bonvivantsg:

FuLin Fried Yong ToFu at 112 Katong Mall. With Minced Chicken Mushroom Gravy Noodles. Yum! There are basically 3 ways of eating Yong Tao Foo (or Yong ToFu) here in Singapore. With Soup, Dry (with Chilli) or Deep Fried.

FuLin Fried Yong ToFu does it the Deep Fried way. Not the healthiest way of eating it but…! Anyway, it’s really delish!

If you are a foreigner, where do you start? And how do you order it? You wonder.

Well, firstly, you choose your favorite varieties. Be aware that each piece you choose (and depending on the places you are dining in) can cost anything from 50 cents to S$1.00 per piece. The varieties you can choose from include the different types of vegetables (Kang Kong, Bak Choy), Chilli with fish paste, ToFu with Fish Paste, Ladies Finger with Fish Paste, Egg Plant with Fish Paste, Mushrooms with Fish Paste et al.

Don’t let the word “Fish Paste” scare you off. It is actually plain old fish cake. Have you tasted fish cake or fishballs before? It is not like the Japanese fish paste. The Japanese ones taste rubbery! But, the Chinese style is super yummy and crunchy. Trust me on this ;-)

Once you’ve made your choice/selection, you give it to the cook to do their deep frying job. Then tell them you want it to be served with their Minced Chicken Mushroom Gravy with Noodles (see pic). And voila! You’d be served with this delicious dish in no time at all.

My dish costs S$8.50! It’s actually not cheap for a food court.

If you wish to read up more about Yong Tau Foo a delicious dish you can find in Singapore/ Malaysia and its origins, here’s the link on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yong_Tau_Foo

Food Rating: 4.5/5

FULIN FRIED YONG TOFU
Address:
112 East Coast Road, #04-01
112 Katong Mall
Singapore 428802 

Opening Hours:
Monday - Thursday, Sunday and Public Holiday: 10am to 10pm
Friday, Saturday and Eve of Public Holiday: 10am to 11pm

bonvivantsg:

In case you don’t already know - I really love Pizza and Pastas. All types. Basically, I adore la cucina Italiana! So, needless to add - I’d travel the face of this Earth just to check out the best pizza and pasta eateries there is to offer.

And, I found several in Singapore! But today, I’d write about the Skinny Pizza chain of restaurants. We love to frequent the ones in Raffles City Shopping Center or in the quieter Wheelock Place - when I wish to escape the paparazzi’s prying lenses! Ha…Just kidding. It’s quieter at Wheelock Place because sometimes you just want to go far away from the maddening crowd, ya know?

Let’s start with the service level at these eateries. I mean, for the price we are paying to dine here, I DO expect SOME attentive service! Honestly, the service staff in Singapore should be sent away to a boot camp in the USA to learn how those service staff go about in their daily job/business! The service staff here are all soooo spoilt BECAUSE a 10% mandatory service charge has already been slapped onto your bill when you dine in ANY restaurants/cafes/eateries in Singapore. So these service staff have taken things for granted. Bad, BAD idea to slap a mandatory 10% service charge on our bills, Singapore Government!!

Anyway, ‘nuff said about the service staff here in Singapore! The service at Skinny Pizza @Raffles City is a notch better. The servers over at Wheelock Place doesn’t seem interested to make our meal enjoyable. At. All. Oh..and they can be soooo defensive too, these Malay girls!

This is in relation to the complaint my dinner companion made about the soggy Vietnamese Coconut Poached Chicken Pizza (cost S$22.00) served. The service staff’s response “Sir, it’s soggy because you didn’t eat it quickly enough!” Bad, BAD argument, girl! My friend ate his pizza like 3 minutes after it was put on our table. See what I mean about these argumentative servers over at the Wheelock Place branch? I normally keep quiet in such situations but when the server kept on being defensive and my friend refused to back down… Great! I had to step in and tell the server (a Malay girl…and really, I’m not being a racist here) to basically - SHUT UP!

So, minus-10 points if I have to rate the service at the Wheelock Place outlet. It’s bad! Skinny Pizza Management Team - Train your servers well and indoctrinate them with this motto - Customers are seldom wrong! Or you’ll start losing your valued customers - like us.

Alright, now that I’ve got the bad service off my chest… let’s get down to the food.

We thought the pizzas served at Skinny Pizza is pretty unique. Most of the 12-inch pizzas come in wafer-thin crust (literally, wafer-thin!).

