Ming Kee Live Seafood

The trip here was at Sandy's request - she read about this place on Chubby Hubby's blog. This place is supposed to be famous for it's crab bee hoon but Sandy was leaving for the UK and just could not leave the country for a year without having Chilli Crab one last time -


At $38 per kg, this 1.3kg crab cost $49.40. It was fresh with lots of flesh so can't complain... the chilli sauce was unremarkable though. But we still had it with fried buns (man tou) :)

We also had Sweet and Sour Fish $12 -


and Home-style Tofu $8 -


Seemed a bit of a waste to deep fry such fresh fish to make the sweet and sour fish... the beancurd was pretty soft and very tasty. Way way WAY too much food for two girls, but we did a pretty decent job of finishing up most of it :)

The food was pretty decent, but after reading Chubby Hubby's post on how good the Crab Bee Hoon was, I think I'll have to make a trip back here to try it soon...


Ming Kee Live Seafood
556 Macpherson Road
Tel: 6747 4075

Margarita's (Dempsey)

It was Ennie's birthday and she requested to eat at Margarita's at Dempsey... which made it the 4th place I tried at Tanglin Village.

The punctual ones (including me, of course) were getting hungry so ordered Nachos $15.90++ and Potato Wedges $5.00++ to snack on first -




I love nachos - a huge cheesy mess! And the wedges were good too - but that's likely coz we were hungry :)

We also ordered for starters Deep Fried Jalapeno Peppers $18.00++ -


I went for the smallest one, thinking I didn't want a big portion... and boy, did I regret it! The smallest jalapeno pepper was also the hottest one! :O While everyone else ate their's without much trouble, my mouth was on fire the moment I had a bite of mine. I had Uncle Leong taste a bit of mine to verify that mine was hotter than everyone else's... but it was really good though! Just don't ever take the smallest one.

For the main course, I had the Fish Burrito $19.90++ which came recommended by some reviewers on hungrygowhere -


And it was as good as they raved about... never had fish burrito before and it's a nice change from the usual meaty burritos - it was tasty and went well with all the usual stuff that goes in a burrito :)

The Kitchen Sink Burrito $19.90++ -


well, not that you can see it, but it had everything including the kitchen sink in it :) I love that name!

The many bad reviews in hungrygowhere are totally true - it was not easy getting service (but the food came pretty fast), and the place gets amazingly noisy. The food was not too bad but I think I prefer the food at Café Iguana - and it's got better ambience and service too!

Do make reservations if you intend to try this place, they are packed even on a weekday night.


Margarita's (Dempsey)
11 Dempsey Road
#01-19 Tanglin Village
S249673
Tel: 6471 3228

Marmalade Pantry (Hitachi Tower)

I've never actually had a proper meal at Marmalade Pantry, just brunch and desserts... so was quite pleased to finally get a chance to try the food here.

One of the most popular dishes here is the Linguini with Crabmeat Tomato Chilli & Pinenuts (all six people at the next table ordered it) but I decided to buck the trend and ordered the Ultimate Beef Burger $19.00+++ instead :


The burger was not as juicy as I would have liked it but the fries were yummy, the other gals just could not stop picking them off my plate :)

Of course, someone at our table also had to order the Linguini with Crabmeat Tomato Chilli & Pinenuts $19.00+++, so I managed to sneak a try -


It was ok, I guess... don't really see why it's so popular. Maybe I'll feel differently when I'm having a carb craving...

The Sticky Date Toffee Pudding with Vanilla Bean Ice-Cream $10.00+++ was not too bad -


but I think the one at Brown Sugar Bistro Café is still the best I've had.

Service was pretty attentive but the place tends to get a bit noisy during lunchtime. A welcomed alternative lunch venue for the people working down at Raffles Place.


Marmalade Pantry
16 Collyer Quay
Unit 01-04 Hitachi Tower
Singapore 049318
Tel : 6438 5015

Hooters

Yes, I went to Hooters of my own free will :)

The problem with Clarke Quay is that the restaurants there are not particularly good and not particularly cheap. Dining at Clarke Quay is more about experience / theme dining than good food. Decided to go to Hooters coz I haven't eaten here in a looong time and well, it's relatively cheap compared to the other places in Clarke Quay...

We weren't that hungry so just ordered the Sampler Platter $34.90+++ and Curly Fries $3.90+++ to share :



The Sampler Platter didn't look like much but we were pretty stuffed when we were done - it had prawns (relatively big and fresh), crab legs (I always feel it's not worth the effort), buffalo shrimps (supposed to be in some special sauces but it was pretty plain) and some wings... the wings were pretty plain tasting, I kinda expected something spicy. I nearly always order curly fries when I see it, but these were plain too - drowned them in chilli sauce.

All in all, the food is nothing to shout about but it was a decent meal. Just try not to get too annoyed with the girls in tight tops and short shorts speaking unintelligibly...


Hooters
3D River Valley Road
#01-03 Shophouse Row
Clarke Quay Singapore 179023
Tel : 63321090
www.hooters.com.sg

Barracks

G could not think of a place to go for X's birthday tea so I suggested trying this place out... also giving me the opportunity to blog about a new place :) G made reservations in advance and were given a greenhouse-type room with floor to ceiling glass windows all around. But G&X decided that it would be too noisy coz it's enclosed (and we tend to talk really loudly sometimes), so we moved to a table in the main dining area instead.

The wait staff here are dressed in school uniforms - cute idea for the girls, but the guys looked too bizarre as some of them are a bit on the old side... but some of the girls actually look like there were of school-going age. In case you are thinking of going there to perv, the latest review said that they are no longer in school uniforms...

