Picotin

Haven't been blogging for ages - partly coz of all the stupid computer issues (couldn't upload pictures). Today is one of those days when it's miraculously working so here I am. Just a short post this time.

Was here with some girlfriends on the National Day weekend (yes, backlog of posts as usual) but we were too late for breakfast so ended up ordering a main. I ordered the Seared Tuna Steak -


The waiter asked me how I wanted my tuna steak done, which I was totally confused about (and he had to ask me twice) coz isn't it the chef who decides how "seared" the tuna steak is?? So I mumbled "medium well" and the tuna steak came pretty much cooked right through. Not quite the light and healthy meal that I originally wanted... The eggplant mush that the tuna steak was sitting on was lovely though!

Now that I'm blogging about this, I did a quick google and found that you actually are supposed to decide how done the tuna steak is. Oh well, so I'm a plebeian :D

The service here wasn't great - they weren't very helpful and got orders mixed up. A friend has actually witnessed the manager shrieking at the staff in full view of customers... nice atmosphere though, with the stables nearby. Not that keen on coming back.


Picotin
100 Turf Club Road
Singapore 287992
Tel: +65 6877 119
www.picotin.com.sg

Skinny Pizza

Wanted to try this place out for lunch - the churros displayed at the entrance caught my eye. They had a set lunch but it seemed like way too much food so we settled for just one pizza, the Salami & Pesto Pizza (salami, roast capsicum pesto, crumbled goat's cheese, chopped green olives, fresh basil) $18++ :


So the pizza's here are "skinny" in that the crust is really thin - more like crakers than pizza. A light meal, perfect to prevent the mid afternoon sleepies. I loved the very generous ingredients and the heaps and heaps of arugula leaves. Not the most substantial meal but perfect when you don't want to a heavy lunch.

We also tried the Spanish Donuts (Churros) with Chocolate Fondue $5.50++ -

which were pretty disappointing. The chocolate came in a fondue pot but the chocolate used was not that great...

Service was quite attentive and this is a nice place to chill out in. Wouldn't mind coming back again.


Skinny Pizza
3 Temasek Boulevard
#01-002 Suntec City Galleria
Tel: +65 6333 9774

Singapore Cricket Club - Chicken Rice

We came here for a colleague's farewell lunch - the chicken rice is the lunch special at the Veranday on Thursdays and it's really popular.


It was actually pretty good, very similar to the Chatterbox version. The chicken was tender, the rice flavourful and the chilli was yums. My colleagues are real chilli freaks - we asked for extra portions to share. The set lunch also came with a scoop of ice cream, which makes me feel like such a little kid eating it, but it was a real treat :)

We were the biggest group there but the restaurant really was packed. Guess there is good reason for this place being this popular... unfortunately, you can only go there with members... know any? :)


Singapore Cricket Club
Connaught Drive Singapore 179681
Telephone +65 6338 9271

KPO Cafe Bar

Outta nowhere, blogger suddenly started working again. Pure randomness. Grr.

Time to catch up on old posts... I've actually gotten quite a bit behind, and tried a few new places recently (due to the seemingly never-ending birthday feasting :).

A suggested trying this place out for dinner pretty soon after it first opened. This place got a bit of publicity in the news - part of the old Killiney Road Post Office got converted into this bar / cafe. Apparently it's called KPO not because its at the Killiney Post Office, but because its at the corner of Killiney, Penang and Orchard!

Anyways, I got there pretty early so it was no problem getting a seat. It was very unusual coz the post office and the cafe are actually connected so I was watching people buy stamps while waiting for A to arrive :) The outdoor area looked very chic and perfect for chilling out and having drinks, but it was a warm day and aircon seemed like a much better option...

And now for the food. The menu had a strange combination of normal pub grub as well as local favourites (roti john and hokkien mee). I decided to try the Steak Sandwich :


It was pretty ok - the bread is actually french loaf with a slice of steak in-between. What was really really yums was the potato chips... so we ordered another portion to share.


It's fried thinly sliced potatoes - we could not stop eating it and it took tremendous self control not to order another portion :)

A tried the Breakfast set -


which was pretty normal.

The service was relatively attentive but like many restaurants, they had non-English speaking staff who had to get their English speaking colleagues over when we tried to order something from them.

