The Grill @ Hill Crest

Many people who have tasted wagyu beef go gaga over it. I wanted my hubby to try it too.

After weighing the pros and cons (Les Amis Au Jardin was wayyy beyond my budget) and a few rejects because some restuarants were not opened on Sundays, I settled for 'The Grill @ HillCrest', just a few steps away from our favourite Fish & Chips restaraunt - Greenwood Fish Market.



When we were shown the menu, we were told that they don't have this, they don't have that. Just when I was about to scratch my head and ask myself what lousy restaurant I have found, I was told that this is actually the last day of operation before they close for renovations. Ahh... that makes sense not to order too much food then.

Bread (8/10)



Nice. The butter that were served were exceptionally rich and creamy. Butter will never taste the same again! kekeke ^.^

Mushroom Cappuccino (9/10)



Unlike the one I had at New York New York, the added cappuccino 'effect' worked much better. At least, it blended in well and didn't taste like it was a deliberate addition. There were hardly any mushroom chunks in the soup, but this can be easily overlooked by the great taste of this soup.

Mushroom springroll & Salad (9/10)



I should have taken a picture of what's inside! Perhaps I was enjoying the sauced contents inside the crispy pan fried springroll so much that I have forgotten all about it.

Seabass with Asaparagus (5/10)




I didn't like the seabass because it has a fishy smell. Surprisingly, my hub doesn't find so.

Crispy oven baked Cod Fish with red wine sauce (8/10)



I have asked for the red wine sauce to be placed separately. I took a bite without the sauce and it was already so good. The fish itself, as bland as it looked, was actually quite flavourful with a tinge of sweetness in it. The sauce, on the other hand, looked like it would enhance the taste of the fish, but didn't.

After we were done with the main course, my hub asked if I wanted to have dessert. Knowing that the cake will be coming up anytime, I came up with the excuse that I am too full to have any dessert (which is somewhat true too).

I waited and waited, but the cake didn't come. I started to wonder if they have forgotten about my plans when I made the reservation over the phone.

Came the waiter with the dessert menu, making recommendations to my hub. I was like, 'noo.... please don't ask him to order the dessert'. It was at this moment when the waiter look down at me and winked at me with a smile. That was when I was assured that everything was going as planned. Phew!

Still, there was quite a long wait after that. My hub kept asking me to finish my juice so that we can call for the bill. I said ok and sipped my drink slowly, while glancing at the glass window reflections to look out for signs of the cake.

Finally, they came with the complimentary birthday cake and birthday song. My hub thought that it was for the table behind him. When asked why, he replied he didn't see me walking up to the counter to make this arrangement. *slaps forehead* Of course, I won't do that. It will be too obvious, isn't it? There's such a thing call phone lor. hehz...

I am glad they manage to surprise him.



I was surprised too! By the extra effort they made in writing 'Happy birthday, blah blah blah' beside the cake. :)

Service

The service was exceptionally good. Very friendly group of staff that makes you feel at home the minute you enter the restaurant.

Price
$138 (the same amount as nogawa!)

Place
2 Greenwood Avenue

Nogawa

A day to celebrate! And because this is a special occasion in favour of my hub, I of course had to include his favourite Japanese food in the plan!

I did extensive research on Japanese food and chanced upon Nogawa again. Nogawa was what I have shortlisted for a feast last year but did not eventually go with it because of the steep pricing.

I have decided to go ahead with it this year... Anything for my hub! :)

I happily called up Nogawa @ Orchard a week before to make a reservation, only to realise that they are closed on Sundays! Grrrr... :( The other and only alternative is to have it at Sentosa. I really want my hub to try one of the better Japanese food around, so I compromised with the need to travel.

We were the only customers seated in the restaurant throughout, as all the other customers had their food delivered to them at the open area. :P



Set Lunch
Clear Soup · Raw Fish · Grilled Dish · Simmered Dish · Deep-Fried Dish· Mixed Sushi · Miso Soup · Dessert

I will only be showing pictures for the set lunch. No ratings as I did not try most of the food.

Appetizers



Raw Fish / Sashimi



My hub said it's the best he has tasted so far. Very fresh, he added.

Clear Onion Soup



Grilled Fish



I tried a piece and it was like 'wow!'. I never expect a fish to be grilled to such perfection. No charred areas, yet every inch of the fish has that nice grilled smell.

Simmered Dish



Deep Fried Dish



This is one of the two CMI dishes that my hub dislike. :P

The bones



Since it is a tempura, I would expect that the bones are edible. But... ew... I don't think I want to swallow that in!