Forgot to bring my camera so had to use K's handphone camera - thanks, K! We were there for tea so only managed to try the desserts. The desserts all came served in mess tins - I had the Peanut Butter Cake $11+++ (right) and that's the Bergamot Pound Cake $7+++ on the left :


The Peanut Butter Cake was good, but not quite enough peanut butter to satisfy my peanut butter craving. A bit disturbing to have childish hundreds and thousands on a elegant, grown-up Bergamot Pound Cake, but the cake was good with just a hint of earl grey tea.

Also tried the Green Tea Tofu Tiramisu $9.50+++,


Big Barracks Strawberry Shortcake $9.50+++ and Carrot Cake $8+++ :


Nothing spectacular about the Green Tea Tiramisu and I'm so not a fan of Carrot Cake. The Strawberry Shortcake was my 2nd choice for dessert so I was glad I managed to take a bite of it - it was pretty good!

Plenty of other desserts on the menu that I wanted to try but didn't have enough stomach room for - Chendol Pannacotta, Chocolate Almond Cake, Triple Chocolate Brownie... and the rest of the menu sounds really interesting and will probably be back to try more stuff.

Service was a bit inconsistent - the staff (especially the younger ones) didn't know the menu as well as they should, but they were extremely attentive with topping up our glasses of water.

Nice ambience with a creative menu, worth a visit.


Barracks
8D Dempsey Road
#01-01 to 06 Tanglin Village (Dempsey Road)
Singapore 249672
Tel: 6475 7787 / 6479 9212
www.dempseyhouse.com

Mango Onde Onde from Hui Lau San

On a recent trip to Hong Kong, I discovered what I have since renamed Mango Onde Onde. Hui Lau San is a mango dessert place that I go to at least once every day when I'm in Hong Kong. Victor recommended that we try this new creation, and I have to admit I was really hesistant about it...


but it is heavenly.

I'm a huge mango fan, and I love onde onde (anything the same consistency as tangyuan, remember? :) so I totally fell in love with this. The filling is fresh mango puree and the kueh itself is also mango flavoured. I'm so going to have an insane amount of it the next time I'm in Hong Kong...

Thanks Jovie, for bringing this box back for me! :)

Food For Thought

Yet another place that I read on ieatishootipost that I just had to check out... so arranged to meet S here for dinner one evening.

It's easy to miss this place if you're not looking out for it... and it's tiny, can fit all of maybe 20 plus people, but the size does add to the cosiness of the place.

We figured the Sampler Platter for two was the best option. For $19.90, you get 3 sandwiches, 2 soups and 1 salad.

For the salad, we went with the Chinese Chicken Caesar -


which we both loved! All the little details make this caesar salad one of the best I've ever had - the crispy anchovies, hard boiled eggs with soft yolks, the little slivers of deep fried garlic which imparts a delicate taste to the salad... and the sesame ginger soya sauce dressing puts the ultimate final touch to this yummy salad. Oh, and there was chicken and some greens too! :)

So we're supposed to get two soups but I only remember having one... maybe they ran out of the other soup we wanted? In any case we had this Pumpkin soup (at least I think it was pumpkin) -


Huge portion even for two persons... but the soup itself, I didn't like all that much.

For the sandwiches, we went with Chorizo Sausages (left), Slow Roasted Pulled Pork (top right) and Roast Beef (bottom right) -


I love how the sandwich is deconstructed... I normally eat my sandwiches that way anyway :) I was expecting to be wowed by the fillings, but while they were pretty good, they were not memorable.

Their philosophy on dessert is to source from cottage industries in the community, which means it's all homemade goodies! We were totally spoiled for choice and got a sugar rush from just looking at the array of desserts... we eventually settled on these two : Nutella Cupcake and some form of Rocky Road -


The (huge) amount of sugar made the small portions just right :)

We felt really comfortable despite it being our first time there... there was just such a welcoming and warm atmosphere here. And with the reasonable prices and good food, this is surely a place to revisit over and over again.


Food for Thought
420 North Bridge Road
North Bridge Centre #01-06
Singapore 188727
Tel : 6338 8724
www.foodforthought.com.sg

Devagi's Restaurant & Café

K had a friend in town and before bringing her to the Night Safari, we came here to have dinner. K loves the food here and was eager for me to give it a try...

We had Stir Fried Mushrooms $6.00+ -


A small portion for that price, but quite tasty.

The Stir Fried Spinach with Coconut $6.00+ didn't sound all that promising...


but I loved it! It was really yummy and the little bits of coconut added such an unexpected crunchiness to the dish.

I thought the Tofu Masala $6.00+ would be a curry dish but turned out to be dry -


It was just ok.

The Assam Fish Slice Curry $7.00++ is one of K's favourite dishes -


and for good reason - it was sour and spicy and very good value!

The Vegetable Briyani $9.00+


and Prawn Briyani $10.90+


were both really good - healthy (very little ghee used), yet extremely flavourful.

Devagi herself convinced us to try the desserts so we ended up ordering the Rose Falooda Ice Cream (ice-cream with vermicelli) $3.60+ -


and Gula Melaka Banana Ice Cream $5.50+ -


I didn't like either desserts. Vermicelli with ice cream is just too bizarre a combination and I'm not a big fan of gula melaka (except when it's inside onde onde). A bit of an acquired taste, I think...

The food was generally good but portions a bit small. Parking is a problem along the road but I always park at the HDB block behind the community centre. Come here for some tasty and healthy Indian cooking.


Devagi's Restaurant & Café
200 Upper Thomson Road
#01-03 Thomson Imperial Court
S574424 Tel : 6255 2440
www.devagi.com