Pasta de Waraku

Nowadays, people are getting more and more 'visual'. The food may not be fantastic, but if the presentation skills are good enough, people might just forget about the mediocre standards on the taste after a while.

I guess I am one of them. Just look at all these...



tell me you are not tempted to go in at all?



First, we were served with a salad bowl that goes with my main course.



Chicken and Mushroom Spaghetti with tomato cream sauce (7/10)



Call me a mountain tortoise. I have eaten spaghetti with tomato sauce OR cream sauce, but never a mixture of both. Thus, the above was a totally new experience for me. Though it really doesn't taste as good as it seems. :P

Wafu Pork Cutlet Curry Pasta (7/10)



The sauce was good. So was the pork cutlet, just like any katsu curry rice dishes. But to go with pasta? Maybe not. My hub didn't like it at all.

Ambience
Love how they decorated the walls with plates of pastas like the ones shown above... It gets their customers hungry even before the food arrives. :P

Price
$27.60 for the two pastas. Kinda overly-priced for the taste.

Service
Good

Place
6 Raffles Boulevard
#03-257 Marina Square

As mentioned earlier, despite the mediocre kinda food I am getting, I might probably visit this restaurant again. Because all I can remember few months down the road, I believe, is the attractive display that seems to promise an equally tasty meal. :P

Lemongrass Thai Restaurant 2

After my previous visit to Lemongrass Thai Restaurant, I knew I had to return again. For the good food, and for proving my hub wrong when he said that I find the food tasty because I was hungry. :P I got my mother to come along with me this time.

The dishes were pretty much the same, except one.

This.

Hotplate Chicken (6/10)



It was really good initially. When it came sizzling and placed before us. The meat was tender and the sauce was complementing. However, when it cooled down, it turned for the worse. The meat hardened and even my chin-chye mother couldn't bring herself to eat it. :P

The rest of the dishes were the same as before...

... and much to my delight, my mother has agreed that this fried rice is exceptional! :D

Cafe Brios

When J described how fantastic the food in this place is, I knew I just couldn't reject (or resist) the offer to have this one-for-one buffet dinner together. We thought that there will be very few people on a Monday, but the turnout was pretty good!

Chicken Soup (8/10)



Popiah (8/10)

We found one more thing in common - we prefer not to have chilli in our popiah. :P



All things western

Some braised chicken - on the left (8/10)
Some baked potato dish - on the right (9/10)
Love it!!



All things jap

Inari and Tamago (7/10)
All others (2/10)

J was raving so much about the salmon sashimi (especially after dipping it into wasabi), that I had to try it for the second time. So I took a small piece to try. It didn't work for me. Again. :(



All things asian

Lotus Rice (7/10)
Cauliflower (7/10)

Kung Pao Chicken with Lychee (8/10)
Now... that's special. Though I have no idea why they included lychee in this dish. I would think that they wanted to sweeten the dish with the lychee but it turned out that the lychee was 'flavoured' by the sauce instead. Still, it's something new worth trying. :)



That's J's plate. Don't you think it looks extremely appetising with the plate full? :)



My plate's kinda empty. So I have taken close-ups for the food on my plate. I'm not too much of a person that goes for sweet stuff, though I am not too sure if I am still like that after this visit. :P

Chocolate Mousse (8/10)
Chocolate Mousse with chocolate syrup and chocolated-coated peanuts. Very chocolatey. :P



Marble cake dipped into fondue (10/10)

This has to come first for the desserts I had that day. I love marble cake and I love chocolate. Combine the both and I will have (I actually had!) a second helping, even though I was already full. >_<



Peach cake (7/10)



Some pistachio dessert (7/10)



Chocolate Ice-cream with strawberry and white chocolate shavings (9/10)

I know the presentation's a lil'... but that's so me. Bochup. :P



Banana crumble (8/10)

J was making all the Ooos and Ahhss in front of this dish. After tasting, I came to see why. :)



Oneh Oneh (9/10)

To be honest, I seldom eat Oneh Oneh and I didn't have a good impression on the taste for all my previous tries. But when I sunk my teeth into this 'ball', I was surprised! The skin is soft and the 'juice' just squirted out like that from the corners of my mouth (aiya! wasted). Maybe I should try making some myself one day, to experience the 'squirting' all over again. Kinda fun, ya know? :P



Ambience
Good

Service
Not bad

Price
$47+ for two on a 1-for-1 promotion. J decided to foot the bill as a form of celebration for my birthday next week. How sweet. Thanks, J! :)

Place
Grand Copthorne Waterfront
392 Havelock Road
Singapore 169663

Sakura Cuisine

Garoupa in Thai Chilli Sauce (7/10)



I took only two bites of this dish as the sauce is too spicy for me. My hub finished up the whole fish by himself and even commented that the serving was too small. I think he liked the dish and would probably give it a 8 or 9.

Hotplate Beancurd (7/10)



The dish is pretty ordinary, but it tasted good. My only grouse is that the food was not sizzling hot as all hotplates dishes should.