It was a pretty nice place to chill out, I'm sure it's quite nice to chill out at the outdoor area too. Just don't come here expecting good food - it's mostly a bar after all...


KPO Cafe Bar
1 Killiney Road
Killiney Post Office
Tel : 6733 3648

i.hate.java

The continuing saga of IT issues. Javascript is giving me all sorts of problems again - managed to finally get facebook loading properly but still having issues with blogger.

Managed to add the hamster and fishes the other day when it was still working. Click in the box to give them food :)

Godiva (VivoCity)

Was at Vivo and feeling indulgent when I decided to try this -


Can't remember the exact name, it's an chocolate ice blended from Godiva. And it cost S$9.90. Yup, nearly twice the price of an ice blended from Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

Was it worth the money? Well, every sip was filled with rich chocalate-y goodness with chocolate bits in it, but it wasn't overwhemingly rich... so I guess yeah, it's worth the once-in-a-blue-moon indulgence for the wallet and the waist :)

Plus you can nearly always get a seat here, despite the fact that there is just a few available. Don't see the point in eating the chocolate-coated strawberries... this is more worth it, I reckon.

Godiva (VivoCity)
1 Harbourfront Walk
#01-116 VivoCity
Tel: 6273 1611

Tatsu Sushi (revisited)

Apologies for the silence - I've had trouble uploading photos the last two weeks. Decided to try today and it works! Yay! So back to the regular programming...

Gerry, Daphne and I met up for Daphne's birthday in May and I suggested this place for dinner. This was one of the first places I blogged about :)

We ordered the Omakase again but it's a much smaller one -


Hmm, my current phone actually takes worse pictures than the phone I had 3 years ago! The sushi itself was not too bad, but not fantastic, and it definitely didn't impress in terms of the presentation.

The birthday girl requested for urchin so we ordered this -


Erm, I didn't try any - it's totally not my thing.

And we also ordered some Tempura to share -


The food here is generally quite good, and the restaurant is small and has a nice quiet ambience so it's a good place to have dinner and catch up with friends. Just be prepared to spend a little more money than usual :)


Tatsu Sushi
30 Victoria Street
#01-16 CHIJMES
Tel : 63325868

Da Mario Pizzeria

I have the occasional carb craving which has to be satisfied with pizza and/or pasta, and it was one of these occasions when I tried this place at Robertson Quay. This place has grown from a hole in the wall restaurant to a relatively big outfit. I remember reading quite a few good reviews about this place when it first opened and was quite curious if the quality was sustained even with the expansion.

To satisfy part 1 of the carb craving, we ordered the Pizza Primavera (tomato, cheese, capsicum, artichoke, button mushrooms, olives) $17++ :


It was a decent pizza... I'm not a fan of olives but big pieces are easy to pick out so no complaints. The artichokes were a nice touch. This pizza was thin-crust, just the way I like it.

To satisfy part 2 of the carb craving, we also ordered one of the specials - Pumpkin Ravioli with Gorgonzola sauce and Truffle $18++ :



This was surprisingly yummy - I liked the sauce so much that I tried to wipe up as much of the sauce as I could :) Gorgonzola definitely is an acquired taste but this one wasn't too sharp. The truffle, despite the huge chunks, did not have a strong taste - I guess it was cheap stuff. But it all went together really well.

Ambience was nice, but service left much to be desired. Took forever to get their attention for anything. Not a bad place to have dinner if you are in the area but don't eat here if you have no time or patience for spotty service.


Da Mario Pizzeria
60 Robertson Quay
#01-05/06 The Quayside
Tel: 6235 7623
www.damariopizzeria.com

Shen Ji Seafood Garden

S and I tried this place earlier this year - we had a craving for crab and I did a quick search on ieatishootipost and feeling unadventurous, we decided to try this place at Holland V.

Service was seriously bad - it took forever for us to get any service despite us trying to get the attention of at least 3 different service staff.

The XO Crab Bee Hoon S$22 was pretty impressive when it turned up -


$22 for a whole crab and noodles - a one meal dish. Very worth it and the perfect serving size for two females, we had just this and a poh piah :) The crab had two good sized pincers and were very meaty. The soup was also quite tasty. The rest of the tze char looked pretty good too.

