The Garden Slug’s Waga Wagyu Beef burger ($18.90)

Of late, I have been hanging out in the East almost every week. I’ve mentioned on twitter that I needed some suggestions for my list on the best food places in the East of Singapore.

There were many responses pointing to the stretch of restaurants along East Coast road, with Aston Speciality and Everything with Fries among the more popular options there. But the whole area was a little hyped-up and I preferred a quieter place for a simple dinner.

I’ve been to The Garden Slug previously for a food photography workshop organized by Samsung Singapore. When my partner said that she wanted comfort food for dinner, the cafe immediately came to mind.

Housed in the same cluster together with a few pet stores, The Garden Slug is somewhat like an indie cafe at Lorong L Telok Kurau. It serves homely comfort food – think big portions of Western food at reasonable prices.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Rustic Bolognese pasta ($9.90). There wasn’t any fanciful ingredients, just a light tomato sauce created with topside beef and carrot chunks and topped with zucchini. It was a very simple yet satisfying pasta done the Garden Slug way – comfort food in large portions.

The Hickory Babyback ribs ($29.0 for full and $18.90 for half rack) was bright, and hearty. The perfect dish to whet your appetite when you don’t feel like eating, and it’s also the dish to make us hungrier when we are feeling hungry. Having half a rack alone was probably not enough, so we ordered the full rack to share.

Risotto looks like baby food, except that it’s much nicer.

I have a love-hate feeling for the risotto. It’s heavy, yet comforting. It’s a dish that I will want to order every time, but never wise to do so since I always can’t finish it on my own. It’s silly and downright foolish to try and finish a serving of risotto alone. Risotto is meant to be shared.

Subconsciously, I found myself scooping mouth after mouth after mouth of the Grilled Ocean Scallops with Mushroom risotto (on the weekend special menu). I adored the huge chunks of mushroom, and the risotto was somewhat similar to porridge. It’s warm and charming – the perfect thing for rainy days. This is comfort food at its best.

The portions of the dishes at The Garden Slug are big and filling, and the Pan Seared Dory Fillet ($17.90) is no exception.

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Like what I have mentioned, most people would probably think of the stretch of restaurants along East coast road, or Siglap centre when they think of the best food places in the East of Singapore.

If you are looking for a place that is away from the crowded East Coast area, The Garden Slug is a great hidden gem to bring your family, friends or date to. The cafe is simple and unpretentious. Most of the main courses are priced under $20, and I can see myself returning to the garden slug for their all day breakfast soon.

Restaurant Review
The Garden Slug
55 Lorong L Telok Kurau
#01-59/61 Bright Centre
Tel: +65 6346 0504

The Garden Slug is listed as one of ladyironchef’s favorite restaurants in Singapore.

We all have our own bad hair days, at times where you have to deal with unreasonable people when you rather be sitting down in front of your computer to read at food blogs. At times where you are working your ass off, and it seems work will never end. You know what I mean, and that is why we always look forward to lunch.

My choice of a dining place usually depends on the-craving-of-the-moment, and for this occasion, my dining companion was yearning for some Bak ku teh (bkt), and she brought me to one of her favourite place. I’m a self-proclaimed pig-lover; from roast pork, bacons, to bak kwa; there’s nothing that I don’t like about pork. I know many people refuse to take pig intestines; they are not exactly healthy but they sure are tasty.

The presence of the distinct herbal taste was characteristic of the bkt here. My dining companion had the pork ribs ($5 per bowl) while I had the combination bowl of pork ribs and a mix of pork offals like the intestines, liver, and stomach. I have a love-hate relationship with pork ribs. On one hand I always complain that the ribs are not meaty enough, but I like to gnaw on the bones to finish every bite of the meat, and suck the sweetness of the bones. And the pork liver was cooked nicely, retaining a tinge of pink.

And now, tell me where’s your favourite bkt place?

