Tatsuya Japanese Restaurant

For someone who doesn't take sashimi or try something different, Bento's a safe bet. :P

Tenpura Bento (7/10)



I would rate the food in this bento average, but the potato salad was exceptional! I can have just one whole plate of that for my lunch!

Salmon Sashimi

My hub enjoyed this dish, but felt that the salmon he had last year at Nogawa were better.

Don't you agree that it looks very appetizing with the flower? :D



Half Cooked Salmon Belly Sushi

My hub was full of praises for this...



... and this.

Half-cooked Scallop and prawn sushi

These half-cooked sushis, according to the waitress, are very popular in the restaurant.

Address

22 Scotts Road

Goodwood Park Hotel

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

Jewel Box - The Altivo Bar

It's been a year already since we last visited this place. We couldn't get a good view of the Harbourfront Centre last year as we did not make any prior reservations (the thing is, that seat was left empty for the whole night till we left! grr...) Anyway, my hub made a booking way in advance so that he can get me the seat he promised me. The following is just a side view from where we were seated.



Some beef main course



Baked potato that comes with the beef (8/10)



Cod Fish with asparagus (10/10)



Kudos to the chef! It was one of the best fish main course I have taken. Ever. The fish was cooked just right. There were no fishy smell/taste, as it would in some fish meals I had taken.

A lot of effort, I guess, was put into the mushroom sauce for it complements not only the fish, but the asparagus that comes along with this course too. I gobbled up every single thing I called food on the plate within minutes. :P~~~

Ambience

The 'snow' came flying from the roofs at 8pm sharp. It was a spectacular view. Very romantic and dreamy. Perfect for someone like me, who still lives in 'fantasy island'. >.<



It's a pity we were rushing off for a show at the magical kingdom, else we could have spent more time at this 'hot spot'.

Service (1/5)

Seriously, not that good. The waitresses are not very professionally trained. To begin with, some waitresses from China are not very well-versed in English. We had to keep repeating and rephrasing our requests before they understood it or before we gave up. :P The whole procedure of having to buy 'entry tickets' and where to go for the dinner and the show was communicated to us rather poorly.

What's more, we were given inconsistent information. We were told by a waiter that they can reserve the place at Altivo for us while we watch the show at Magical kingdom, but before we left, the waitresses said otherwise. There were some other issues, but it might take a while to explain. :P Generally, we didn't like the service there.

Price
$128+ for two main courses, 1 orange juice and 1 glass of wine. :P Thanks for willingly burning a hole in your pocket, just to let me enjoy the night, hub. Love ya! :D

Place
The Altivo Bar
109 Mount Faber Road
Singapore 099201

Carnivore Brazilian Churrascaria

Before my secondary school days, I was a carnivore. I felt like puking each time I was asked to eat vegetables. In fact, I once puked after eating cabbage. Now this vegetable is one of my favourites. :P It's really hard for me to imagine how I managed to survive without vegetables back then.

Anyways, I promised my hub a treat at Vivocity. We looked through the list of restaurants and agreed on Carnivore. What an interesting name! Sounds so barbaric to me. *roars* kekeke... When we were at the entrance, I went -_-". It's S$35++ per person and that's the price for a weekday! No wonder my hub was so onz... coz he brought a 'cai tou' with him. >_<" *tork tork tork*

Type
Brazilian

We were served by a very enthusiastic middle-aged man, who introduced us to Brazil's national cocktail called Caiprinha. I forgot to take a photo, but it contains freshly squeezed lime muddled with sugar and crushed ice, topped with cachaca. Knowing that I am an alchohol-intolerant drinker, my hub wanted to order only 1 glass, but was too late because I said ok to the man. :P True enough, I stopped after taking a few sips. Cocktail, wine, beer, champagne are just not my type of drink. I rather drink 'goon zhui' :P

The man went on to introduce this little cardboard to us. When the green side of this card is up, the passadors (knife-welding chefs) will keep serving us with meat.



He then invited us to the salad bar, the only place we can find vegetables in the restaurant. I saw this dish and got pretty excited!

Quality

Ratatouille (9/10)



I have all along wanted to know how a ratatouille dish tasted like, after watching the animation, "Ratatouille". I mean that food critic, Ego made it sound so heavenly, everyone had to try at least once in their life, no? I am so glad that I don't have to go all the way to France to do that.

It's actually nothing more than vegetables in pasta sauce to me. :P But I must say, it tasted good. Would love to try the version done by Remy, though. You know, the type that can make you tear? heh...

