Leterrase Cafe, Orchard Parade Hotel

After getting my pay, I straight away took a look at the citibank webpage to check for any 1 for 1 buffet promotions. And there I saw the Porridge Buffet at Orchard Parade Hotel.. and decided to bring J there for a treat.

Well, the food is not that fantastic but is good for those old people i think. Lols. Goodwood Park porridge buffet is still the best ya..



The desserts that they have... Cheng Teng... wanted to eat the yam paste but whenever I want to take some, the pot went empty =\ sad case



Common teochew dishes to go with white porridge. Salted Eggs, Ngoh Hiang, Luncheon Meat... and Peanuts... and...



steamed meat! salted fish.. Mui Chai..





Chicken Feet! Not very good.. no taste



Special fish porridge they have...



Pig Trotter.... no taste too





and other assorted desserts..

Name: LA Terrasse Cafe
Venue: Orchard Parade Hotel

Hosoi Teppanyaki House

This should be the most expensive teppanyaki I ever ate so far. Could have been more expensive if we ordered 2 "high class" set meals instead of one.

We arrived quite early that day and strolled in circles (literally) before deciding to take Cheryl's recommendation. But we had got different objectives. While I was trying to spot for good food and ambience, L was trying to spot for the handsome chef Cheryl mentioned. Oh wells...

From the outside, the place has impressive interiors exuding style and glamour. But surprisingly, as we approach the podium, we were greeted in Mandarine. I wonder which part of us looked like China people. As it was still early, we were the only ones there the moment we stepped in, and we were ushered to this particular table at the back, which I would refer to the "low class" table hereon

Not long after that, some 3 ang mohs came in and they were lead to another table near the entrance, which conversely, is the "high class" table. Then followed by another pair of casually dressed Singaporean chinese coming to our table, then another few rich looking men came in and sat where the ang mohs were.

Soon we started to suspect that they judge their customers by their appearance and segregate us according to our perceived spending power. Utensils at the high class table were of the fine dining setup like they had napkins but ours was similar to the foodcourt teppanyaki with only paper serviettes (tissue paper) to contend with. Our suspicions were later confirmed when I order the "high class" lobster set meal. They changed my cutlery and gave me the silky red napkin which the high class table is using.

Another ridiculous thing we were absolutely unhappy with is that they actually cooked the food all at the high class table. We were completely ostracised. And the supposedy teppanyaki experience turned into a normal a la carte dinner.



High class appetizer: The overcooked lobster (not bad still)



Low class meat: messy teppanyaki chicken and fish.



High class soup: campbell clam chowder



Low class miso soup and white rice



High class main: chewy sirlion steak (this was the best of all)



Low class vegetables: average bean sprouts and kai lan.



High class dessert: red bean crepe weird-combi with fruits



Alacarte appetizer order: inside-not-very-cooked goose liver (still nice)

Name: Hosoi Teppan-Yaki House
Venue: Suntec City Mall Central (#B1-058) Near the fountain area

Tony Roma's Restaurant - World Famous Ribs

While doing all these, we often have to sacrifice our hot and juicy food as they eventually turn cold and dry after photo taking. This french loaf is the first thing served for us to munch on before the mains come in. The presentation kind of resembles the fries in Swensens and makes us want to think if it were fries then it would be better. I beieve the idea is to have some free teaser-appetizer. The sauce, if I remember correctly, should be sour cream [but I need to check again]. Strange.



But of course, we ordered our own appetizer aptly named the "Appetizer Sampler". And I totally agree on its description (roughly) "We want to make it easier for you so we call it the Appetizer Sampler". On the other hand, there wasn't too much of a choice to pick from; or maybe that could be difficult for some people.



Everything here is sweet-and-sour. We got here the cheese sticks, wings and potatoe skins. I like the wings best because of its strong sweet flavour. The cheese sticks were interesting because they don't look like they are. However, it's not well done at all it's the kind of (pause) ... (back) I was away the last few moments trying to figure out what cheese was that and I was astonished the list of cheese so I give up. It's plain, whitish and close to tasteless. The sticks alone taste like fried soft rubber, you have to dip the dressings to go with it which includes the sour cream (again), thousand island and [insert last dressing]. Finally, the potatoe skin is just, well potatoe skins.



We were so lucky we didn't order the majestic Roma Feast or the double rib set meal (you will see why). Instead, we went for the fish fillet plus rib and the grilled chicken plus rib set dinners. Each of them also come with a choice of sides. Ours came with a bunch of potatoes -- Mash Potatoe, Fries, Baked Potatoe -- in decending order of rating, and a Vegetable Salad.