Worth a try if you try not to be too bothered by the really bad service.


Shen Ji Seafood Garden
Blk 40 Holland Drive #01-39
Tel : 63411737

Naive

Read about this place and decided to try it out. Nowhere on the outside of the restaurant or the menu does it say that it is a vegetarian restaurant - which kinda confuses some people... I think the point is so that people don't go with a preconceived idea of what vegetarian food is...

The decor of the restaurant was simple and chic. The long wooden bench in the middle of the restaurant brings a very earthy feel to the place.

Before the meal, customers are given a mortar and pestle and are invited to partake in the "bloss" ceremony. "Bloss" stands for "blessings of the sesame seeds" :)


So you're meant to grind the sesame seeds and add it to your food - the seeds represents the blessings you receive everyday. Kinda therapeutic to grind the seeds up and adds a nice touch to a bowl of white rice...

Not hungry enough for a full meal so ordered a few things just to sample the food here. Order the Penang Rendang (spicy pan-fried mushrooms with steamed buns) $9.80+:


Man, I LOVE steamed buns, especially this type - I could eat it everyday and not get sick of it :) The rendang that the mushrooms were cooked in was spicy, flavourful and tasted very Peranakan. Yummy!

Also ordered the Tamarind Tofu Cake $13.80+ -


Beancurd and seaweed fried into tofu cakes with a spicy tamarind sauce laden with lemon grass and fresh chilli. Tofu cakes are what some veggie stalls call "veggie fish" - one of my fav mock meat alternatives. The tamarind sauce is spicy and sour all at the same time - again with a very strong Peranakan influence.

The food was good but prices are too steep for the small portions. For vegetarian food with a Peranakan touch, you're probably better off trying Whole Earth Vegetarian.


Naive
99 East Coast Road
Tel: 6348 0668
www.naivecompany.com

Lavender Food Square

Was in the area so I decided to try out two of the famous stalls from this hawker centre.

The wanton mee from Kok Kee Wanton Noodle is very popular and normally has a long queue. No queue coz I was there at an odd time so I took the opportunity to try it out -


Very over-rated, I reckon. The noodles was a bit tough and the chilli not spicy at all. The guy in front of me asked for less chilli - can't imagine how tasteless his would be! Surprised it's so popular, don't think I'll bother to try it again, especially if I have to queue.

The carrot cake from the Long House Miow Sin Popiah & Carrot Cake is also quite well-known -


This looked unassuming but it was actually quite good!

If you happen to come here for supper, I vote you skip the wanton mee... but the carrot cake is worth a try :)


Long House Miow Sin Popiah & Carrot Cake
Lavender Food Square #01-04
380 Jalan Besar

Kok Kee Wanton Noodle
Lavender Food Square #01-06
380 Jalan Besar
12pm to 2am
Closed every three weeks on Wednesdays and Thursdays

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/

Mykii

It was Gerry's birthday and AO and I decided to celebrate it with her over dinner. It was up to me to suggest a place and while looking around on hungrygowhere, I saw an ad for this place. It seemed to have a Greek and Mediterranean theme and the girls were happy to try it out.

The decor of the place was definitely reminiscent of the Greek islands - not that I've ever been there but it's certainly what I imagined it would look like in the Greek islands, with the white walls and wooden chairs :)

Except for the Mezza Plate, most of the menu was neither Greek nor Mediterranean. None of the main courses sounded that great, and in any case none of us were very hungry so we each ordered a light appetizer instead. I had the Caesar Salad with Fritto Misto $10.80++ :


More Fritto Misto than Caesar Salad but it's hard to complain about lots of huge pieces of calamari. What I can gripe about is the fact that the crispy bowl that was sitting in was a bit hard to eat - breaking it made it pretty messy and a challenge to control.

Gerry had the Pissaladiere (an open-faced provencale tart perfectly dressed with a healthy wholesome selection of roasted capsicums, anchovies, olives and onion jam) $10.80++ :


I had just a bit of it to try and it didn't leave a lasting impression - i.e. I don't remember what it tastes like now :)

AO tried the Grilled Tofu & Pumpkin Stack, Sweet Basil & Tomato Coulis $9.80++ :


We all had the same thought about this dish - while it does look gorgeous (what a wonderful mix of vibrant colours!), we all felt that there was one too many flavours in it which ending up making just a little too much.