The photos of other dishes in the salad bar didn't turn out well, but were equally yummy. Like the baked cauliflower in cheese, french beans, etc. I know it sounds crazy to take rice in a buffet, but I have never tried buttered rice before, so I know I had to have at least a bite. And boy, I am so glad I did. It's so fragrant and soft... ^-^b

After we returned to our table, we were so busy eating and didn't have the time to talk. Before we can finish our food, we were served with more meat.

Sausages and Hams (8/10)
Yums...



Chicken drumlet (9/10)

Very tender, succulent chicken we have here.



Pork Shoulder (7/10)

A bit tough.



Fish

It's a bit unfair to give a rating for the fish. But the fish was so 'xing' that I didn't even have the urge to give it a bite. My hub was there grinning away when I asked the passador to add the fish to my plate. He knew that it has got the strong fishy smell from his last visit and yet he didn't even warn me about it. Some kinda hub he is. >_<

I said no to quite a number of offers... like 'Chicken heart' Eeks. I couldn't believe my ears when the passador told me that. The lady at the next table actually welcomed the dish with great zest. To each his own. :P

After about 10 rounds of servings, I had to turn the card over. It's really 'no thanks' for me at that point of time. The staff even joked that we will be a vegetarian convert for the next one week.



Service

üüüüü
Friendly and smiley staff

Ambience
Cosy and 'busy' environment, with passadors moving around.

Price
$$$$$
I spent about 115+ on this meal for two. It's a good experience, but I doubt I will be visiting often. Ex lor.

Place
Vivocity
#01-161

My Secret Garden

I was cracking my brain to find a place to celebrate my hub's birthday.

The name of this restaurant caught my attention and I was enticed to solve the 'mystery' of this 'Secret' Garden by finding out more. I learnt from the website (http://www.mysg.com.sg/) that it's a very nice and cosy place where many functions and surprises were arranged. What really prompted me to pick up the phone to reserve a table was the many appetite-whetting photos of the food that was placed on its website. You really gotta visit it to know what I mean.

It was stated on the website that they will plan birthday/proposal surprises and what nots, so I thought of giving it a try. A rather friendly lady picked up the call to take my reservation. She did not give other interesting ideas on how I could surprise my hub, other than presenting him with a hot fudge brownie with a candle on top after the main course. This, I thought, is rather common and not as innovative as what the website claimed. Nevertheless, it's still better than nothing so I decided to go for it and asked the lady to go ahead with the serving right after the main course.

I have read about how secluded this place is (It's a SECRET garden, mind you!) so I decided to take a cab instead. Even then, the taxi driver do not know where to drop us. We had to call up the restaurant to ask for directions. Fortunately, the person who picked up the call gave very clear instructions and we managed to find the place in no time. When we reached there, he was still giving directions to other customers who lost their way too! LOL!

Type
Western

Taste
Although I usually prefer tomato sauce ones, the photos on the website made me wanna order creamy pasta instead. Just as we were about to order, a waitress walked passed with a Roast Chicken main course. I tell ya, it smells and looks so good that I changed my mind immediately. :P

The main course were not bad (7/10), but it certainly smells and looks better than it tastes. Perhaps that explains why I plunged into the meal without taking a photo of it. :P

What really made this trip worthwhile is this heart-shaped chocolate brownie with ice cream, which I am going to give a 10/10 for!






















I have eaten brownies and ice cream quite a number of times before, but it was never this heavenly! I am so glad that I was still able to hold myself back for a few seconds to take a photo of that before I launched the attack. Tee-hee!

Ambience
It really depends on where you choose to be seated at. In the outdoor area, it's relaxed, cozy and very suitable for gatherings of three or more.
We were seated indoors, where it is more romantic and quiet with soft jazz music in the background. No bermudas and slippers are allowed in this area.

Service
üüüüü
From the phone reservation to the directions given to go to the place, to the taking of orders and the serving of the food, we were served by patient and friendly staff. I would have given 5 full smiley faces if not for a slight grouse I have. The staff actually came up to me and ask if I can serve that brownie. I thought that was supposed to be a surprise? >_<'' What's more, it was communicated over the phone that the dessert be served right after the main course. Apart from that, the service was really good.

Price
$$$$$
I don't know if this is considered fine dining, but in my definition, it certainly is! We spent slightly more than a hundred for a lobster bisque, 2 main courses, 1 dessert and 2 drinks. So I am giving 'full marks' for the price. :P

Place
161 Middle Road
Singapore 188978
Tel: 6334-8334