Sunday, March 07, 2010

Wendy’s Singapore - should have just stayed away

As a kid growing up in Singapore, I have vague memories of eating at Wendy’s (along with something called Denny’s. Were they ‘siblings’ or something?) and when I was in New York a couple of years back I had a quick burger there. Remembering it fondly, I headed down to the newly opened outlet at Lao Pa Sat, the first franchise stall on local shores in over ten years.

Alas, like Dunkin’ Donuts (which was another return of a huge franchise), I was thoroughly disappointed.

I had the grilled chicken burger, which looked tasty on the menu, but turned out to be overcooked, bland and the pattie was so hard I’m pretty sure I could break someone’s head with it. The overall effect was so lacklustre (reminiscent of those school canteen attempts at burgers) that I could barely force myself to finish it. And it wasn’t like it was large or anything.

The fries were equally disappointing. While they looked promising (with the crispy, golden texture of Long John Silver fries), they were utterly unsalted and devoid of any taste. Plus, they got soggy really fast.

In an attempt to add some semblance of healthy eating to my meal, I ordered their Caesar’s salad. While it was decent and provided some much-needed fibre, it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary and tasted like something you could get from any supermarket (for about half the price).

Perhaps the only saving grace of the meal was their cheesy cheese baked potato, which was the only tasty thing on my tray. The texture of the potato was just right and the cheese, which wasn’t overwhelming, complimented it perfected. I wouldn’t head all the way to Lao Pa Sat just for it, though.

The price range of the items at Wendy’s are around the same as, say, Macdonalds or KFC (my meal cost me approximately $13 as I shared my potato and salad) but the food nowhere even near as good.

Until more outlets open in Singapore (and I heard there are plans for many) and the standard gets better, I’d advise everyone to stay away, at all cost. You’d find more pleasure (at probably cheaper costs) at any other more established fastfood outlet across the island.

Rating: 1 out of 5 stars (for the potato)

Wendy’s Singapore
18 Raffles Quay
Lau Pa Sat Festival Market

Opening Hours: 7:30am-10pm daily

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Lai Lai Casual Dining - Taiwan Lite

A couple of entries back, I wrote about how one of my favourite foodie treats, the KFC egg tart, has finally arrived in Singapore. Recently, I went to try to out another of the foods I mentioned that I loved from Taiwan.

Although Lai Lai Casual Dining isn’t as new in Singapore as the egg tarts (the outlet I went to opened with the new extension of Jurong Point several months back), it was the first time I had eaten there and also the first time I had lu rou fan, or stewed (some websites say braised and I totally can’t tell the difference) pork rice, in Singapore.

Alas, while the dish wasn’t bad, it definitely did not live up to the standard of the ones I had in Taiwan. I don’t know if which is supposed to be the original way of cooking it but the meal I had here had, as you can see in the photo, pretty large pork chunks. While not larger than the kind you can get from coffeeshops with your chicken rice, they were pretty different from the minced variety I had those years ago, which I prefer. Also, while the dish wasn’t bland or anything, it definitely wasn’t as straight-out tasty as its Taiwanese counterpart.

The serving was pretty decent sized and definitely enough for a full meal for one person. At $6.90, it wasn’t too expensive (although the Taiwanese version, which was about 70% of the same serving size, only cost about S$1). I did feel a bit cheated, though, because the picture of the dish in the menu had the egg included but I only found out when I was paying the bill that it cost an additional S$1.

My friend had Taiwan vermicelli with pig intestine and, again, while it wasn’t bad, it wasn’t a knock out of the park either. The taste was of a decent standard and the meal was perfunctorily filling.

The service at that outlet wasn’t much to rave about neither. The service staff (of which there was a reasonably large number for an outlet of this size) were inattentive and it took us a while to even get to place our orders.

Dining at Lai Lai Casual Dining certainly won’t count as a gastronomical highlight. Still, if you’re looking for a quick bite at prices slightly lower than the fastfood outlets (assuming you’re the upsizing, combo meal sort) or cafes, this would be an adequate lunchtime quickie.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

63 Jurong West Central 3 #B1-60/61 (JP2)
Jurong Point Shopping Centre
Singapore 648331
Tel: 6861 1002
Opening Hours: 10.30am to 10pm daily

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Passable but laced with MSG at Hong Kong Kim Gary

One would think that when eating at a restaurant, the browsing of menus and ordering would be the easy or even negligible, with most of the attention paid to the service and food itself.