Leong Kee (Klang) BKT
321 Beach Road
Kampong Glam Conservation area

I always dread to have dinner in Orchard, well the place is great for shopping, people-watching, movies, but food? It is always an issue whenever my friends want to meet there and if you ask me, there’s hardly any place that I like in Orchard.

It was a coincidence that both Lingzie and Kenny were in town, so there was a minor crisis in deciding the place for dinner. Initially I wanted to bring them to my favourite place in Orchard, but we ended up at KPO Cafe.

Most people will have thought that KPO stands for Killiney Post office since the cafe is located on the premises of Killiney post office. But the name actually comes about because it’s at the intersection of Killney, Penang, and Orchard road.

We started dinner with the Pizza Yorkshire ($25). The 10 inch thin crust pizza was thoroughly enjoyable; sweet thin slices Yorkshire pork and well-baked crust with mozzarella cheese matched perfectly with the natural crust.

Even though the Grilled juicy mini beef patties were tiny, I love the way they are done – topped with melted Emmental cheese and served in home-made baguette. The Patty Melt ($12) is one of those things that you wish it would come in bigger portions. And oh yes, the home-made chips were great too! But for the kind of price, it’s more like a snack to go along with drinks rather than a main course for dinner.

The KPO Pork Ribs ($23) was the other signature dish of the cafe. A full slab of ribs marinated with the tantalizing sauce, we have to agree that the marination was very done-well. But having tried better pork ribs elsewhere, KPO’s rendition lacked the ultimate melt-in-the-mouth sensation. Still, it was pretty good.

* * *

I have no doubt that KPO, situated right in the middle of town and yet seemingly away from the hustle of the city, will be a success. The location is already a hit, with the chic environment, it is definitely the place-to-be-seen-at. While it’s a great watering-hole, with the food being pretty decent, but they really need to improve on the service.

I got a shock when the first question they asked, was not what I’ll like to order, but whether I’m paying by credit card or cash. No matter how nice the ambience was, or how excellent the food tasted – that was a total turnoff. But oh well, at least there’s no service charge & GST. Anyway, with the good location plus the chill-out atmosphere, I went back again the following Saturday.

KPO @ Killney post office
1 Killiney road
Killney Post Office
Tel: 6733 3648

It’s not difficult to associate District 10 with Wild rocket, not when they have the bitter green for almost all their dishes.

Much as I agreed that Wild rocket is aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, but it’s too much when all the appetizers and the mains are adorned with the same greens. And yes, we started our first appetizer with Wild Rocket Salad ($10).

The Selection of traditional cold cuts ($14) had an assortment of parma ham, salami, chicken, with grilled ciabatta bread.

How about some Deep fried calamari and tiger prawns ($10) to get you started? Oh yes! I was actually looking at the portion and realise there’s at most one prawn and two calamari for each of us, so I immediately took my fork and started eating. And after that? I kept a lookout for signs to see whether the others wanted their share!

Wow, there’s even duck in spring rolls now?

The name Homemade duck spring roll ($10) caught my attention first, from the exterior you would have think that it’s just like the other normal spring roll, but there’s shreds of duck meat enveloped within the crispy fried skin. There’s a subtle taste of duck meat, and I like how the sweet sauce actually complimented the dish very well.

The Chili crab pizza definitely has the “Made-in-Singapore” brand stamp all over it. While credits have to be given to the chef who came up with the audacious creation, but the chilli gravy meant that the crispy pizza was moist and soggy. There’s other interesting new school selections such as the sambal chilli prawn and chilli flakes pork floss pizza.

Wagyu meat balls? Isn’t that a waste of the Japanese beef! I’m never a fan of penne, and this case the pasta was a bit over-cooked. But somehow I got hooked to the fulsome tomato sauce in the Rigatoni ($18)

When we were browsing through the menu, I knew we had to order the Crispy Duck Confit ($24). One of the things that I always lamented about, was the lack of duck dishes in restaurants, there’s nothing like a good duck confit to make you happy all day! The duck confit here was a lot smaller than expected, and while I tried very hard to convince myself this will be good, but it wasn’t. The lack of the crispy skin and the dry duck meat – let’s just say I had better duck confit elsewhere.