We figured that they must have an enormous stockpile of potatoes in their kitchen and making potatoe meals was their forte. In a single session, we were cornered into eating 4 potatoe products! Eat it whole, eat it sliced, eat it mashed and eat the peel! Ok, At least they used super fresh crunchy vegetables for the salad which I enjoyed.



But so far, we haven't talk about the world famous ribs! That's because we really only liked the fish that was warm and juicy, definitely above average. The ribs, tasted like char siew. If you are a char siew lover, you will like the ribs. And if you ordered the Roma Feast is x4 char siew while the double rib set is x2 char siew. I quite like char siew actually, but not choke on the whole piece and not with bones.

It doesn't matter if you ordered the Baby Ribs or the St Louis Ribs with extra spice. They taste they same like sweet char siew. But not the lousy type, maybe abit below the chinese restaurant standard. I believe the chinese, or asians, knows better when it comes to pork. And any chinese will know that you don't make Char Siew out of ribs, you make Bak Kut Teh.

I think seriously believe "World Famous Ribs" is a misnomer. They should take it down and remain as "America's Famous Ribs" (which I know the Sun Tec outlet is correctly using it). I don't mean to be critical here, I've tried other ribs before like I know Cartel serves XXL ribs that tasted as bad for me. But at least they don't claim a "World" title.

Name: Tony Roma's
Venue: Suntec City #B1-007

Song Fa Bak Kut Teh 松发肉骨茶

We had this bak kut teh 2 weeks ago but did not post until now because we lost some of the photos in between last post and this one. We wanted to post in a chronological way that's why we delayed this. Unfortunately, we still cannot find them. =(

Initially L and I wanted to revisit the "Fisherman" fish and chips restaurant in the building across the street, but after we crossed over from Central (legally via traffic lights), this bak kut teh shop just appeared suddenly on our right and changed our mind.

This building opposite Central @ Clark Quay is where a handful of food shops and restaurants reside inconspicuously. The promising Song Fa Bak Kut Teh is located at the better corner of the building which I would think is a prime location, or we would not have patronised it.



I was particularly impressed by the enthusiasism of the staff there who were all young people. The concept of having young adults serving up a traditional and Ah-Pek (old uncle) gave new life to the place (intentionally or not).

The Bak Kut Teh here is the average nice-to-eat, and the average good-value-for-price. It's more like a furnished kopitiam than a restaurant but it was cool enough to enjoy without sweating all over. You also get the usual "free flow" of Teh. Nothing special, but at least it's an enjoyable experience. We actually sat there and chit chatted away.



More and more people came as the time passes and soon the place is filled with office workers coming after work and foreigners trying out the "exotic" delicacy. So we can tell it's a popular place afterall.

Name: Song Fa Bak Kut Teh
Venue: 11 New Bridge Rd #01-01 S059383

Friends - The Food and Wine People

After more than 4 years being together, we finally get to sit down as friends once again... nah, just joking. What we did was sat down inside Friends - The Food and Wine People.

We found the prominent location further beyond holland road and along the main road which branches out where the landed properties lie. Friends @ Jelita, somewhat near sixth avenue. The restaurant can be seen from outside with its windows facing the main road, and from there it looked like a cosy dining place for the night.

We were definitely expecting to see rich people there and so we tried to act rich as well. But I was wearing slippers, berms and tee - perfectly ill mannered attire. So we hesistated and carefully creeped close to the sides and see how's the situation inside. To our delightful horror, I am not alone. I guess, what really matters is whether we have the card to pay afterall. So we better continued to act like super rich.

We had the Italian set dinner each and had ordered all the different combinations we could have. The sad thing is we could not have the Lamb Shank. Apparently, it was so popular that it ran ur of stock. You can try it and tell us how tasty it is when you have time!



Now all the names of the dishes are so super long, and we are going to really try to write them down here. The starters consists of the (get ready:) Fresh Roma Tomatoes and Mozzarella Cheese with Mesclun (above) and Sweet Melon with Parma Ham "Proscuitto" And Marinated Vegetable (below). Only half of the words makes sense to us actually, they also sounded like a lot for starters. But when they came, the food occupied less than half the space on the giant white plates.



They were very delicate dishes and very pleasing to both sight and taste. The ingredients were fresh and of high quality. The "parma ham" was something new for us because it was cold and raw but smooth and tender at the same time. Eating it with the melon is quite a clever idea, like eating fruits (other than pineapple) and rawish meat together, it's special.



In order to appear richer than we are, we need to show some bit of indulgence. So the ala carte Burgundy Snail was picked. And, me was shocked when it came: the whole chunk you see in the photo above is only about 7cm by 4cm right in the middle of the really big serving plate. I don't know what or where is "Burgundy", but this not-so-tasty-snail(s) cost $15. I would rather pay for the escargots in Jack's Place.