But at a restaurant I dine in recently, it took me far longer to order my meal than to actually finish it.

Located at Vivocity, Hong Kong Kim Gary Restaurant seemed a decent offering, with pleasant decor and a large number of customers inside. It has an air of bustle around the place. Just deciding on something to eat, however, was enough to give me a headache.

Unlike most places which usually offer only one menu (with perhaps additional menus for drinks, desserts and promotional sets), this restaurant has a whole stack of menus, which all confusingly listing not only different foods, but sometimes even repeat the same dishes, which makes the main focus of each of the menus unclear.

On top of that, even after you’ve scoured through the various lists and picked what you wanted, the order chits on which to write your dishes of choice came in an overwhelming array, with sheets for ala carte dishes, vegetables, drinks, rice sets and several other different categories, many of which don’t even seem mutually exclusive at first glance.

To make matters worse, the food wasn’t great, neither.

The Shanghai noodles with beef and Sichuan vegetables had a lot of MSG and, even then, tasted unremarkable (although the beef was surprisingly tender). The Korean spicy noodles were even worse, tasting like something we could have whipped up ourselves at home (and probably done a better job). (If you don’t know already, MSG is the stuff that makes you thirsty and fries your brain!)

The baked rice dishes, apparently their speciality, were just passable. The cheese and chicken chop portions were chewy and provided a good feel but the overall taste was lacking and not worth the $12 it cost.

My friends and I shared a bowl of fries topped with a stingy spread of minced beef sauce. The fries were bland and tasteless and weren’t even the same type as the ones advertised in the menu.

To top off the bad experience, the service staff were inattentive, indifferent and brusque (even after we had indicated who had ordered a certain dish, they would just set it down on the side of the table nearest to them and leave us to pass the food around) and, seeing as we did practically all the work navigating the scores of menus, didn’t warrant our service charge at all.

Definitely the worst dining experience I’ve had in recent months (although I’ve heard very polarised reviews of this place from different friends so maybe you could be luckier and enjoy a better experience).

Rating: 1 of 5 stars

Hong Kong Kim Gary Restaurant
1 Harbourfront Walk, #02-128 VivoCity
Tel: +65 6376 8183
Opening hours: Daily 10am-10pm

Monday, February 08, 2010

Are KFC egg tarts here as good as in Taiwan?

Two years ago, before my NS enlistment, I went to Taiwan with friends and one of the foodie surprises I had there was, as mentioned in my earlier post here, the KFC Portuguese egg tarts! (For those wondering if KFC in Taiwan is some fancy bakery, no, it is indeed Kentucky Fried Chicken.)

The egg tarts in Taiwan had crispy, flaky crusts and amazingly sweet egg paste filling and were, to be honest, the best egg tarts I had ever tasted (and, being an egg tart fanatic, I’ve tried it at several places too, including Macau’s famed outlets, which I found over-rated).

So, when I heard they had come to Singapore, I HAD to try it. Alas, though, while it isn’t bad, it’s not as good as those in Taiwan.

The crusts, which is probably the first thing you’d sink your teeth into, were pretty tasty. Unfortunately (or maybe it was just the outlet I got it from), the crispiness was not even and some parts were harder (and more greasy) than the rest and made for an odd eating experience.

The egg filling, which is probably the most important part, was abundant and decent. However, it lacked a certain oomph! to it and, while it wasn’t bland, was a tad underwhelming and un-aromatic.

With that said though, although the tarts were a tad disappointing, they are still decent enough for anyone looking for a quick pastry fix here. It sure beats some of the other egg tarts I’ve tasted across the island.

At $1.30 for one or $7.50 for a half-dozen, it’s pricier than those sold elsewhere but it comes in a festive crimson box, suitable for giving away during the 15 days of Chinese New Year (for those who want to give something more than just tangerines).

Rating: 3 of 5 stars

Saturday, February 06, 2010

Sony’s movies for the year

I remember, back in my secondary school days, I used to watch a lot of movies. Thanks to never-ending readings and assignments now, as a university student, however, I find it much harder to find a timeslot where I can head down to a cinema, pay the (really expensive) ticket price and catch a show. Still, some of Sony Pictures’ releases in the upcoming year look interesting enough to compel me to the nearest silver screen.