I thoroughly enjoyed the steak fries that came along with the Country style baby back ribs ($24), but the portions of the ribs were not as hearty as I would like it to be. Come on, give me a full rack, I can finish it!

Did I tell you how I like the way District 10 presented their fish and chips on the old-fashioned newspaper? And how excited I got when I saw peas (yes green peas) served along side the chunky fries and beer battered fish? Fish & chips is all about the crispy battered fish, the thick-slab of fries, with tartar sauce and green peas! I couldn’t remember much of the beer-infused taste in the soggy buttered crust though. But everything’s forgiven with the fresh fillet, and not to mention I totally adored the way they dressed up the fish & chips ($19).

I was tempted to order the beef burger but reckoned that we should save some room for the many desserts that were coming up. And luckily among the six of us that night, there’s four desserts enthusiasts, so we ordered almost everything from their dessert menu. The tiramisu ($9) caught my eye immediately, I’m a sucker of the Italian dessert and all of them tasted good to me.

The American Bramley apple pie ($9) was sweet-licious too. We ignored the accompanying butterscotch set cream and attacked the crusty apple pie. Every mouthful was filled with delightful apple flavour.

This wasn’t the typical heavy type, you know the thing about cheesecake; it’s the kind where you either love it or hate it. For those who preferred the creamy texture, this was a no-no, while for those who enjoyed the light airy cheesecake, the white chocolate and strawberry cheesecake ($10) will be the one for you.

I always wanted to try profiteroles ($9) and you must thinking how can I have not tried since I absolutely swore by my cream puffs. Taking a spoonful of the choux pastry, I carefully placed it into my mouth, and swoon! At that precise moment, I kicked myself for not knowing you earlier, it was good – it was damn good. If cream puffs with whipped cream is wonderful, imagine what’s it like when there’s ice cream in cream puffs!

For a split second, I thought that my taste bud must have gone haywire as punishment for being a glutton. There’s liqueur taste in creme brulee! But luckily the others reassured me that I’m not the only one who tasted that, there’s really rum-infused with the burnt cream. Traditional creme brulee with Bourbon vanilla & rum ($9).

Oh-oh-oh! the Palvova must be the prettiest among the rest. She’s so sweet, and charmed everyone with her beautiful red coat. You like meringue? You will like her here.

There’s something about old school that’s irresistible to me; the charming environment as though you are taking a trip back in time, with flashbacks of your carefree innocent school days. It was District 10 (by Bonta Italian restaurant) second week of operation when we went, and they were packed full house (160 seaters) on a Tuesday night. That’s something to reckon with! To be frank, there wasn’t any particular memorable dishes which wow me, but the reasonable prices and charming location might just do the trick. I’ll like to thank Hungrygowhere.com for the invitation to the food tasting session.

District 10 Bistro
10 Winstedt road
#01-17
Tel: 6738 4788

There used to be a lord, who claimed his territory at the corner of one-one-seven; the people flocked to him, they worshipped and love all the food that were served, the place was basically packed with crowds every weekends. And as fate has it, the arrival of another overlord meant the decline of the former; the dethrone of the king at Commonwealth drive.

I, see it upon my sworn duties, that I’ll try out all the sweet & sour pork from all the places. And this often leads to disappointment when I couldn’t find one that’s equal to the best which I’ve before, in a deep corner of my memories.

The sambal kangkong was surely one of the weapons that the lord would have, to defend himself; red fiery hot and sizzling sambal were commonly associated with a plate of good sambal kangkong, but, I did not called for the fire brigade after having this: it wasn’t shiok enough.

The prawn roll, ngo hiang, or heh zhor; regardless of which name you called it by, was good. Fried till crispy golden brown, dipped into the sweet sauce, the first bite of it was so reminiscent of my childhood.