My recommendation:
The Squid Ink Pizza (the House Speciality) is pretty good! Check out the pictures I posted. Ingredients include Calamari, Prawns, Tomato Salsa, Red Onions and chopped Parsley on wafer-thin crust. Yummy! Cost: S$25.00 for a whole 12-inch pizza.

Don’t (NEVER!) order their Vietnamese Coconut Poached Chicken Pizza (cost S$22.00). It gets soggy….and I mean, real drenching wet soggy in less than FIVE minutes! We had to give up eating this when it got from bad to worse - in terms of sogginess. I basically just eat the ingredients on top of the pizza. A real waste. An expensive lesson learnt here. Ingredients on this pizza include - Shredded chicken breast poached with coconut, coriander and lemongrass - together with Vietnamese-style coleslaw, Thai basil and a dash of chilli sauce sprinkled on top of the pizza. This pizza is served cold.

The Portobello Mushroom Soup is delish (cost S$6.00 per bowl). We also ordered Truffle Fries to share (S$7.00). The fries tasted normal. In fact, it made me kinda miss my McDonald’s french fries because THAT tasted better than this one ;-)

My Kampong Glam Drink i.e. Cucumber and Lime Mocktails (cost S$6.00) was pretty cool and thirst-quenching. I loved it! My friend had a sip of my drink and he didn’t like it. Hm, I suspect Caucasians aren’t used to drinking cucumber juices? Or maybe it’s just my friend not being accustomed to it. Well, we have “wierder” types of drinks in Singapore eg Sour Plum Juice, Watercrest Juice, Wheatgrass Juice…getting the picture? ;-)

Next - Dessert! The highlight of my evening - besides the Squid Ink Pizza, that is. I had the Dark Chocolate Cake with Raspberries. When it first arrived, my dessert DID NOT look like what was featured in their menu. In the menu, chocolate sauce was seen dripping all over the cake. We promptly sent it back to the kitchen because ours was literally just a piece of chocolate cake with raspberries sans ANY chocolate sauce.

It came out 5 minutes later looking exactly like what was featured in the menu. See photo posted. Seriously, Skinny Pizza needs to ensure (MUST!) that the food and service levels are consistent vis-a-vis the prices that they are charging here!

The cost of our entire meal is S$120.00. And we both weren’t exactly bowled over by our dining experience.

Food Rating: 3/5.

Address:
Skinny Pizza Wheelock Place Outlet:
501 Orchard Road #03-04
Wheelock Place
Singapore 238880
Tel: +65 6235 7823

Opens Daily
1100 — 2200HRS
(Last Order at 2130HRS)

RAFFLES CITY
Skinny Pizza Raffles City Outlet:
252 North Bridge Road #B1-63/64
Raffles City Shopping Centre
Singapore 179103
Tel: +65 6333 5069

Opens Daily
1100 — 2200HRS
(Last Order at 2130HRS)

URL: http://www.skinnypizza.com.sg

My next review of Skinny Pizza will feature their Pastas and other sides. Watch this space… ;-)

bonvivantsg:

Welcome to the ever-popular Marmalade Pantry located at the posh ION Orchard. If you don’t make prior lunch/dinner/high tea reservations, you’d be hard-pressed to get a table here, especially on weekends!

This upmarket restaurant is packed with the hip, trendy and socialite crowd. You’d be hobnobbing with the rich tai-tais (read: socialites) as they exchange juicy details of their lives over high-tea. We were here for lunch and let’s just say I was not very impressed with the service AND food.

First of all, this is an open-concept type of restaurant - smacked right in the middle of busy ION Orchard mall. Can you imagine having curious onlookers peering at you as you try not to slurp on your pasta? It was just a tad too uncomfortable for me. So guys, please take note of my “likes” and “dislikes”. I prefer a nice, quiet place for a meal without having onlookers gawking or peering at you with jealous eyes while you eat, ya know?

The service here is below-average. It takes FOREVER for the servers to notice our frantic waves! Maybe next time I should throw darts at them in order to get noticed? Just thinking aloud here. Or maybe - to be fair to the servers - this eaterie is inadequately-staffed. Hire more servers then, Marmalade Pantry Group Management team! On a scale of 1 to 5, I’d rate the service here a 1.5/5. It’s bad. Nothing to be proud of. Seriously.

Let’s start with the food now: For starters, we had Field Mushroom Soup with Truffled Croutons (S$10.00). It was interesting. But I have tasted better Cream of Mushroom Soup before so….