The Book of Eli (releasing 18 Mar) is a thriller that stars Denzel Washington as Eli, a loner who treks through an American apocalyptic wasteland, protecting a book that he feels is destined to change the world. I’ve always found post-apocalyptic stories (e.g. I Am Legend) interesting and the fact that Denzel Washington, whom I’ve always found one of the best actors of the current generation, is helming it makes it really exciting.

Most of the year after that seems to be filled with lots of romantic comedies (a genre that I don’t actually mind watching but wouldn’t pay a full weekend price for) but two titles near the end of the year pique my interests.

Beastly (releasing 2 Sep) is supposedly a retelling of “Beauty and the Beast”, set in high school, and told from the Beast’s point of view. Though it is also a comedy and stars High School Musical’s Vanessa Hudgens and Mary-Kate Olsen (ten brownie points if you can tell me which twin she is), the concept sounds interesting and it stars Neil Patrick Harris (probably as the Beast), who’s possibly one of the most awesome actors around right now.

The Green Hornet (releasing 23 Dec) is probably the movie I’m most excited about for this year - a film adaptation of one of my favourite 1960s superhero TV series. Starring Seth Rogen as the eponymous green-garbed hero, Jay Chou as the martial artist Asian sidekick Kato (a role immortalised by Bruce Lee) and Cameron Diaz as Rogen’s love interest, the casting is interesting but I’d love to see how it’s going to turn out.

What movies are you most excited about this coming year?

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Dessert monster encountered at Benten Café

Having a huge sweet tooth (which inadvertently leads to a lot of toothaches), I’ve always had a soft spot for desserts, especially the incredibly sinful kind filled with ice cream and other sugary ingredients.

Despite all my dessert-chomping experiences though, nothing prepared me for the monster I faced at Benten Café, which serves up gargantuan desserts that are definitely not for the faint-hearted (nor the diet-watchers).

The ambiry babiru (if I remember the name correctly) is a huge, fishbowl worth of sweet delights, with just about anything imaginable thrown in. Amongst the immense mess (and mass) of the dish you can find cakes, fruits (cut in amazingly intricate patterns), whipped cream, biscuits and pudding, topped off with a copious load of corn flakes and ice cream.

Although the babiru looked messy and kinda disgusting, it is a godsend for those who crave something sugary after a meal (and be sure to make it a light one to leave space for this!). The fruits are ripe, the cake is tasty, the biscuits add a more solid crunch to the bite and the mixture of ice cream and cereal (flooded with chocolate and strawberry fudge) is amazingly addictive.

Of course, this Godzilla of a dessert is only meant for about four to five people to share, a fact which is reflected in its price - S$40 for a bowl. Despite the fact that it would set each person back about $10 though, it does provide immense satisfaction (followed by immense guilt, of course) and holds it own against similarly-priced desserts at other restaurants.

For smaller groups, the cafe does offer smaller servings (with proportionately fewer ingredients), in beer jugs for three people and even in individual cups for those on a solo binge.

Although it might a few months before I’d even contemplate tackling such a huge bowl of fat again (and I had it with three other friends), it was definitely worth my $10. Perfect for the sweet-lovers.

Rating: 4 of 5

Benten Café, #03 -20/20A
Jurong Point Shopping Centre
Tel: 6791 0882
Opening Hours: 11.30am - 10.00pm

(There seems to be another outlet at Iluma at Bugis. The Web site is down so I can’t confirm)

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Queensway 328 Laksa: Hidden Treasure

I’m usually not a fan of spicy food. I have almost no threshold for anything remotely tongue-tingling and just am not a fan of the taste of chilli. Still, like every other Singaporean, I do enjoy an occasional bowl of laksa, of the strong-taste-but-no-spice variety, of course.

While many head to more established outlets across the island for their laksa fix, I get mine at a discreet little stall in the heart of Queensway Shopping Centre.

The first thing one would notice about the laksa sold here would be that it’s entire devoid of spiciness. Of course, you’re free to ask for scoops of sambal chilli (and even then, I’ve heard that it isn’t too much to handle), but the plain dish itself is totally chilli-free and leaves its real taste wide out in the open to experience.

And a fantastic taste it is.

The laksa noodles (or whatever they’re called) are cooked to just the right amount of softness and have a fantastic texture. The cockles, while sparsely distributed, are chewy and delicious, without having an overwhelming fishy taste (which was my gripe with several outlets I’ve tried). Of course, the main star of the dish would be the gravy, which is thick and creamy and packs a huge oomph that left me lapping it all up to the last drop after even I had polished off the ingredients.

