choice was clear. It was the latter. Its actually a renowned pizza joint. Its just that the pizza quality varies from place to place. I ordered a slice of the pizza pie filled with onions, ham, salami, and peppers with a side of spicy marinara sauce and Lipton ice tea. I have to say, after eating all of that crappy pizza in Singapore, this was one of the best decisions I made while waiting for that God forsaken airline called Continental. The pizza was warm and served with a smile. I gobbled the huge slice of pizza down within 5 minutes. It was that good. I highly recommend this store for airport food if you're stuck in an airport in the east coast of United States.
Another thing about traveling long distance. I took the direct flight from Singapore to Newark, and I have to say that the seats were freaking fantastic. The food even though I personally thought was one meal too little, was great compared to any other airline food I have tasted over long distances. For the direct flights, there is even a standing area behind the plane where you can hang out and eat all the food you want. The stewardess left vegetable and chicken wraps, hot char siew buns, instant noodles, chips and cheese and cookies for you to eat. It seemed as if every hour, there was somebody serving something and I have to say that's fantastic for an 18 and a half hour flight. Biggie ups to the SIA stewards and stewardess.
First of all I have to say that this chowder wasn't very good. My blackened cajun fish sandwich wasn't very good either. Wow, I was actually quite disappointed with Ted Danson and Frasier Crane all of a sudden. Not that I always had high expectations of a bar/novelty restaurant, but I comforted myself by saying that it was just a tourist spot. Food isn't supposed to be good. Everybody else were happy with their food. There was an order of Fish and Chips, steak and potatoes, chicken salad, and some seafood dish. Everybody loved the Sam Adams, I liked it. Crisp and tender. Not too thick. Our mixed platter appetizer is the same type you can get any where.
On my way to New York from Boston, my flight was delayed for over 3 hours. I got hungry and decided to tell myself to go grab something to eat. I had to take a chance to eat bad airport food. I was left with a choice of Burger King and La Famligilia. The choice was clear. It was the latter. Its actually a renowned pizza joint. Its just that the pizza quality varies from place to place. I ordered a slice of the pizza pie filled with onions, ham, salami, and peppers with a side of spicy marinara sauce and Lipton ice tea. I have to say, after eating all of that crappy pizza in Singapore, this was one of the best decisions I made while waiting for that God forsaken airline called Continental. The pizza was warm and served with a smile. I gobbled the huge slice of pizza down within 5 minutes. It was that good. I highly recommend this store for airport food if you're stuck in an airport in the east coast of United States.
Another thing about traveling long distance. I took the direct flight from Singapore to Newark, and I have to say that the seats were freaking fantastic. The food even though I personally thought was one meal too little, was great compared to any other airline food I have tasted over long distances. For the direct flights, there is even a standing area behind the plane where you can hang out and eat all the food you want. The stewardess left vegetable and chicken wraps, hot char siew buns, instant noodles, chips and cheese and cookies for you to eat. It seemed as if every hour, there was somebody serving something and I have to say that's fantastic for an 18 and a half hour flight. Biggie ups to the SIA stewards and stewardess.
Bean Town Part 2a
For all those who share the irritation of freaking technology and the freaking popup blocker from freaking google which freaking make me lose my entire 3 paragraphs of articulate crap earlier, I hope you understand why I am irritated that I am writing this.Anyways, much to my anticipation and surprise, my experience in Boston was finally aided by an unlikely of alliances, Bugsy! Bugsy: who was my wife's personal aide during our wedding and my wife was her lone bridesmaid for Bugsy's wedding, decided to come down to Boston and take me around with Mandy. Mandy is so named to aide in my specific story telling so that one can identify with her and also understand that I can stop referring her as Bugsy's friend because it will just make quick reading tedious.
"Bugsy parked her car and walked through the park," imagine saying this with a strong Bostonian accent and it would be hilarious but the above did really happen. I was soon to discover that my hotel being in the middle of the theatre district is in the middle of everything. Bugsy and Mandy couldn't find the hotel, so I walked down less than one Boston block and there she was! Finally, a local to bring me around!
We took a 15 minute walk together and we reached Quincy market. See pic above. Imagine right down the middle of the building is a walk way and as you enter the old one storied building, you were walking between stores that served food of all varieties. From local seafood to Japanese food and ice cream. Outside and around the building are local restaurants. For all the ladies out there reading this blog and wanting to go to Boston someday, if you see the picture carefully on the left, are buildings that contain stores that you would like from Coach, to Crate and Barrel, to Urban Outfitters. And behind Quincy Market is a GAP, Banana Republic, American Eagle Outfitters and a few Victoria Secrets. The ladies were hungry and we decided to go to some Irish pub for some quick bites. The bar was cool. It was a nice. We had to walk up some stairs and we were in this dome ceiling type restaurant. It was wicked cool. We ordered some sandwiches and the crab and artichoke dip was fantastic. The service was good and the company was wonderful. Again, I have to say at that point I really didn't care about the food because I was just happy to be with friends, yes, I do consider Mandy as a friend even though I just met her.