For salad, we tried their Pan Seared Haloumi - with Roma Tomatoes and Watercress Herb Salad (S$21.00). Unless you have the appetite of a bird, this dish would not fill you up ;-)

Then, my friend raved about their Crabmeat Linguini with Pine Nuts, Tomatoes and Chillis (S$24.00). My verdict? On a scale of 1 to 5, I’d rate this dish 2.5. I don’t see what’s the big deal about this dish. It was not the usual delicious type of Italian pasta that I’ve grown accustomed to.

I had the Seared Scallop Linguini with Tiger Prawn Bisque (S$24.00). It was a mistake to order this dish! It taste like a local dish ie it tastes like “hey bee hiam” on Mee Pok! To translate what I’ve just written in Singlish to English - this dish has a strong shrimp smell/taste. Too much! My taste bud was not used to eating such pasta. I really wanted to send this dish back to the kitchen! And the servers told me it was their speciality dish which many diners order. Seriously, people?! On a scale of 1 to 5, I’d rate this dish a 1/5. I am sure the restaurant was lying about this dish being a hit with the diners. Singaporeans, you see, have exquisite taste in food. They certainly would not pay S$24.00 for such a pasta. I know I won’t.

I heard that the Marmalade Pantry serves some really cool desserts. However, we did not check them out because seriously - after the bad service we encountered and the type of food served, we totally lost our appetite for desserts.

So who said this eaterie deserves high praises? We need to talk!

General Food Rating (incl Service Level, Ambience of Restaurant & Food): 2.5/5

Note: Expect to spend approximately S$60.00 per pax for a 3-course meal (excluding wine/drinks).

The Marmalade Pantry
2 Orchard Turn #03-22
ION Orchard Singapore
Tel: +65 6734 2700

URL: http://themarmaladepantry.com.sg/city

Opening Hours
Mon–Fri: 11.30am – 9.30pm
Sat: 10am – 9.30pm
Sun: 10am – 4pm

bonvivantsg:

My dear American big boss has been raving non-stop about this new bourgeois eaterie in Singapore and one fine day, he decided to give his legal team and (ahem!) moi a treat. Here. Cool huh? I wish he’d rave over more eateries here so that he can bring us to check ‘em all out! Haha. Yes, I do have a fantastic boss! ;-D

And, that was how I discovered this amazingly brilliant place - the Eco Gourmet Cafe - nestled in the midst of a forest-like setting i.e. the Labrador Nature Reserve which serves amazingly good food! I heard from the Manager of this restaurant that they’d be building a posh sanctuary-like hotel next to the restaurant and he invited us to check it out when the hotel is completed. I sure will, Mr Manager! Discounts will be much appreciated too! ;-)

The food is really delicious. Not cheap though. Expect to spend about S$60.00 (on the average - excluding wine) for lunch per pax. It costs more for dinner, of course. A great place to bring your date or go on a first date! If you’re not driving, this place will be a tad inconvenient as there are no public transport in the vicinity. You’d have to walk a distance…up the slope/hill to reach this restaurant.

However, if you’re driving, then this is a very convenient place for you because parking is FREE!

If my memory serves me well, the soup costs approximately S$14.00++. The main courses range from S$30.00 to S$55.00++ per dish.

Bon Apetit!

Food Rating: 4.5/5

Address:
30 Labrador Villa Road 119189
Telephone 6270 1868

Opening Hours:
Mon–Fri: 12pm – 10.30pm
Sat–Sun: 11am – 10.30pm

Transport:
Nearby MRT Station: Labrador Park
Bus Lines: 408

bonvivantsg:

This is strictly for Japanese Ramen fans.

Daikokuya, which means ‘God of Wealth’ in Japanese, is a modern version of a ramen-ya that offers a variety of regional ramen specialties such as Sapporo, Tokyo & Kyushu-style ramen in a contemporary and relaxing atmosphere.

This exciting eaterie located inside the upmarket Paragon mall serves the most extensive menu of ramens that I have ever seen! I reckoned there are more than 20 different varieties of ramens alone! You’ll never be bored again.

The food here is above average; and prices are reasonable. It’s not cheap though. Expect to pay about S$14.00 per bowl of ramen (average cost). For your side dishes, you can choose from a variety of Sashimi, Gyoza to Tempura et al. Each dish costs about S$10.00 (average).

For fuss-free dining, I’d recommend this place.

I was also pleased with the service extended. I remembered telling the waitress that I was not happy with my Japanese Ocha because it was way too diluted. They promptly changed my tea to a thicker version - which was better than the diluted version.

Would I recommend this Ramen eaterie to you? Hell yeah! Go check it out, people!