For dessert we ordered the Nutella Squares with salted caramel $7.80 ++


and Gula Melaka Creme Brulee with Pineapple $8.80++ to share.


The Nutella Square was just ok - I always have high expectatations for anything with Nutella in it and it never quite turns out as good as I expect. The Gula Melaka Creme Brulee with Pineapple was pretty weird and not in a very good way, an example of fusion not really working out.

The food here is definitely not Greek or Mediterranean in any way, shape or form. There are some items which are not too bad and a few more sound like they are worth trying. I guess the biggest selling point of this place is the decor and ambience. If you sit outdoors, it's quite the perfect place to chill out with friends and for a while, you can imagine that you're in the Greek Islands... just try not to mind the teenagers trying to pass off as waiters :) By the way, the name is pronounced "mee-kai".


Mykii
17d Lorong Liput
Holland Village
Tel: 6468 2838
www.mykii.com.sg

Karma, Kettle & Rhapsody (Dempsey)

Read about this place in various places and decided to suggest it as a venue for a Girl's Night Out - erm, some time back :P

The venue is a bit inaccessible if you don't drive, but there's a number of popular restaurants in the Dempsey area (including Long Beach) so there's a reasonable amount of taxi traffic. If you drive there, parking is available just a short walk away.

There is a nice little path leading up to the restaurant (which was a bit dimly lit and my pregnant friend gingerly made her way along the path). The interior was very quaint and charming, with the antique furniture adding to the colonial theme of the restaurant. We chose to sit indoors but I think a meal outdoors would be very cosy too.

The pictures are very blur - I blame it on the ambient (read : dim) lighting. Hopefully the writing makes up for it :)

The restaurant's website describes their cuisine as "traditional European and colonial". What does that interesting description mean? A quick look at their menu throws up traditional classics like Oxtail Stew and Cottage Pie, as well as innovative twists like Pan Fried Lavender Chicken.

For starters, we had the Mixed Tandoori Platter $23.90++ to share -


The picture is so bad that you can't even tell what's on the plate! There were prawns, chicken, fish and lamb. The fish was the amazing part of this dish - melts in your mouth and chock full of flavour!

I originally wanted to have the Lavender Chicken which was much talked about in earlier reviews about this place, but it wasn't on the menu when we were there so I ordered the next most talked about dish - Pork Vindaloo $18.00++ :


The menu describes vindaloo as Portguese for wine, vinegar and garlic. It had three chillies on the menu but it wasn't spicy at all! Well, not by my standards at least :D It was ok I guess, but not as good as I expected it would be.

What was surprisingly good was the Devilled Crab $20.90++ :


It's described in the menu as "Grilled Squid stuffed with Black Pepper Crab with a Signature Sour Cream sauce". I was hesitant to try it as squid stuffed with crab just seemed weird but someone else ordered it and I had a bit to try and it actually turned out to be a pretty good combination! Of course, eating crab without having to get down and dirty is always a plus too :D

It's practically impossible for a group of females to get together and not have any chocolate involved, and we are definitely not the exception. We ordered the Royal Belgian Chocolate Truffle Cake $7.90++ to share :


Well, this was just ok. Looks better than it tastes and a bit on the expensive side at $7.90 for a slice and it didn't even have ice cream!

All in all, I quite liked the place. The food was good (as long as you didn't go with high expectations) and items were generally reasonably priced (except the deserts!). It also had the perfect ambience for a quiet Girl's Night Out which as exactly what we were looking for. Hmm, time for another visit?...


Karma, Kettle & Rhapsody (Dempsey)
26B Dempsey Road
Tanglin Village (Dempsey Hill Green)
Tel: 6472 0221
www.karmakettle.com

Brotzeit German Bier Bar & Restaurant

It's been forever since I blogged - partly coz there were some personal issues which kept me busy for the last week, partly coz I had (a few weeks ago) already typed this blog and it got lost in the graveyard of cyberspace when I tried to post it. Was annoyed that I have to retype the whole thing so I've been putting it off for the longest time... well, here it is. Again.

Came here to have dinner one evening - it was so crowded that we had to share a table. Oh well, better than waiting I guess...