As we walked around the place, I was tempted to buy some Boston Shorts, those short shorts that I love my wife to wear at home that accentuates .....
Anyways, while walking back. I had to hit the Borders because I had to get my V for vendetta DVD. And all was good. We walked through the park and there was a open play of Taming of the Shrew aka 10 things I hate about you. Even though I didn't know when I would see Bugsy and Mandy again, I was just glad that I could share my experience in Boston with them.
The next day, the Boss and I decided to invade Harvard in the morning. We took the redline and alighted at Cambridge. It was as if we were transplanted into a part of London. The campus is beautiful and the the churches in and around the campus was exquisite. We had breakfast at a local bar restaurant where they serve breakfast foods. I ordered the 333. The 3 pancakes, 3 bacon and 3 eggs. I personally call it the triple threat. It was more of a self collect place. You order and when the order is done, they call you and you collect your stuff and pay. I am not really a breakfast person but I have to say it was freaking fantastic. The yellow walls littered with autographs from the Rolling Stones and some old autograph memobilias all over the wall. I have to say that the experience was nostalgic as it made me want to return to college again. I would recommend this place to anybody visiting Harvard. Now if only I can remember the name of the store!
BOSTON
Can I just say that I love Boston? Its lovely. The weather was hot but the place was beautiful. Its a good mix of New York with just a tad slower pace and the people are lovely as well. Friendly and polite. I would recommend Boston to anybody.
After an 18 and a half hours flight with my boss, we decided to eat something "proper," at Newark Airport. We met some other Singaporeans who were heading to Boston as well and we stopped in front of TGIF in Terminal C. Its weird traveling with Singaporeans in a foreign country because it feels like you are caught in a darn time warp. You know that you are in a foreign country but the sounds and sights are deeply tainted by the "Singaporean-est," of the people surrounding you. I try to follow Anthony Bourdain's thing about being a traveler and not a tourist. So TGIF wasn't exactly my idea of America that I know of. I had 3 glasses of Dr. Pepper within 15 minutes. Dr. Pepper is the drink of choice when I am back home and I drink it so much until my wife has to stop me because my tummy just isn't used to so much gas! I ordered a burger and the nice lady with us ordered a salad while the 2 older man ordered cheese steaks. Not the Philly cheesesteaks mind you, just 2 slices of Sirloin with some melted nacho cheese. Being Singaporean, obviously some comments had to come. Like this steak is not as good as Jack's place. Somebody take a gun and shoot me please. My burger was decent. Huge of course. But I have to say that the fries were left out for too long?
The next day, the boss and myself decided to take the lunch trolley. The convention had this trolley bus that brought you around to the nearby restaurants, and we decided to take one to try. Again, you can't run from Singapore. We decided to take BUS C, which brought us to the bay and the restaurant of choice was the NO NAME RESTAURANT. My boss thought the name was cool because apparently this restaurant copied the name from the NO SIGNBOARD SEAFOOD RESTAURANT. Shoot me now please. The restaurant was in the middle of the warehouses, it was cool. The restaurant served nothing but seafood because it was right by the bay. I ordered my blue fish and my boss ordered the Cale? We had to order the chowder because that's what Boston is famous for and the free garlic bread which was half a French loaf was freaking fantastic. The sounds of sea gulls was all around and we could see the fishing ships out the window. Beautiful. The food was pretty good and the service was excellent. The restaurant was crowded. So the ambiance was definitely there.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!
Our next attack was the nearby Italian restaurant called Mezzano's. My boss needed noodles. And we were walking around near the hotel wondering around what was good. Mezzano's. It sounds familiar because I bought their pasta sauce before! The ambiance was great. Like every great Italian restaurant, it has to be dimly litted, dark wood furniture, white table cloth, Italian servers. We sat right by the bar and we ordered the works. A salad, I ordered the chicken marsala of course, my boss requested for chilly in his pasta, kill me now please. And of course I ordered a Bruschetta. The meal was filling and the portions were huge! I have to say the people in Boston are crazy abour their Red Sox. I don't particularly like them but when a game is on. Everybody watches it, even in a sexy restaurant like Mezzano's. I would say that the Pasta we had were way above average but still below good. It was acceptable for a $16 USD per plate of pasta. And my boss paid for dinner too! So it was great!