Food Rating: 3.5/5

DAIKOKUYA RAMEN DINING

Address:
290 Orchard Road, #B1-47 
Paragon Shopping Centre
Singapore

URL: http://www.daikokuya.com.sg Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DaikokuyaSingapore

Check out Dakokuya’s Photo Gallery: http://www.daikokuya.com.sg/gallery.html

Opening Hours
Daily: 11.30am – 10.30pm

bonvivantsg:

For delicious fuss-free Chinese cuisine, C-Jade Express is a good bet to visit. ALWAYS crowded/ long queue. So, do try to come slightly early before lunch time like I always do i.e. come before 12 noon or just after 1.30pm. If you can’t… then you must be prepared to wait for a table.

If you don’t mind a noisy environment with waiters/ waitresses who are sometimes too busy to notice you waving your arms frantically to grab their attention, then this is good place to feast on your Mini-Pot Rice, Noodles and Dim Sum!

Some of my favorites include: The Mini-Pot Rice with Chicken and Mushroom (S$6.50) per dish and it comes piping HOT with slices of cut Chilli. Yum! Another winner is the Shanghai Shrimp Dumplings Noodle (you can order it - with Soup or Dry). S$6.50. Singaporeans (ahem!) who love spicy food will eat it dry ie with chilli sauce in it. Mind you, this isn’t your Mexican-type of Chilli sauce! Chinese Chilli sauces will put those Mexican sauces to shame! The Chinese chilli sauces contain quite a few tantalizing ingredients in it. Don’t believe me? Check ‘em out yourself. For side dishes, I highly recommend ordering their Seasonal Vegetables in Oyster Sauce. Sometimes their “Seasonal Vegetables” is Lettuce. This time when we went there for lunch, it’s Choi Sum. I especially enjoyed their Beijing Wanton Dumplings in Chilli/Vinegar Sauce. Ooh la la! One very interesting dish is called the Rickshaw Noodles! Apparently, it is the noodle of choice for the rickshaw drivers in the 1930s to 1960s! My Taiwanese colleague had this; I didn’t try it. She said it was good. ;-)

Generally speaking, the food here is relatively inexpensive. A dish cost an average of S$6.50. Each variety/ dish of Dim Sum costs approximately S$2.50. Reasonable!

So this is where I come for lunch (with my colleagues) at least once a week!

Address:
C-Jade Express
10 Pasir Panjang Road
Mapletree Business City
Singapore 117439
Phone: (65) 6570 1787

Opening Hours:
Mondays to Saturdays 08:00-20:00
Sundays - Closed

bonvivantsg:

We recently had a lovely dinner at the delightful Covelli Italian Bistro & Wine Bar located at the Basement Level of Orchard Central. On a Saturday night, this eaterie is packed with diners! So, do remember to book your reservation(s) early to avoid disappointment.

Food-wise, I’d say it’s a little on the pricey side. Be prepared to spend approximately S$$80 per pax (not inclusive of wine) for a complete meal of soup, salad, appetizer, main course, dessert and coffee/tea. The warm Foccacia Bread (dipped in Olive Oil) is complimentary…and tasted yummy!

Expect to pay for quality and good service at this up-market eaterie. To put it simply, I was not disappointed with the food and service here. The Manager also dropped by our table at least twice that evening to ensure that we enjoyed our meal. We sure did! Thank you, Mr Manager.

We had Salad and Calamari for starters.

My Fruitti De Mare Pasta (aka Seafood Pasta) cost about S$40.00++ per dish. And it wasn’t a large portion. My dinner companion had Salmon (cost S$40.00++) and it wasn’t a huge serving either.

Give this eaterie a try if you haven’t already visited this cozy restaurant.

Food Rating: 4/5

Address:
181 Orchard Road, #B2-13/22 
Orchard Central
Singapore

Tel: +65 6238 6400

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/covelli.singapore

Opening Hours
Daily: 11am – 10pm

bonvivantsg:

Lovely weather this evening calls for a lovely French meal at Le Petit Paradis. A new French eaterie along East Coast Road.

This newly-opened eaterie serves delectable French-Fusion cuisine at inexpensive prices. My favorite dish at this place is definitely their Cream of Mushroom with Cognac! Cost only S$3.50!

Equally delicious is their Grilled Salmon. A MUST-TRY! Cost: S$9.90. Their Giant Chicken Sausage with Rosti is just so-so. Nothing fantastic. Cost: S$7.70 per dish.

Food Rating: 3.5/5

Le Petit Paradis
125, East Coast Road
Singapore
@ Ali Baba Eating House
(opposite 112 Katong Mall and Awfully Chocolate)

Opening Hours:
11.30am to 3pm (Lunch)
6pm -10pm (Dinner)