Roasted "Sakura" Chicken Breast is one of the main dishes. It's like a simple piece of chicken meat, laid on top of some capsicum and finally brought alive by the sweet garlic sauce poured over it. But that's not all, we found a pleasant surprise hidden underneath he chicken - whipped potatoes. So the popular joke was realized:

Waiter: "How did you find the potatoes, sir?"
Us: "We moved the chicken and it was there".

We like cheese, and so Risotto with Seafood and Parmesan Cheese was the better of the main dishes. It's like baked rice but more well mixed with the Cheese and looks like fried-rice style of cooking. We love it because it also has 4 big juicy and crunchy prawns buried in the cheesy mesh.



We noted that they were also particularly generous in dessert portion because they gave both coffee/tea and the actual dessert itself. Some places we went allowed us to only choose the drink or the dessert. So after the sumptous meal we were able to enjoy a truly fulfulling dessert experience with the Amaretto And Chocolate Flan.

Name: Friends @ Jelita
Venue: 293 Holland Road #02-04

Sun with Moon Japanese Dining and Cafe

This day we went with my uncles who are also very in love with luxury dining to the extent of visiting restaurants every week end. Once, we went "Top of the M" and spent about $200 per set meal for each of the four of us! That was so unbelievable for us who only earn measly salaries.

Initially we thought the reservation at Sun with Moon was for only the few of us. But when we reached there, we saw all other relatives. However, 16 was already far too many people for their indoor seating area and we almost filled the entire place. We later found out that the reservation was made on the condition that we order at least $50 per person! Needless to say, that bill was easily over $800 (which of course is still cheaper than "Top of the M").

Nevertheless, it was not that difficult to order $50 per person. I last read a review that commented on the limited choice they offer though there were protestors as well. But now we sort of understand that it was the prices that drove us into the corner because the depicted photographs certainly don't look very value-for-money. In fact I would describe the menu as creative and exotic. Imagine fried fish BONES costs $12.90 (as I recalled correctly/incorrectly). So they charged restaurant prices when they don't (I would say) fit the restaurant category (they call themselves "cafe").

We had A LOT of food, but we ony managed to take a few because the rest behaved like scavengers leaving us no chance to shoot! So here are the remnants:



This sashimi platter occupied a full page on the menu, and fortunately it lived up to expectations.



See what I mean by "creative". I don't understand - the cage is completely pointless! Furthermore, it's broken! I hope it's an intentional
"design", otherwise, they had better buy more cages! But, cage aside, the tofu cheese cake itself is really nice!



Nothing more, just yet another [tiny] waffle plus ice cream.



Buckwheat crepe! Yucks! We don't know about you but we really don't like buckwheat and we totally regretted it. Should have ordered more tofu cheese cake!

Name: Sun with Moon Japanese Dining and Cafe
Venue: The Central #01-170/71/72

Shokudo Japanese Food Bazaar

No more swiss food in Marche, here comes the japanese food in Shokudo!! Marche and Shokudo shares the similar idea of having a number of food stalls in a restaurant and charging by using card. The differences between these two eating places is the different types of cuisine and Shokudo has themed dining!

The themes that they create is really interesting. They have old japan, modern japan, anime (Sakura!!), the sumos and also dining in neon lights. Sounds very interesting isn't it? The colourful decorations and atmosphere can really lifts up my mood. Neoprint machines can also be found in the center of the restaurant! The whole place makes me feel like i'm really in Japan.
ITADAKI-MASU!

J ordered this western dish cooked in japanese style. The burger was so big and it served with my favourite sunny side up egg!!



We also ordered this clam chowder soup, and when we had our first mouth of it. We both went stun! The taste is very very different from the western style. Oh ya, the board menu was saying, "Tokyo Style Clam Chowder". The taste of the butter was quite strong and after a few more spoons of it, its quite yummy.



Next Gyoza...

This stall selling all bbq food sticks - kushiyaki. I don't quite fancy it as I've eaten a better Kushiyaki in Shenton area before. Maybe 1 day I shall bring J there..



You can also find rosti here too which is the famous potato dish in Marche. But other than that, the rest of the food is very much different.



They also have this special bamboo steam rice. I really really regretted ordering the salmon instead of the Unagi. The whole thing was very dry..



I also spotted many people queuing at this omelette stall and I told myself I must try it no matter what. And I ordered this Unagi with Omelette, it was really very tasty. Abit of salty and sweet mixing together.


There so many wide selections of Japanese food found there with at least more than 200 dishes to choose from. So many other types of food that I have not tried yet, I really can't wait to go there for my next visit!

Name: Shokudo Japanese Food Bazaar
Venue: Raffles City Basement #B1-44E