At $3 for a small bowl, it’s slightly pricey and probably won’t be filling enough for a whole meal. Still, for a mid-shopping-trip snack (for those of you East-dwellers, Queensway Shopping Centre is a veritable treasure trove for affordable sportswear, most notably shoes), it is fantastic and, coupled with a glass of ice cold sugarcane juice, is the perfect note to end off a trip there with.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

ps. Just be sure to read the sign for the stall properly. There’re two competing laksa stalls on the first floor of Queensway Shopping Centre and the other’s offering is a pale offering of this one.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Hidden treasure at Khansama Tandoori Castle

Hidden in the farthest corner of Biopolis, which is a veritable maze of clean, futuristic buildings, Khansama Tandoori Castle is a relatively unknown, hard to reach eating place that serves up excellent food and great service at affordable prices.

Reaching the place at slightly after dinner time on a weekday, we were one of only two groups at the restaurant, a place that looked like it could sit a respectable crowd (which it could possibly get during lunch hour, attracting the office workers around who’re too lazy to take the 15 min hike out of Biopolis). Despite the lack of a crowd, however, we soldiered on, not only because we had read some very encouraging reviews online, but also because we had walked for over 20 minutes to get there and weren’t to be denied our treasure.

And treasure it was that we found.

While we were initially overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices in the menu, with some help from the service staff, we picked out a few dishes to share, choosing a selection of meats, vegetables and staple foods.

The aloo tikki chaat, which was a mashed potato patty filled with cottage cheese, green peas and gram daal was tasty, with loads of spices and a tangy zesty taste, and made for a terrific appetizer.

For meat, we shared a chicken tikka masala dish, which was boneless roasted chicken cooked with onion, tomatoes and simmered in a pan with light curry and tomato sauces. I liked the fact that the curry wasn’t spicy (in fact none of the dishes had me, a chilli-phobe, grasping for a drink at all). The chicken was not only soft and tender yet packing a strong punch, it also went well with the naan basket we ordered, which consisted of plain, butter, garlic and cheese and tandoori breads.

The naan were crispy and freshly baked and could, as the Gardenia tagline constantly, even have been eaten on their own. Unlike the cheap, tasteless naan I’ve eaten at other decidedly more hawker-styled eating places, the breads here weren’t greasy or oily and provided a satisfying and filling, but not overwhelming, staple.

The biggest surprise of the night came in the form of the navrattan korma, an assortment of fresh garden vegetables cooked in mild butter and cream sauce. While it didn’t look like much, the mixture had gastronomical oomph, with a thick, full, creamy taste infused with the essence of its ingredients. Upon tasting it, my friend commented that it was “glorious”.

The sole disappointment of the meal was the mutton kathi kebab, which had mutton slices and salad wrapped in roti. While not bad per se, it was unremarkable and turned cold (and consequently, tough) pretty fast.

My friends washed down their meal with mango and strawberry lassi (yoghurt drinks), which were lipsmacking and refreshing while I had a jal jeera, an odd concoction of cumin powder, tamarind, lime juice, mint, salt and sugar that my friend commented tasted like sprite with sour plum (which it really did). It was strange at first, but gradually grew on me.

For such a hugely satisfying meal (don’t let the small dishes fool you, the servings we had bloated us all up immensely), each of us only paid $20, which was a reasonable amount considering the quality of the food. Plus, the restaurant doesn’t charge the usual GST and service charge. (And for those looking for a hearty lunch time fix, apparently the restaurant offers a lunch buffet at around $10 per person)

With such great food, friendly service, low prices and an authentic ambience to the outlet, it’s no wonder that the restaurant garnered great reviews online (from the few people who’d been to it) and I’d definitely return with more friends. By far the best restaurant I’ve eaten at in months.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Khansama Tandoori Castle
8A Biomedical Grove
Immunos Building, Biopolis (opposite Buona Vista MRT station)
Tel: 6774 0300

Saturday, January 09, 2010

Rubber chicken at the Handburger

There are some restaurants which you just want so much for it to be good. It could be the promising menu, interesting ambience, friendly staff or even just the photos of yummy dishes. Whatever it is, you just wish for the outlet to live up to expectations.

The Handburger, at the newly-opened 313@Somerset, was one of those for me. The cheerful, spunky staff, interesting menu and the fact that their burger buns were freshly made in their own bakery, got me psyched up even before I took my seat.