The butter pork was definitely one of the best, it was slightly sweet, coated with butter powder which had a uncanny resemblance to cheese; taking a bite of the boneless pork meat was a joy.

I love golden mushrooms, there wasn’t much inherited taste on its own; but I couldn’t stop myself from eating more of it. And similarly, there wasn’t anything fanciful about the golden mushrooms beancurd which came strongly recommended by their staff; it was plain tofu, with golden mushrooms in gravy, yet the result of something so simple was so good!

If sambal kangkong was the armour of the lord, then the prawn paste chicken, or Har Cheong Kai, would surely be his sword. But, it seems like a blunt one, the fried chicken lacked the oomph factor.

Note:

(1) The old overlord which I mentioned, was refering to the Hongkong Street zichar stall just at the other corner of block 117; in its heydays, they were full every night, but when I went that time, it was barely half filled. Talk about a reverse of fortune.

(2) If you want to eat at Two Chefs without waiting, you need to get there early, before six thirty. It’s crazy to see people actually queue up for zi-char when there’s other two zi-char stalls around the same area. The burst in popularity could be attributed to the article on the Sunday times which proclaimed Two Chefs as one of the best zi-char stall.

(3) Which brings me to the third point, I think that Two Chefs, is overhyped. The butter pork ribs were excellent, but the other dishes which I’ve tried, they wasn’t really worth the fifteen-minutes walk from Commonwealth mrt. And if you are thinking that’s because I did not order their other signatures, maybe, but they couldn’t give me a plate of good sambal kangkong, or sweet & sour pork.

(4) I do eat zichar and hawker food a lot, the lack of them at my blog was due to the simple reason that I couldn’t even finish blogging on the other posts, so how am i suppose to blog about the numerous hawker food that I tried. I grow up on hawker food too you know.

Two Chefs
Blk 116 Commonwealth Drive
#01-129
Tel: 6472 5361

It was supposed to be January, but it is almost April soon! Well, like they say, better late than never! Forty-four was the magical number this time, and I’m glad to see many of my regulars, and of course our new friends.

Salt & Pepper Calamari

We started with the simple appetiser, but I was too busy running from table to table that the calamari turned cold by the time I returned!

Chicken & Cheese Quesadillas

Dallas signature Quesadillas was one of the dish which I remembered from my previous visit. Tasting almost like a Mexican taco, there was chicken bits soaked with tomato in chicken broth.

Shredded Pork Tacos

Baby Back Pork ribs

There was some confusion when the ribs were served. The three different flavours of Fiery, Alabama & Smoked Hickory BBQ were too alike! Because we did everything in tasting portions, the pork ribs had to be cut and served this way, otherwise we were be there until four.

Dallas Wings

There was some feedback that the wings were too dry and lacked marination.

Tempura Barramundi

Corn & crab fritters

Beef Fajitas with Guacamole & sour cream

Breaded mushrooms

The “twin” brother which looked almost identical to the Corn & Crab Fritters.

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A total number of 44 people turned up for this LIC food outing, thank you everyone! Like I’ve mentioned, there will be no date announced yet for the next lic food outing, I will try to organise it soon, so see you next time! I’ll also like to thank Jason, the owner for Dallas for hosting us.

I will be adding the group photos to my Facebook page later. Do add me there to see the photos!

Read about my previous visit to Dallas here.
And Catherine @ Camemberu
Julia @ AromaCookery
Fen @ Sgdessert
Keropok man @ Singapuradailymakanphoto

Dallas Restaurant & Bar
31 Boat Quay
Boat Quay Conservation area
Tel: 6532 2131
Website: http://www.dallas.sg/

Strolling down the Singapore River, we found ourselves mesmerised by the scenery, the cool evening air, the group of angmohs enjoying some beer before the sun sets, and the occasional harass from a few of the “eateries” which touted free drinks to entice us.