Kailan in Oyster Sauce (10/10)



Yes, a 10. That's how good it is.

I think it's pretty difficult to whip out a vegetable dish that warrants thumbs and feet up. It can be an okay dish or a good, but never a 'fantastic' one. I know because I cook vegetables too. That's why I can be very forgiving if I am not able to get exceptionally tasty vegetables dishes like this, even in famous restaurants.

But this Kailan dish, simple as it looks, is really tasty. The vegetables were cooked near to perfection. The gravy was not too saltish, neither was it bland. These are two very common flaws found in vegetables of some other restaurants. I am pretty sure the gravy contains more than just oyster sauce or soy sauce because it tasted so rich. :)~~~

Ambience
Not very inviting. We wouldn't have chosen this if not for our good experiences with the restaurant food before.

Service
üüüüü
Rather poor service. When we asked about what fish we will be getting, the waitress just answered 'Don't know' and stoned there. I mean, she could have asked, right? :T

Price
$$$$$
$36 for 3 dishes and 2 lychee drinks. Fairly reasonable for the dishes we have ordered.

Place
Capitol Building
#01-04

Changing Appetites

Don't you think the deco is very hip? and very suitable for youngsters like erm... me? *grins*



Ok, fine. I am not young anymore. Still, this is a place worth checking out.



I love it when they make it so christmas-y. Such Christmas trees are common, yes. But it's oh, so essential in building up the mood for the festive season.



Sometimes the serviettes given to us just ain't enough. All restaurants should consider using tissue dispensers like this.



Type
Western

Fajitas main courses come with soup-of-the-day, drinks and dessert.

Chicken Chowder (9/10)

One of the best soup-of-the-day I have ever tried. Really. It's nothing like those thick and starchy chicken soup. It was more fluid, but not to the extend of being bland. You get shreds of chicken along with other ingredients, unlike those chicken soup whereby you can only taste the soup and nothing else.



Garlic bread (9/10)

This garlic bread proves that even the most simple and common food can taste extraordinary, if they make the effort to do so. I love the aroma and taste of the garlic flavourings on the bread that was baked to a crisp.



Spicy beef fajitas (7/10)

My hub said it's so-so only. I can't testify for that as I don't take beef. He likes my fajitas though.



Chicken and mushroom fajitas (9/10)



The meat is grilled to perfection and it goes very well with the sauce. Fill your flour tortillas with the grilled meat, etc and you have got yourself a very yummy and filling treat!

Chocolate Fudge (9/10)

All my recent meals come with a dessert. How sinful! Big tummy lah, added weight lah, blah blah blah... :P Well, the taste and satisfaction seems to make up for everything.



Service
üüüüü
The waitresses/waiters were very prompt in responding to our needs. Our drinks were frequently refilled. What impresses me more is the speed at which the food were served. I wasn't even done with my soup when the main course came in.

Ambience
It gives me a very hip and trendy feel. Very inviting.

Price
$$$$$
Around $37 for two very filling set meals. Quite a good deal, I should say.

Place
Marina Square
#01-204

Shin Kushiya

Most of the restaurants in Vivocity that we wanted to go to had long queues at the entrance. So we decided to go for this Japanese Restaurant with the shortest queue. We didn't have to wait for more than 5 minutes before it's our turn.

Type
Japanese

Salmon Sashimi



That had to be the first time I see salmon sashimi served on ice.

Garlic Rice (9/10)



My hub and I liked it very much. It really brings out the fragrance in both the garlic and the rice. What a great combination. Yums!

Left to Right (all 'xin' dishes, marked as recommended)

1) Chizu Maki - Mozzorella cheese wrapped with pork slice (7/10)
Initially, I thought it's pork topped with cheese, but it seemed like it's cheese wrapped with pork slice. Now, that's a lot of cheese! Something unique worth trying.

2) Gyu Karubi - Beef

3) Nikuzume Shiitake - Mushroom with chicken fillings (9/10)
This is a wonderful creation! The mushroom is soft, the chicken filling, tasty. Grilled to perfection.

4) Tsukune - Minced Chicken (9/10)
One bite and I know it's very well-marinaded. Good stuff!



Shoyo Yaki Onigiri - Rice (6/10)



Basically grilled rice. Nothing special about it.

Hotate Maki scallop wrapped with pork slice - (3/10)



I don't like the strong fishy taste and smell that comes with it.

Soba



Kuro goma heaven - Black sesame ice cream w home made black sesame cream and choc wafer (6/10)

To be fair, the slightly lower rating is due to the fact that I don't like the taste of black sesame. The chocolate wafer tasted better.



Service
üüüüü
Pretty prompt and friendly service

Ambience

It's the black and red theme again!

Price
$$$$$
$60 plus for both of us. My hub said that it's pretty value for money, since we ordered such a variety.