I had the chicken caesar burger, which came with an unbelievably large chicken patty, bacon strips, mozzarella cheese and their home-baked buns. While the first few bites were tasty, the toughness of the patty eventually got to me. It took me way longer to cut it than to actually eat the whole thing.

Plus, since I never know how to eat huge burgers at swanky outlets (well...swankier than your neighbourhood MacDonalds) and just copied what everyone else seemed to be doing (eating the parts separately with utensils as though it was steak instead of just grabbing the entire burger with the hands), finishing the burger proved to be a messy affair.

The meal came with square cut fries which, while made from distinctly higher-quality potatoes than thosee of fast food joints and had a more solid, less greasy taste, were unremarkable.

My friends’ burgers - The Works (basically a mashup of onion rings, patties and other assorted meat cuts lumped together into a sinfully oily pile) and the tandoori chicken burger - were also disappointing, with a lack of cohesion in the ingredients and providing an underwhelming gastronomical experience.

To top it off, our shared plate of calamari didn’t live up to standards too. While less greasy than those in some other restaurants, they were utterly forgettable and nothing to write about.

It wasn’t all bad though. The sweet potato fries (which you can order instead of the usual potatoes) were grease-free and tasty and the nutella marshmallow milkshake (with three roasted marshmallows) was delightful.

Still, for all the promise the outlet showed, not to mention their impressive food presentation and cozy ambience (with bench seats, no less), The Handburger faltered at the most important part - the patty in the burger.

Eating at The Handburger was disappointing and, for the price we paid ($25 per person), I’m sure we would have gotten better at one of the many other burger outlets popping up all over Orchard Road.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

The Handburger, 313@Somerset, B2-17/18/19
Tel: 65096214

Opening hours: Daily 11.30am - 10pm

Friday, January 01, 2010

Resolutions for 2010

Happy new year, everyone!

As always, it’s come the time to start laying down resolutions for the new year. While I’ll agree with most people that resolutions are mostly forgotten by April and that they’re notoriously hard to keep, I’ve always felt that, even if we don’t follow the letter, we can follow the spirit of the resolutions.

After all, even if we don’t achieve exactly what we said we would by the end of the year, at least we would have used them (when we remembered) as motivators and guides throughout the months.

My main resolution for 2010 would be to get a silver for my IPPT.

Ask any ORD-ed NSman and he’d tell you that health and fitness mostly goes down after leaving national service. Studies, work and other aspects of life often clog up our time and, without enforced and disciplined exercise, we wouldn’t have time to keep fit.

Thus, I’m going to set that goal for myself, not only so I can fulfill my IPPT requirement of the year and not have to go for remedial training (not to mention the cash incentive, which would be lovely to a poor student like me), but so that I would force myself to consistently exercise throughout my school term and try to keep fit.

Why not gold, then, you ask? Well, I know my limits and, after all, resolutions have to be tough but achievable right? I was never even close to getting a gold during my full-time NS and, now that I’m in school and have less time to train, I’d be glad to be able to hit my silver requirements.

Of course, being a university student, I’d also resolve to do well in my studies and try to get on the Dean’s List, which seems an increasingly phenomenal task.

What are your resolutions for 2010?

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Greenhouse Cafe

I dislike going to mega-malls like Vivocity. Other than having to navigate through throngs of busy shoppers, finding a place to eat (especially at peak meal hours) is always a headache. Thus, when I accompanied my mum there to do our Christmas shopping a few days ago, I jumped into the first eating place we saw that had seats available.

Located just next to the MRT entrance to Vivocity, Greenhouse Cafe offered a slightly quiet(er) respite from the insane hustle of desperate last-minute shoppers.

While the cafe was decorated quaintly, with a warm, semi-rustic charm (as well as an adjoining shop called Pocket Full of Posies selling assorted knick-knacks), the relative lack of customers at lunch-hour should have warned me about the lukewarm standard of the cafe’s offering.

I ordered a beef lasagne set, which came with cream of mushroom soup, orange juice and a slice of cake (with alternatives being jelly served in a plastic cup or a slice of watermelon at an admittedly cheap price of $12.90.

While the lasagne was texturally savoury and the cheese was chewy but not tough, the sauce was too salty for my tastes. Repeated bites had me going for the horrendously diluted orange juice (which wasn’t even up to the standard of the cordial mixes in the army).