History has it that this beautiful watershed was the place where the myths and legends conjured up memories of the lighters, bumboats, tongkangs with their painted eyes to see the danger ahead and sampans of yesteryear. This is the place where the Chinese, Malay, and Indian once lived. This is the the place where Sir Stamford Raffles once sailed through to land on Singapore.

The charming Boat quay offers a magnificent view of the Singapore River, with the Fullerton hotel as the backdrop, and the towering skyscrapers in the buzzing CDB just behind. Since the area is famous for its vibrant night life, one will certainly not associate the place with food, I had the same impression, that is, until I visited Dallas restaurant.

Entering the second level, it was a complete stunner as we experienced the hundred & eighty change in environment. From the blasting pub, we stepped into a room befitting of a semi-formal dining restaurant. With nice furnitures, carpeting, and  the natural lighting from the windows, this room was ideal for a quiet and romantic dinner.

And if you think that is the end, you are in for a surprise. The bar and restaurant concept was fully displayed in the third level of Dallas. With a slightly tone down attitude compared with the second level, this one was all about the causal and relax approach for a hearty dinner. And the smoothing lounge music overhead certainly helps too.

To begin the long dinner which we realised in the aftermaths, lasting almost three hours, we started off with the Dallas platter ($12 for 2 person). The succulent mushroom immediately made an impact as the juices gushed out when we took a bite.

Chicken wings, and the Cheese Quesedillas completes the platter. There wasn’t anything extraordinary about the wings, but the garlic mayonnaise that came along was everything about garlic. On the other hand, the popular cheese quesedillas fared reasonably on my score sheet. Tasting almost like a Mexican taco, there was chicken bits soaked with tomato in chicken broth, but I lamented the fact that it wasn’t cheesy enough.

My dining companion is a big fan of prawns, and the Salad of green mango & prawns ($16) definitely worked its magic. While I felt prices did seem slightly steep for a bowl of greens, but there was a generous portions of the fresh & juicy prawns. And the crisp, tart green mango reminded me of the refreshing Thai-style salad.

Our first main course was the BBQ Barramunudi fillet ($20), one of Dallas’s signature dish. The watercress that accompanied the dish caught my attention, since it wasn’t that common to see this vegetable as a choice of green for salad.

Gigantic, huge, enormous are probably some of the terms you will link the baby back ribs ($22 for 1/2 rack, $28 for full rack) with. I’m a sucker for pork ribs, and the sight of this ginormous baby aroused the carnivore in me. Man, I can still clearly recalled the sweet and juiciness of the ribs now, and if it wasn’t for the fact that we had other food after this, I’ll gladly go for the full ribs instead.

I could only stared at the Tenderloin with shitake mushroom sauce ($28) when it arrived. Being almost full by the previous ribs, the thickness of the steak did shocked me for a bit. While some people would insist on medium well to prevent seeing red, I felt that it would not do any justice to the piece of tender meat.

Medium rare it is.

By the time the Roast chicken and Penne pasta ($16) navigated its way to our table, we were completely stuffed by the multi course dinner. Nonetheless, we did a sampling, and since I’m not a fan of penne, maybe it wouldn’t be a completely fair comment. I found the pasta pretty plain in taste, but the restaurant manager Kenneth, told us that it was a favourite among his angmoh customers, Acquired taste perhaps. And not to forget the roast chicken did wonders for me, it was akin to our roast pork, or more affectionately known as, sio bak.

We were told frankly by the manager that Dallas is still working on their desserts, and there was nothing to rave about. But being the dessert enthusiats we were, a meal wouldn’t be complete without any sweets, so we decided to go for the Dallas Cheesecake ($8). It could be due to the fact that we had zero expectations, the cheesecake actually didn’t turn out to be as bad as we thought. We couldn’t resist the rich and cheesy dessert. But for the price, I wouldn’t exactly recommend trying the desserts, just get another appetiser!