Place
Vivocity
#02-120

Organic Cafe Xperience

JN and I had just so much to talk about, we know we have to meet again. Poor JN was caught up at work, so while waiting for her, I had ample time to do some shopping and explore Novena Square 1 & 2 thoroughly. It was fruitful as I managed to get christmas presents for all my sisters. One less thing on my very long to-do list... :P

When JN arrived, I suggested that we go 'park' ourselves somewhere instead of shifting to another place for dessert after dinner.

All the talk about organic food has gotten me curious. I asked JN if we can go to Organic Cafe Xperience, as I have read a few good comments about this place and she readily agreed.

Type
Western

Carrot Soup (8/10)
I thought that was one good soup and a good change from the usual corn/chicken/mushroom soup. The vegetables on top of the soup broke the monotony of the all-carrot flavour. Anybody care to enlighten me on what this vegetable is called? It's always spotted in organic dishes, somehow...



JN and I were pretty undecided over what to choose for the main course. Both of us couldn't decide between the Grilled Chicken and Fish and Chips as they looked equally good. It was like a minute later that we realised that we can actually share the two main courses! ^-^>

Fish and Chips (8/10)
Not too bad. I like the crumpy crust of the fish.



Grilled Chicken (8/10)
The sauce was good. This photo tells pretty much eh?



Our dessert (8/10)
You can't go wrong with a chocolate ice-cream... :) oh, unless you are talking about KXXX's ice-cream. :P



Service
üüüüü
Their waitresses/waiters are friendly but too on the ball, clearing plates and showing our bills when we are not ready to leave yet. :P

Ambience
Typical cafe

Price
$$$$$
$15.90++ for set meal of soup, main course, dessert and drink. Pretty value for money

Place
Novena Square
#01-53

Aji-Teh Revisited

We were at Sim Lim shopping for gadgets. We managed to get what we wanted except for a photo printer. Bought a S&M adventure game too! It was rather ex... Forty plus, but I guess it's pretty worth it as we can play the game together and relive the times when we first played the very first season. :)

I was pretty hungry after all the walking (we passed by certain shops for at least 5 times!) and we decided to find a place to settle our dinner. My big fat mouth shouted excitedly, 'We could go to Bugi---s' Before I finished my sentence, I knew I am in for it. Still, I tried my luck to change the topic, but to no avail. My hub cheekily replied, 'ya hor, we can go to BUGIS Aji-teh to have dinner'. My hub was full of grins when he said, 'I didn't think of that place until you mentioned' Thanks lor! >_<"

It's not that I detest Japanese food. It's just that I have very limited choice of food where Japanese food is concerned and we have it almost every week. >_<"

Some Corn Butter Ramen (8/10)

8 is for the soup! Unfortunately, the ramen tasted like rubber bands. It's a good thing that I wasn't the one who ordered it. :P My hub didn't even finish half of it.


Curry Katsu Don (9/10)

One of the best I have tasted. The pork was crisp on the outside, as it should be. The curry was mild and yet thick enough to satisfy my taste buds.

I told my hub that I don't have to worry again if he were to come to Aji-Teh often. At least I now have a favourite dish to rely on.

My words came a bit too soon because later at night, I puked my dinner out. Of course, I wouldn't say it's the definitely the Curry Katsu Don that I have eaten. But I am very much inclined to think that way because that's the last thing I had before it 'happened'. :P

Price/Service/Ambience/Place

Xiao Xuan Feng Revisited

Just before watching 'The Bee Movie'...

This menu looked good. The black chicken didn't appeal to me though. :P



I was like o_O when I saw such a big bottle of lime juice. When the waitress saw my reaction, she laughed and said, 'too big a bottle, eh?' The lime juice's not bad. Not too sour.



Black Chicken soup (3/10)
Ok, that's my biased rating because I don't like black chicken in the first place. Those who like tonic-ky soup would probably find this superb.



Fried Rice (7/10)
Pretty dry. Still, it managed to satisfy my craving for fried rice that day.



Chye Sim (7/10)
Pretty ordinary.



Fish (8/10)
The thin coating of the sauce on the smooth and tender fish complements the dish very well.



Mango pudding (3/10)
Both of us didn't like it.



Almond Jelly with longan (9/10)
Always a safe bet and always my choice of dessert. Cooling and refreshing!



I have always liked the smell of almond. When I was young, Ah Mah liked to cook Almond Agar Agar for us. I would help her with the nitty gritties like stirring the mixture and opening up the almond syrup bottle. I used to spend a good 5 minutes sniffing (like a drug addict) the aroma of the almond syrup. I only stopped doing so when my Ah Mah asked for the syrup to be poured into the mixture. :P

My hub used to loathe the smell and taste of Almond. That's something I cannot comprehend... :P Anyway, he has opened himself up to the wonderful world of Almond recently.

If he is going to be a convert, this bowl of Almond Jelly certainly played a big and important part. He actually liked it! :)

Price
$38++ for the meal (excluding drinks)

Service/Ambience/Place