The homemade mushroom soup (i.e. not plopped out from a can of Campbell’s), though, was pretty good and had a slightly bitter and strong mushroom taste, as was the surprisingly-light peach cake (although the alternatives sounded terribly cheap).

My mother had seafood marinara pasta, which was terrible. Other than a lack in the marinara sauce (it was barely enough to cover up the pasta), the sauce was bland and lacking and the few ingredients scattered on the plate tasted oddly uncooked and had uneven textures.

The service staff at the cafe, while earnest, weren’t knowledgeable about even basic things like whether there was any credit card promotion (although, to be fair, the guy serving us was only on his first day at work). Also, while the promotional menu implied a choice of drinks for the set meal, when I ordered I was told that the afore-mentioned terrible orange juice was the only option. To top it off, the bill we asked for turned out to be the hand-written white piece of paper where the staff took our orders on.

Although these aren’t huge gaffes per se, they do show a distinct lack of preparation and professionalism on the part of the owners.

While the mushroom soup and cake were ok, they were nothing to write home about and, couldn’t make up for some of the gastronomical mishaps we were served (the orange juice, in particular, was a huge turn-off). I wouldn’t recommend the place except for those desperate for seats.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Greenhouse Cafe
1 Harbourfront Walk
#B2-42 VivoCity

Tel: 6376 9706

Opening hours:
Daily 10am – 10pm

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Looking back at 2009

2009 has been an eventful year (both in the world and personally), to say the least.

Starting off with the inauguration of the first African-American president of the United States (which is just about the only world news I followed all year), 2009 was marked by celebrity deaths (from Michael Jackson’s highly covered demise to, most recently, Brittany Murphy’s heart attack) as well as random award show outbursts (the Kanye spoof memes are still not stopping), amongst others. And those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

Personally, it has been a pretty exciting, action-packed year as well. Thinking back on the past year, it’s hard to believe that so much has happened (especially after the uneventful 2008 spent totally in the army) and that at the start of the year, I was still slogging it out in camp, preparing for ATEC evaluation with my unit.

Other than the ATEC evaluations in the first few months, I also had to aid my unit for the Best Unit Competition, attempt to secure both my IPPT silver and SOC pass awards as well as finish preparing and maintaining my vehicle for external inspection.

Then, in June, I finally ORDed and said goodbye to my two years spent serving the nation (not to mention my 1.5 years spent in my camp). After two months of rest and relaxation (i.e. not doing anything), I started my very first semester at the National University of Singapore.

The last four months of the year were spent experiencing culture shock, trying to get myself back into the student’s mindset, learning to bid for modules and understanding the system, non-stop mugging and rushing for projects, my very first university examinations, results and even my first term break. Understandably, the time shot by without me knowing.

Thankfully, as the year draws to a close, I can say that I’ve just about adjusted to student life and am ready to start the next semester blazing. Looking back at the unbelievable speed this year has passed, army (which only ended half a year ago) seems such a distant memory.

Here’s looking forward to an even more exciting (but only in a good way) 2010!

How was your 2009?

Thursday, December 24, 2009

TCC Wisma Atria

Despite having grown up in Singapore and gone out often with my friends to eat, there’re some popular food chains that I’ve somehow never had a chance to dine at. The Coffee Connoisseur is one of them.

Before eating there a few days back, I’ve always thought that the franchise, which seems to have more and more outlets popping up islandwide, consisted of cafes placing heavy emphasis on the drinks, with food added in the menu as an afterthought. Having tasted the food at the Wisma Atria branch, however, my viewpoint is decidedly different.

As I was heading off to supper after that, I didn’t want to overload my stomach and so chose to go with a sandwich instead of a full course. The Veal Thing (quite a cute name) was great. Consisting of two large veal sausages and a thick slice of tomato bundled between two herb-sprinkled toasts, the sandwich was meaty, juicy, tasty and, even after slicing some of the sausages for my friends, I still had plenty to get full on. The meal was a little heavier than I expected, but I didn’t regret it, thanks to the sumptuous sausages and just-nicely-toasted bread.

My friends ordered an assortment of dishes, ranging from chicken & turkey bacon lasagne, to a pan-seared chicken breast set, to a couple of pasta choices. While some were pretty perfunctory, none of them tasted bad at all and, considering their prices were all below $20, were a pretty good bang for the buck.