Assorted Sushi



The eel sushi didn't work for my hub. It was like 'yucks'. The rest, according to him, was good.

Asari clam (short-necked) soup - (Thanks, Ice!)



Even with the additional ingredients, my hub find that it tasted the same as the miso soup I was having. :P

Dessert - Watermelon / honeydew



The honeydew is sooooo sweet and I enjoyed every bite I took.

Dessert - Kumquat (or kinkan)



The kumquat (Thanks,Ice!), a natural produce from Kyushu, was really nice. It's like a smaller version of the orange and the interesting thing is, you can eat the skin. In fact, we were asked to eat the skin as it's the sweestest part of the whole fruit. What an experience. Alas, we only had one to share because we only ordered one set lunch. :P

Rosemary tea / "hojicha" roasted green tea - (Thanks, Ice!)



Didn't like the bitter taste. I was told it was only served in higher end restaruants... :P

Katsu Don (8/10)



Katsu Don in Nogawa? Are you kidding?

But yeah... that's the $18 katsu don I had. hahaha What a huge contrast as compared to my hubby's $100 lunch set. Well, I guess I wouldn't have appreciated the lunch set with all the sashimi and stuff. So this good ol' katsu don is more than enough for me.

Taste wise, not so much of a difference when compared to the Japanese restaurants I have been to, but the meat is less fatty and that's a huge plus point already. :)

Price

$138



Place
Sentosa Golf Club
Nice place. I guess I will never have a reason to get near the place if not for Nogawa. :P

Sushi Tei

Anybody who has visited Vivocity during meal times would be very familiar with the long queue outside Sushi Tei. I am so glad that we don't have to join the queue. ;) That's what I like about visiting a popular restaurant during off-peak hours.

Chanwanmushi (9/10)



This should be the best I have taken so far. Wobbly, melt-in-the-mouth steamed egg with generous additions of (unexpected) ingredients like chicken meat, real crab meat and gingko nuts(!). >_<

Cha Soba



Salmon sashimi



Curry Croquette (8/10)



Lime (7/10) and Apricot Peach (6/10)



Price
$30+

Place
Vivocity
#02-152/153

Nice food. But would I stand in the long queue? No.

Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits

Hubby brought me to T3 today. Spacious. I like the smart design of having aluminium louvres to reflect sunlight into the building... That's about it. :P

I can hardly find clusters of people around, like I always would in the other two terminals... until I went to the Basement 2... coz that's where all the food are... :)~~~

I am not a big fan of Popeye's cartoon, but I thought I should give this a try. It is not everyday that I visit Changi Airport, ya know? ;P



Chicken Combo (9/10)



Yvonne, I seriously think you should go down and have another go! The chicken is so tender, juicy and yummy! :) I certainly prefer that to KFC's! :P

The biscuit was good at first sight bite, but too bland for my taste buds after subsequent bites. It tasted so much better after spreading the jam. A typical example of something that cannot be eaten on its own. :P Why am I thinking of my sausage biscuit again? >_<

Fries (9/10)
Whipped potato (10/10)



The fries were crispy and moderately spiced. It resembled Mac's curly fries except that it wasn't curled. Nice!

The whipped potato were exceptional, I tell ya! It's a must try! KFC's whipped potato all of a sudden seemed so starchy and inferior. :P

Chicken Fillet (7/10)



There must be a reason why nine out of ten people in the restuarant ordered the chicken combo. I happened to be the 10th! It's really a mistake on my part. Why didn't I open my eyes big big to observe what others had before ordering? Oh ok. Actually it wasn't that bad... as long as I don't compare. :P

Service
very sloow service. My hub queued for a good 20+ minutes.

Price
Forgot to ask / too hungry to ask my hub

Cedele Depot

I knew I was going to lay my hands teeth on a cedele cake anytime. I have passed by it too many times to ignore the beckoning from the cakeys.

Chocolate Truffle Cake (8/10)

This is a popular recommendation made by most floggers. And because chocolate's my favourite too, I didn't take long to choose.



I say this is nice! I find 'mousse-like mixture' (as described by Ice) too overwhelming though. In terms of quantity. I prefer a thicker biscuit crumble. >_<

Price
$7.30 for the cake set which comes with tea

Place
Vivocity
#01-23

Uzumaki

They ran out of the green tea flavour. :(

Sesame Flavour



I've never liked sesame flavoured ice cream, so no (biased) ratings this round. Just pics. :)

Place
Harbourfront Centre
- near the link to Vivocity.