Dallas Restaurant & Bar stands out as one of the few gems among the food outlets in Boat Quay. I certainly changed my mind about the impression I had of the area, and Dallas proves that there can be a good place for you to dine and drink at the same time. Their set lunches are pulling in all the office crowds, with the 2 course lunch at $18++, and 3 course dinner at $28++.

I would like to thank Rayner from creative partner for inviting me for this food tasting session, and Kenneth the restaurant manager for hosting us for dinner. And oh yes, for you guys who are looking for a venue to have your birthday bash, or a group outing, Dallas has their function room on the third level with a private bar, and a balcony for this. For more information, email to events@dallas.sg

Dallas Restaurant & Bar
31 Boat Quay
Boat Quay Conservation area
Tel: 6532 2131
Website: http://www.dallas.sg/

There are a few things in life which you can never forget. Your first love, the first time flying on a plane, the wonderful taste of food, and of course, my first visit to the prestigious 6 Star St Regis Hotel, and not to mention, the most expensive and excellent dim sum that I’ve there.

I can never forget the taste of Peking duck after trying it for the first time a couple of years back. The perfectly crispy skin with a thin layer of fats beneath. Yan Ting’s Crispy Peking duck ($60 whole duck) served with traditional condiments arrived within minutes after making our order. Instead of wrapping in the typical pancake, the chef decided to use flour skin instead.

Like the usual practice for Peking duck, the remainder of the meat was done in other methods. The one that we had was diced duck meat, which came across as salty. It would be a great compliment with a bowl of white rice, but other than that, there wasn’t much hint of the duck meat. I wondered where the rest of the duck meat actually went. And the second serving ($27) came at a cost of 3 bucks per head.

While I didn’t try any “San Bei Ji”, or claypot chicken with basil & golden garlic ($20 for medium serves 4) before, the rendition here was satisfying. The fragrance of the meat announced the arrival of the dish, the chicken was tender, with some fatty meat and the tasty sauce was the icing on the cake, or rather chicken.

The question mark on my face was evident when I couldn’t figure out what the vegetable on the table was. I was told, the Dou Bei ($26 for medium serves 4) was the superior cousin of the more common Dou Miao. An expensive plate of greens this was, for the seemingly average taste of the vegetables.

We also tried the Crispy garlic pork ($28 for medium serves 4). The pork ribs were crispy, and had a strong garlic taste. The dish also came across as a tad salty. Nonetheless, we dutifully whipped clear the plate of the ribs.

I can never forget my penchant for cod fish. Taking a bite of the Deep Fried Cod Fillet coated with Crispy Cereal ($28), the fish immediately melt-in-the-mouth, with the cereal giving an added crunch. There’s barely enough for all of us a piece each.

I ain’t a big fan of scallop, so this line could be pretty bias. The Pan Seared Scallop filled with Shrimp Mousse ($32 for medium serves 4) was big in size indeed. However, the scallop was overwhelmed by the strong shrimp mousse taste.

I can never forget my mother’s rendition of French bean. I’m of the belief that simplicity is beauty. Using garlic to stir fried the vegetables can always bring out the fragrance of the garlic without covering the freshness of the greens. So I was rather sceptical initially when i saw the Wok Fried French Bean with Minced Pork and Chilli ($20 for medium serves 4). But it did proved me wrong with the wok hei of the beans. And the minced pork didn’t complicate the taste.

Instead of the typical deep fried prawn with mango, the Deep Fried Prawn filled with Fresh Mango ($36 for medium serves 4) came with a twist. Prawns and mangos were wrapped in beancurd skin, and deep fried. To be frank, I dislike beancurd skins, especially those served during dim sum. But this one was decent, the mango could be sweeter though.

With the name Chef Chan Signature Baked Spring Onion Chicken ($28 for medium serves 4), the dish certainly was bundled with expectations. You can’t go wrong ordering the signature dishes, or so it seems. The chicken was plain ordinary, and definitely didn’t warrent the hefty price tag.