We ordered two things to share. First up was the Nürnberger (five pieces of original Nürnberger pork bratwurst with sauerkraut and mashed potatoes) $17.50 :


I wanted to try this mostly coz it had sauerkraut. I'm not a big onion fan but I love sauerkraut. Ok, have to admit that I can't remember how the sausage tasted but I remember it went great with the mustard that it was served with :D

The other thing that we ordered was Weisswurst (three pieces of traditional Munich veal and pork sausage served with a brezn) $18.50 :


I was a bit disturbed to see the sausages floating in a bowl of water but it turns out that's how sausages are meant to be cooked (I normally throw them in the oven). The sausages still tasted ok, and as mentioned above, it came with some really good mustard :D Brezn is actually a German bread-y pretzel - it was a bit tough but was good to pick at after the sausages were finished...

The sausages here are reasonably good, and I love the varities of mustard that come with them. Prices are a bit on the higher side though. What I really don't like about this place is the fact that it gets crowded - likely you will need to queue for a seat, and it gets pretty noisy and is not the best place to have a conversation. But then that's the case for most restaurants in Raffles City...


Brotzeit German Bier Bar & Restaurant
252 North Bridge Road
#01-17 Raffles City Shopping Centre
Tel: 6883 1534
www.brotzeit1516.com

Epicurious

Came here for brunch on a Sunday and was lucky enough to get the last seat in the house - it's still a relatively popular place for weekend brunches.

The meal started with complimentary Mini Muffins -


So small and cute! Just the right size to keep us mildly satisfied while we waited for the rest of the food to arrive...

I had the Ratatouille Omelette (two-egg omelette filled with a herb, tomato, eggplant & zucchini stew and topped with Parmigiano-Reggiano) $12 -


Ok, so you can't exactly see the ratatouille, but it's inside the omelette :) I love omelettes of every shape and form!

Also tried the Veggie Pu Yi sandwich (char-grilled eggplant, bell pepper, artichoke heart & sun-dried tomato) $10 -


There's just something about grilled veggies - it's so simple yet tastes so good!

I was craving something sweet so ordered the Choco-nana Sandwich (chocolate spread, banana and strawberries) $5 despite not being a huge banana fan -


It was just ok, and it seemed a silly to be paying $5 for a nutella sandwich...

I've come here a few times and always had a good experience here. The food is consistent and relatively healthy, and there's such a homely feel about this place. A great option for a lazy Sunday brunch


Epicurious
60 Robertson Quay
#01-02 The Quayside
Tel: 6734 7720
http://www.epicurious.com.sg/

Victor's Kitchen

I've walked past this place many times but never wanted to try it coz of the ever-present long queue. But when S suggested eating here at 4pm one Saturday afternoon, I was more than happy to try it out as there was definitely not going to be a queue at that time.

And there wasn't, we had our pick of seats, but that wasn't to say that the place was empty - Singaporeans do eat at all times of the day.

S wanted har gow so we ordered Victor's King Prawn Dumpling, S$3.80++ -


which was not too bad - the skin was thin and it was filled with a decent amount of prawn.

I love Fu Bi Juan (Seafood beancurd roll) so had to order this -


can't remember the price but I remember thinking it wasn't very worth it. The serving was a bit on the small side and taste-wise it was just ok.

In traditional Hong Kong dim sum style, we had to order the Youtiao Cheong Fun, S$3++ -


which was not bad - definitely brought back memories of Hong Kong. Not as good as what you would get there but good enough as a interim fix.

What was my favourite dish here was the Scallop, Sausage Carrot Cake with XO Sauce, S$3.80++ -


I'm normally a fan of fried carrot cake but this steamed one was really good. There wasn't much scallop, and just little bits of sausage but the real star was the XO sauce - I could not stop eating it.

All in all the food was just so-so. A bit inconsistent in the quality of the food and I suspect the standards might have dropped since its hey day when it was featured on Chubby Hubby's website and ieatishootipost. The prices are also not that cheap at most dishes costing more than $3, ambience is not much to speak of and the service is spotty too. Overall, an option to consider if you are looking for dim sum but don't come here with too high expectations and you'll be just fine :D


Victor's Kitchen
91 Bencoolen Street
#01-21 Sunshine Plaza
Tel: 9838 2851