Mayim Chinese Cuisine

Had a late lunch here with Mum. We had plenty of attention from the wait staff, but that might have been because we were there when it was near empty - but admittedly there were still a few other people there. Only Singaporeans eat at all times of the day :)

The menu is really extensive, but I settled on an old favourite - Braised E-fu noodle with shredded mushroom $8.50++ :


It wasn't too bad, but I will never understand why something so simple and with so little ingredients cost that much...

Mum had the Noodle with Stewed Beef Brisket in Soup $6.30++ :


Didn't have a chance to try it but it looked good :)

I ordered the Sauteed Sliced Fish Garnished with Ginger, Scallion and Dried Sliced Garlic $8.00++ :


I loved this! The garlic slices were fried perfectly - I'm not normally a garlic fan but sliced garlic I love :) The fish was also quite fresh, making this a very worth it dish.

We both ordered Mango & Pomelo Sago $3.50++ :


This was ok but I wished it had more chunks of mango.

The food here was surprisingly good, considering it's way out in the heartland, and it's the one and only outlet. Very extensive menu, and based on my mum's feedback, most of the stuff is good. And seeing how it's reasonably priced, this place it worth a try. If you happen to be in Bukit Batok :P


Mayim Chinese Cuisine
1 Bukit Batok Central Link
#02-04 West Mall
Tel: 6794 1590
www.mayimfood.com

Kopi Tiam 咖啡店

Ended up eating here by default - Auds was already here before we met for dinner and was too lazy to move elsewhere ;)

We really wanted to try the Curry Fish Head but looking at the curry fish head at the table nearby, we decided it was going to be too much for two people to share. So we ordered two things to share instead, Char Kway Teow -


and Carrot Cake.


The carrot cake was actually really good, quite a few prawns hidden in there. The char kway teow was quite yummy too, and not overly oily.

Each dish cost about $15 (sorry can't remember the actual price), which is not cheap compared to hawker centres but pretty reasonably priced considering this restaurant is in a hotel.

My two grouses about this place is that it was surprisingly crowded and noisy, and the staff can't seem to cope - took forever to get their attention.


Kopi Tiam 咖啡店
2 Stamford Road
2F Swissotel The Stamford
Tel: 6431 6156

Caffe Beviamo

This was a combination of two different visits, actually three but I only took pictures for two. I ended up eating at both branches (Tanglin Mall and Paragon) three times in a few months, and decided I quite like this place.

One trip here was for a girls' tea - which meant desserts galore :) I tried one of my fav Aussie desserts - Lamingtons!


A quick google describes Lamingtons as a sponge cake dipped in chocolate icing and then rolled in desiccated coconut - a totally traditional Australian dessert. I'm not a fan of coconut flesh or coconut juice but love desserts with desiccated coconut, like onde onde and lamingtons :) This one is pretty decent, but the one at Gloria Jean's is quite good too.

Another very Aussie dessert is Sticky Date Pudding -


I've blogged quite a few times about Sticky Date Pudding, and since my favourite one so far is now no more (Brown Sugar Bistro Cafe has closed down!), this will be my next choice when I want Sticky Date Pudding. It has a scoop of vanilla ice-cream sandwiched by two slices of the sticky date pudding and sitting in a pool of super sweet butterscotch sauce. Definitely for those with a sweet tooth, and don't even try to finish one by yourself :)

Selena ordered a Hummingbird Cake -


First time I've heard of it! It's mostly a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, but it's different in that it has nuts (pecans?) and bananas in it too. I'm not a fan of carrot cake so didn't really like it... but it was interesting to see a new cake that I've never heard of before.

I also tried the food here. On one occasion, I tried the Pear and Walnut Salad and it was yums. And if I remember correctly, it was about $8. On the other trip I tried the Ravioli (half portion)-


and a Pizza -


The ravioli was a small portion but ravioli being ravioli, it was pretty filling nonetheless. Loved the fresh brocollini that came with it. The pizza had a super thin crust and not all that filling and slightly on the oily side.

The food here has a somewhat healthy streak and is mostly very reasonably priced. I've heard that their lattes are really good too. The desserts are to die for and not even half as expensive as PS Cafe. Both branches have the perfect ambience for a girls' tea or a simple meal. Actually, you can almost imagine that you're in Melbourne or Sydney when you're here...


Caffe Beviamo (Tanglin Mall)
163 Tanglin Road
#02-K1 Tanglin Mall
Tel: 6738 7906

Caffe Beviamo (Paragon)
290 Orchard Road
#05-K3/K4 The Paragon
Tel: 6836 2535

Chilli Padi Nonya Café

S and I came here once a few months ago wanting to try the high tea buffet, but there was a decent queue outside and it was obvious that there was only a small number of seats in the place so we decided not to bother. This place was extremely popular then as it was featured in a local TV food show. So this time we decided to make reservations :)

I'm a huge fan of Kueh Pie Tee so it was in the first round of things I tried, together with a Samosa and a bowl of Laksa -


The laksa gravy looked really thin and unappetizing, but tasted much better than it looked. The kueh pie tees were pretty good, and the chilli fresh and spicy - but it was so much work to have to stand at the buffet line to fill up the little cups... yes, yes, I'm lazy :P

Second round was Chwee Kueh, Gado Gado and a bowl of Mee Siam -


The Chwee Kueh was surprisingly good and so was the chilli that went with it. The best thing about this kind of buffet is that you can make up anything you want... which meant that the Gado Gado was made up of stuff I liked - that means rice cake, cucumber and prawn crakers :) The mee siam was good - a must try!

For the dessert round, I tried Kueh Lopez (green triangular one), Kueh Kosui (small brown one), Kueh Dadar (green springroll one) and a bowl of Chng Tng -


The Kueh Lopez was not bad, went perfect with the Gula Melaka. I haven't had this many times before but decided I actually quite like it. I always like Kueh Kosui and this one was pretty good too. I've never actually had Kueh Dadar before so decided to try it, and found it just ok. The Chng Tng washed everything down nicely :)

This high tea buffet costs $7.90+ on weekdays and $8.80+ on weekends and public holidays. For less than $10, this was pretty good value. The place has next to no ambience but it's hard to complain when it's this cheap. A few decent dishes makes this worth it but do make an advance reservation coz there's normally a queue.


Chilli Padi Nonya Café
470 North Bridge Road
#01-02 North Bridge Commercial Complex
Tel: 6339 7745
Operating Hours:
Buffet Lunch: 11am - 2.30pm
Hi-Tea Set: 2.30pm - 5.30pm
Buffet Dinner: 6pm - 10.30pm

http://www.chillipadi.com.sg/