I can never forget the best char siew sou ($1.8 per piece) I had before, from Yan Ting of course. Dim sum is not served during dinner, but we made a request to the manager, who to our delight, agreed to ask the chef to make it for us specially. Maybe we were saddled by the huge expectation that we had, but we are guessing it’s most probably because of the shorter baking time, that the char siew sou didn’t turn out to be as good as before. Nonetheless, it was good of the restaurant to do it specially for us, and I’ll be back again for it.

Total bill was $362.85 for 9 person, after a 25% discount using the Astor card. This came up to about $40 per person, which was totally cheaper than what we expected. And if we didn’t drink tea ($40), and no desserts ($48), the add up will probably be around $283 or $30 per head. With the ambience of the place, the prestige of the restaurant, and the decent quality of the food, the price was definitely reasonable. I’ll definitely be coming back for their dim sum, Yan Ting IV. There are a few things in life, which you can never forget after all.

Read about my dim sum visit to Yan Ting here
& Yan Ting snowskin mooncake here

Yan Ting
29 Tanglin Road
The St Regis
Tel: 6506 6888

Yan Ting is listed as one of ladyironchef’s favorite restaurants in Singapore

The inconspicuous location, the quaint ambience, the welcoming services, the unpretentious food, just like how I remembered it. The perfect place for spending the last minutes of the year, away from the world.

What a way to end off our year with a bang! The Oven-baked barbecue pork ribs ($24.90) were unbelievable; gigantic was the portions, and the price value. The lovely couple, steak fries and mesculun mix. I like the fries for the generous cut, and my friend enjoyed the greens without any heavy dressings.

As the salmon steak wasn’t available that night, my date chose the Salmon & crab meat spaghetti ($15.90). I had it the last time too. A lone slice of salmon, with novelty points for the clever inclusion of crab meat. 

The panna cotta purists would surely be disappointed by the Panacotta with mocha sauce ($6). The texture wasn’t firm and bouncy. But if you looked at the dessert from the pudding point of view, the smooth and light taste was well complimented by the mocha sauce.

The authenticity of the Italian Cassata cake ($6) was questioned by my friend. Since the traditional dessert is essentially a round sponge cake with layers of gelato. Nonetheless, Neapolitan ice cream with candied. Well, ice cream is ice cream after all, your happy booster.

Bistro One Zero Three
103 Pasir Panjang road
Tel: 6476 6373

They have been away for a long time now; the feel, touch, sight, smell were always in their mind, but its gradually fading away with each day passed. How they wished they could be back, but reality often gets the better of man. He missed the food, while she yearned for the familiar environment.

It struck them after entering the place, the comfortable and cozy environment, just like home. Jia Wei restaurant. How apt.

To have Christmas without the festive turkey and ham (both sets), it’ll be like to have the Mid-autumn festival without the mooncakes, or going through Halloween without pumpkins. He found the meat was too tough and dry, while there was the wasabi sauce, it was insufficient and wasabi didn’t exactly compliment the turkey meat well. Luckily there was the fresh fruits salad to save the day.

The highlight of the menu will definitely be Jia Wei Superior Shark’s Fin soup (Festive cheers menu) in hot stone pot. Thick and generous portions are discovered, the excitement just like discovering a treasure cove. The hot stone pot played a vital role in keeping the rich stock base warm and nice, a notable fact after they tried the other shark’s fin soup which wasn’t served in the stone pot. This bowl of treasure will most likely cost you a bomb if you have it elsewhere, but at Jia Wei, they do it cheap and good, its available on their a la carte menu too. Eating a Chinese delicacy for a frosty Christmas, the thought of home seem so far away.

While the superior shark’s fin soup with Conpoy (Christmas glow menu) offered the same ingredients as the previous one in hotpot, but the differential in price obviously meant that the higher priced festive cheers menu had slightly more shark’s fin. This one was lukewarm by the time they started eating, while the hot stone pot one remained piping hot. The dumpling-wannabe actually had water chestnut, vegetarian mushrooms and crab rob.