More to come.....
After an 18 and a half hours flight with my boss, we decided to eat something "proper," at Newark Airport. We met some other Singaporeans who were heading to Boston as well and we stopped in front of TGIF in Terminal C. Its weird traveling with Singaporeans in a foreign country because it feels like you are caught in a darn time warp. You know that you are in a foreign country but the sounds and sights are deeply tainted by the "Singaporean-est," of the people surrounding you. I try to follow Anthony Bourdain's thing about being a traveler and not a tourist. So TGIF wasn't exactly my idea of America that I know of. I had 3 glasses of Dr. Pepper within 15 minutes. Dr. Pepper is the drink of choice when I am back home and I drink it so much until my wife has to stop me because my tummy just isn't used to so much gas! I ordered a burger and the nice lady with us ordered a salad while the 2 older man ordered cheese steaks. Not the Philly cheesesteaks mind you, just 2 slices of Sirloin with some melted nacho cheese. Being Singaporean, obviously some comments had to come. Like this steak is not as good as Jack's place. Somebody take a gun and shoot me please. My burger was decent. Huge of course. But I have to say that the fries were left out for too long?
The next day, the boss and myself decided to take the lunch trolley. The convention had this trolley bus that brought you around to the nearby restaurants, and we decided to take one to try. Again, you can't run from Singapore. We decided to take BUS C, which brought us to the bay and the restaurant of choice was the NO NAME RESTAURANT. My boss thought the name was cool because apparently this restaurant copied the name from the NO SIGNBOARD SEAFOOD RESTAURANT. Shoot me now please. The restaurant was in the middle of the warehouses, it was cool. The restaurant served nothing but seafood because it was right by the bay. I ordered my blue fish and my boss ordered the Cale? We had to order the chowder because that's what Boston is famous for and the free garlic bread which was half a French loaf was freaking fantastic. The sounds of sea gulls was all around and we could see the fishing ships out the window. Beautiful. The food was pretty good and the service was excellent. The restaurant was crowded. So the ambiance was definitely there.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!
Our next attack was the nearby Italian restaurant called Mezzano's. My boss needed noodles. And we were walking around near the hotel wondering around what was good. Mezzano's. It sounds familiar because I bought their pasta sauce before! The ambiance was great. Like every great Italian restaurant, it has to be dimly litted, dark wood furniture, white table cloth, Italian servers. We sat right by the bar and we ordered the works. A salad, I ordered the chicken marsala of course, my boss requested for chilly in his pasta, kill me now please. And of course I ordered a Bruschetta. The meal was filling and the portions were huge! I have to say the people in Boston are crazy abour their Red Sox. I don't particularly like them but when a game is on. Everybody watches it, even in a sexy restaurant like Mezzano's. I would say that the Pasta we had were way above average but still below good. It was acceptable for a $16 USD per plate of pasta. And my boss paid for dinner too! So it was great!
More to come.....
Ai Pappi!
For all the 2 married ladies who read this blog, say the title of this post during some good "relationship making," with your hubby and you're in the right direction. I do have a thing for Latina women, my wife knows that. We both consider Salma Hayek hot and I do find Jennifer Lopez appalling. Thought about dating some Latina women during college because my room mate was a hot and sexy Latina Machismo who attracted the lovely Mamasitas, but thank goodness I ended up with a hot blonde instead.
Why the tangent about the Latino culture for a restaurant review? I don't know. Does this restaurant serve Latin food? No. The name of the restaurant that I decided to impress my wife when she came back to Singapore was Poppi at Fort Canning Hill, located within the compound of Legends. The website is impressive enough. I love the deco as seen from the website. So I was expecting some hot Australian cuisine.
That's the part that got me dumbfounded. It wasn't really Australian cuisine. Just more Nouveau European cuisine. Which means to most " I can't decide what to specialize in which in cooking school so I made up this term to make it sound like a new genre of food that I know nothing about," type cuisine.
Arriving at 6pm for dinner. I was pleasantly surprised that there was hardly anybody in the restaurant. The server and host was very friendly and polite. They told us what the specials were and as we looked through the menu, I only thought how bad could this be? So my wife feeling adventurous decided to try the Barraundi dish, and me the Foie Gras with steak and potatoes. 2 desserts worth of their hot chocolate cake with melted chocolate inside the cake and we even ordered the mushroom appetizer. The total meal cost was $170. I mean, that's fine for my wife and I but the food was okay. Wasn't $170 worth for sure.
The Barrundi tasted dare I say fishy? And my steak and potatoes were average at best. The Foie Gras didn't go with the beef and our mushroom appetizer looked amateurish at worst. The dessert was the saving grace but again, you can have the dessert nearly anywhere.