Of note amongst my friends’ choices was the shrooms n’ cheese sandwich. The combination of decently-sized portobello mushrooms and cheese drenching a thick chicken patty was so delicious that many of us asked for second helpings after trying it out. Despite its small size, the burger was still sufficiently filling even after having been shared out.

The service staff, while friendly and cheerful, weren’t very knowledgeable about the menu. My friend’s query about what a certain sauce on her dish was had to be repeated to different personnel and at the end of it we were none the wiser for it.

Still, I loved the food and there’s no doubt I’d be returning there or heading to other outlets to try out some of their other dishes (the beef d’luxe sandwich looks really exciting!). And to think I didn’t even have to try out their coffee in the end!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The Coffee Connoisseur (Wisma Atria)
435 Orchard Rd #02-18 Wisma Atria
Phone : 6733 6597

Business Hours:

Daily: 10 am to 10 pm

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Manhattan Fish Market

Since its opening years ago in Singapore, I’ve heard rave reviews about Manhattan Fish Market from my friends. My personal dining experience at the Plaza Singapura branch a few years back, however, wasn’t all that great, a subpar experience marred by mediocre food and lukewarm service.

At that time, Fish & Co., its biggest competitor, seemed indisputably superior (although that statement has to be taken with the proverbial grain of salt since I’m a huge F&C fan). Wanting to give the Market another go, though, I headed down to the Marina Square outlet with my friends. While the prices for the food were competitive, I’d say Fish & Co. still reigns supreme in the Western seafood department.

My friends and I all ordered the pacific dory fish n’ chips, a platter of fried fish that looked like a bang for the buck (only costing about S$9, several dollars cheaper than Fish & Co.’s fish and chips).

Cooked different from Fish & Co.’s signature dish, the Market’s fish n’ chips was deep fried, with a thick shell of crispy golden batter, served with a side of fries. While the initial taste of the fish was flavourful, the overwhelming amount of grease and oil soon resulted in a feeling of bloat, not to mention the resulting guilt at having shoved essentially deep fried flour (which out-volumed the almost two-to-one) down our gullets. The fries were decent but unremarkable, although it has to be said that they were surprisingly oil-free.

The service, though, was much improved since the last time. The service personnel were friendly and attentive and we had constant refills of iced water without even having to ask.

The main draw of the outlet, at least from the viewpoint of a poor student or NS-man, would be the competitive pricing and admittedly, the prices were cheap. On top of the S$9 fish n’ chips, they also had several set meals catered towards students, offering up dishes like fried fish pieces, fried mushrooms and garlic rice at pretty affordable rates (alas, we only spotted the menu for that after it was too late to change our orders).

Still, I’d recommend the food here only for those on a tight budget or who are looking for their deep fried grease fix. For anyone else looking for good Western seafood, I’d advise heading to Fish & Co. instead.

Of course, that’s my opinion from only having tried one dish (albeit one that’s supposed to be highly recommended). How have your experiences at Manhattan Fish Market (this or any other outlet) been? Any particularly outstanding dishes?

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Manhattan Fish Market (Marina Square)
6 Raffles Boulevard, Marina Square
#02-182 Singapore 039594
(There’re also outlets at Iluma, Plaza Singapura, The Central, White Sands, Junction 8 and North Point)

Tel: +65 6333 9965

ps. Please excuse the low quality of the photos. I had forgotten to bring my camera and so had to rely on a camera phone for the shots.

Saturday, December 05, 2009

Instant noodle with imperial pretension

The new Imperial Treasure chain of restaurants competes head-on with those of Crystal Jade, offering similar food choices, price and ambience.

I tried out the Imperial Treasure La Mian Xiao Long Bao (a mouthful of fancy names which basically mean ramen noodle and swee-kow) at Marina Square.

I started with la mian and double boiled chicken. The soup and chicken have a “healthy” taste but the la mian was really bland. I ended up having to add lots of vinegar just to feel that I wasn’t shoving flour down my throat.

My friends, who ordered pork chop with their la mian, said the meat was oily and tasty, which balanced well with the bland noodle.

We also ordered Beijing shui jiao, supposedly one of the star items. While decent, the shui jiao were unremarkable and were nothing compared with those of Crystal Jade. At $16 a head, our meals cost about the same as what we could eat at Crystal Jade.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Imperial Treasure La Mian Xiao Long Bao
6 Raffles Boulevard, Marina Square #02-138J
Tel: 63382212
Mon-Sun: 11.30am-2.30pm, 6-10.30pm