QQ Noodle House

Fried QQ noodle (9/10)



Sambal Rice (10/10)



Yes, I am back for the Sambal Fried Rice. It taste as good as before. Spicy, hot and shiok!

Meatball Soup (9/10)



Taste like wanton soup base.

Price
$16.50

Place
231 Victoria Street

Mcgriddles Sausage & Egg

Sometimes, you just want to try out that new product even before getting the facts right on what you will be getting.



Mcgriddles Sausage & Egg (6/10)

Fans of Mac's hotcake would probably love this...

... for they are nothing more than sausage and egg sandwiched between two slightly sweetened hotcakes. My hub love it. =/

If there's any Mac breakfast that I have enjoyed most in my life, it has to be the sausage biscuit! Alas, they stopped selling this about 2 decades ago.

The last time I had that was in the US few years ago. I would kiss anyone who can prepare an authentic, hot sausage biscuit for me now. o_O

Sausage biscuit (10/10)




*sings* 'Nothing compared to youuuuu'

New York New York

Mushroom Cappuccino Soup (7/10)




Caesar Salad (7/10)




Some Supreme Beef Burger




Crazy Dog (7/10)

I said no when she asked if I wanted any mustard. Obviously she didn't registered it in. :P

Price
$45

Place
AMK Hub
#B1-25/26

Full House

I didn't know that Yuan Yang comes in the 'cold' version too. >_<" It was too late when I realised that.

Iced Yuan Yang (7/10)
Grass Jelly Milk (?)



JN has a sweet tooth. Donut Factory's donut level of sweetness was 'okay' for her. So when she said that her Glass Jelly Milk is sweet, I had to reject her offer to take a sip. :P

Price
$1.90 each

Place
The Cathay
#B1-25

Shih Lin Taiwan Street Snacks

One of my friends once told me, "Our local Shih Lin chicken cutlet is nothing compared to the authentic Taiwan Shih Lin night market's chicken cutlet."

I have tried the Taiwan's version. Yes, the one with the super long queue.

I too, queued (in the drizzle) for a good 20-25 minutes just to buy this 'must try'. :P Frankly speaking, I felt that it was over-rated by many.

Taiwan's Hao Da Chicken Cutlet (7/10)

My friend's comments kept me well and away from the local Shih Lin's stall for quite a while. I mean if I consider the authentic one so-so only, how much better can the local one be?

My curiosity gave way.

Shih Lin's famous Chicken Cutlet (9/10)

It was fried to a golden crisp and was still piping hot (I can still see the steam after minutes!) when it was served. *crunch crunch* The spice that was added after frying also gave an extra punch to the end product!

Price

$3.50

Place

The Cathay

#B1-24

Quick Bite

"Shall we take a quick bite at Quick Bite?" I sms-ed JN.

I suggested that not because of any good reviews or whatsoever, but because the name of the snack stall matches with what we were going to have before rushing for our 730pm show. Sounds silly right? :P

Anyway it turned out that the food was not bad!

Original Lover (8/10)



The rice tasted great with the sauce. Its level of sweetness was just right. The chicken meat was tender and savoury. It would be at least a 9 if not for quite a few charred areas. No good for health. *wags forefinger*

JN wasn't too impressed with what she has ordered though.

Price
$6 inclusive of passionate fruit drink
Value for money!

Place
The Cathay
#B1-20


My firsts.

That was the first time I have my meal at Quick Bite, the first time I have been to The Cathay (yes, I am that sua ku) and the first time I watched a movie with JN!

But this is certainly not the first time I am watching a dance movie. Those who catches dance movies regularly will more or less know the copy-and-paste plot. It usually involves delinquency, a guy and a girl, one of which is forced to do a dance he/she doesn't like and ends up putting a great show with the support of his/her partner. Those who were initially against them will always smile in approval after watching their performance. :P

This is with the case of "Step Up 2" that I have watched today.



Those who are looking for some interesting or new plots can forget about watching the show.

Having said that, I still find that movie rather enjoyable. Not in terms of plot, of course. But rather, on the moves (as always).

I particularly like the part whereby the actor do the pull-and-let-go action with the actress (as seen on the bottom of the poster above). Very natural. I love the soundtrack, "Low" by Flo Rida too. Makes me wanna grooove to the music. And yes, Andie's so chio and sexaaay, especially when she's drenched! *drools* :P~~~

I hardly have friends who likes watching hip hop dances too. In fact, JN's the only one I guess. So if you are reading this, JN, thanks for jio-ing and for being such a great company! :)