The layer of fats aroused her inner feelings. There was a struggle to ignore the calories and enjoyed the bliss. The grilled special rack of lamb (Festive cheers menu) made her succumb to temptation. If they were not to mention anything, you’ll never know the use of Chinese wine, together with a bit of Japanese Sake created a wonderful sauce which covered the usual strong lamb/mutton smell. Without the fats, the rack of lamb wouldn’t be as good, since they largely contributed the tenderness to the overall taste. And, the sweetness of the meat was actually extracted by chewing and sucking the bones. Sinful, yet so good!

One of the dish which he missed a lot from home was pork. The pan-fried fillet of pork spare-rib (Christmas glow menu) was exactly what he needed to satisfy his needs and homesickness. The special seasoning was very peculiar, the inital guess of fruits were proven wrong. Done in Japanese style, the sauce was slightly sweet and sour, which provided a tangy robust taste. The pork was pan-fried that the crispy layer was just right for the meat. It was very delicious. The downside? Portions were dainty considering it’s the main course.

While the braised bai ling mushroom with broccoli (Festive cheers menu) was what his mother used to prepare, he didn’t quite enjoyed the dish since the overall taste was a tad too subtle for his liking. Yes, although this vegetables dish was supposed to be light since the previous few dishes were rather strong in flavour, so i guess its more of different taste buds.

The similar dish on the Christmas glow menu, braised dry scallop with sea cucumber and bamboo piths. The vegetables were fresh, but being neither a fan of scallop nor sea cucumber, they didn’t know how to appreciate it.

There’s reasons for relatives to look alike. Was it baby lobster? Or is it crayfish? Gosh, wait a minute, it does rather looks like a big prawn instead! The home-made noodles were springy and smooth to the palate. The big prawns were fresh and succulent. But, there’s always the big BUT to look out for. Having used stock base for the Shark’s fin, the vegetables dish, and now the noodles. They couldn’t finish the home-made noodles with prawn (both sets) because the excess usage of stock base did seem a bit too much.

The simple, yet refreshing chilled lemon jelly (Festive cheers menu) was definitely a welcoming dessert. With the robust lemon sorbet, and the light lemon jelly, the all-lemon combination provided a sweet ending to the Christmas feast.

On the other hand, there’s the chilled mango pudding (Christmas glow menu) which wasn’t as good as it lacked the bouncy and chewy texture that a good pudding should have.The whole mango flavour was also not very strong, but you’ve to give credits to them for making the mango pudding so pretty.

The oriental Christmas feast at Jia Wei brought them closer to home, and the whole meal took 3 half hours to complete.

Christmas Glow ($78++)
Festive turkey, ham and fresh fruits salad
Superior Shark’s fins soup with conpoy
Pan-fried fillet of pork spare-rib with special sauce
Braised dry scallop with sea cucumber and bamboo piths
Homemade noodles with prawn and conpoy
Chilled mango pudding

Festive Cheers ($98++)
Festive turkey, ham and fresh fruits salad
Jia Wei superior Shark’s fin soup in hot stone pot
Grilled special rack of lamb with Chinese wine
Braised bai ling mushroom with broccoli
Homemade noodles with prawn and conpoy
Chilled lemon jelly

Enjoy a 30% discount on the Christmas feast from Monday to Thursday, except on 24, 25, 31 Dec 2008 & 1 Jan 2009. This was an invited food tasting session, I’ll like to thank Keane and Shu Ling representing Grand Mercure Roxy hotel for being a wonderful host. I’ll also like to take the chance to praise Jia Wei’s assistance manager, Jessica who was very professional and knowledgeable about the cuisines. And also to my dining companion for being a good company (you know who you are).

Read Camemberu review on the Christmas feast here
Hisfoodblog review here
and my previous visit to Feast @ East

Jia Wei Chinese restaurant
Level 2 Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel
50 East Coast road, Roxy Square
(Opp parkway parade)
Tel: 6340 5678