I wanted to try something different that night but was serverly disappointed. On the other had, good old Tasty Bites went to the Cliff that night at Beaufort and I bet he enjoyed the heck out of the experience.
Hope this helps.
Why the tangent about the Latino culture for a restaurant review? I don't know. Does this restaurant serve Latin food? No. The name of the restaurant that I decided to impress my wife when she came back to Singapore was Poppi at Fort Canning Hill, located within the compound of Legends. The website is impressive enough. I love the deco as seen from the website. So I was expecting some hot Australian cuisine.
That's the part that got me dumbfounded. It wasn't really Australian cuisine. Just more Nouveau European cuisine. Which means to most " I can't decide what to specialize in which in cooking school so I made up this term to make it sound like a new genre of food that I know nothing about," type cuisine.
Arriving at 6pm for dinner. I was pleasantly surprised that there was hardly anybody in the restaurant. The server and host was very friendly and polite. They told us what the specials were and as we looked through the menu, I only thought how bad could this be? So my wife feeling adventurous decided to try the Barraundi dish, and me the Foie Gras with steak and potatoes. 2 desserts worth of their hot chocolate cake with melted chocolate inside the cake and we even ordered the mushroom appetizer. The total meal cost was $170. I mean, that's fine for my wife and I but the food was okay. Wasn't $170 worth for sure.
The Barrundi tasted dare I say fishy? And my steak and potatoes were average at best. The Foie Gras didn't go with the beef and our mushroom appetizer looked amateurish at worst. The dessert was the saving grace but again, you can have the dessert nearly anywhere.
I wanted to try something different that night but was serverly disappointed. On the other had, good old Tasty Bites went to the Cliff that night at Beaufort and I bet he enjoyed the heck out of the experience.
Hope this helps.
Parkway Royal Thai
I can't really remember the name. Is it Parkway Royal Thai or Royal Parkway Thai? I don't know. I went for a lunch buffet which cost $22 per person including GST and the what have yous.
It was a reasonable lunch. It wasn't really great authentic Thai food mind you. But the selection was decent and something the restaurant can get away with. There was Pineapple Fried Rice, white rice, some Pad Thai, green curry, mixed vegetables, bad Tom Yum soup, bad quasi fishball soup, decent cold squid salad, okay papaya salad, some shrimp type curry, and a few other Thai chicken and beef dishes.
Vague description I know. But mind you, this is a buffet. The rules of engagement for a buffet is different. It just have to taste relatively good, and the restaurant doesn't stop you from going 10 rounds around the buffet. The buffet is very much like a marathon, you pace yourself and you eat in good portions, I laugh at Europeans and Americans who take and finish their buffet in 2 plates. That's just silly. For a buffet, you need quantity of decent tasting food. Its the repetition that counts. Not the quality of the food because no decent 5 star restaurant has a buffet. Trust me. I don't know.
This experience was relatively harmless. It was meant for a farewell lunch for a colleague, and he had his fill. Which was good. Would I go back to the restaurant again? No. Not really. Would I recommend it to my friends? No. Not really. The service was relatively good and prompt and $22 per person is QUITE value for money for lunch. I left the restaurant without having changed my mind about Thai food, because I love Thai food. So I guess this is a positive.
It was a reasonable lunch. It wasn't really great authentic Thai food mind you. But the selection was decent and something the restaurant can get away with. There was Pineapple Fried Rice, white rice, some Pad Thai, green curry, mixed vegetables, bad Tom Yum soup, bad quasi fishball soup, decent cold squid salad, okay papaya salad, some shrimp type curry, and a few other Thai chicken and beef dishes.
Vague description I know. But mind you, this is a buffet. The rules of engagement for a buffet is different. It just have to taste relatively good, and the restaurant doesn't stop you from going 10 rounds around the buffet. The buffet is very much like a marathon, you pace yourself and you eat in good portions, I laugh at Europeans and Americans who take and finish their buffet in 2 plates. That's just silly. For a buffet, you need quantity of decent tasting food. Its the repetition that counts. Not the quality of the food because no decent 5 star restaurant has a buffet. Trust me. I don't know.
This experience was relatively harmless. It was meant for a farewell lunch for a colleague, and he had his fill. Which was good. Would I go back to the restaurant again? No. Not really. Would I recommend it to my friends? No. Not really. The service was relatively good and prompt and $22 per person is QUITE value for money for lunch. I left the restaurant without having changed my mind about Thai food, because I love Thai food. So I guess this is a positive.
Just came back ...
Hi all, just came back from the 617. Will update the website with more reviews.
Laters
Laters
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)