Pre-made beef patties might have been a bit of a letdown in my first encounter with HANS IM GLĂCK burgers, but I had a pretty satisfying time somehow.
Their Alsdann (S$17.00) was a beef burger with chunks of grilled pear, mild blue cheese sauce and walnuts, giving the ordinary burgers different flavours and textures. With the choice of a sourdough bun, I was surprised that it was soft to the chew, so that more attention could be given to what was in-between.
On top of the mains, I topped up another S$5.00 and got myself a set that included a side dish (their fries were awesome with those self-serve bottles of sauces on the table), an iced thirst quencher and a hot beverage, making the add-on worth the buck for sure. Definitely a good experience that made this place deserving for a return visit, and hopefully I would reserve a spot that could catch the service crewâs attention a bit easier.
The latest wave of new drinks from Starbucks seemed to be much inspired by some Japanese vibes. Of the three beverages, the Okinawa Brown Sugar Latte (S$7.60 for a Tall size) was the coffee based drink that added some Brown Sugar syrup and sauce in place of the regular sugar syrup.
The coffee tasted like it was only supplemented with a different type of syrup. On the whole, if the Okinawa Brown Sugar wasnât something that you were paying much attention to, then this drink might not be that special to you.
One of the more popular dishes at Rice-O-Bistro was their Wafu Seafood Pasta (S$14.90), a Japanese twist to our familiar main course. Moving away from heavy or rich sauce bases, this dish focused on tossing garlic and other Japanese condiments to bring out the flavours of seaweed and fresh tiger prawns.
But what I really thought was a pleasant surprise was their addition of coriander into the dish, which helped to neutralise the savoury profile of the dish by a bit. The funny thing was I did not realise I was enjoying the coriander until I was more than halfway into the dish.
With the flying fish roe that created more crunchy bites, I would say that this meal was hearty for lunch, and I could order this again for my return visit soon.
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After my previous visit, the chef of Rice-O-Bistro decided to make some modification to the rice bowls, and added more flavour to it by mixing with dried shrimp, mushrooms and garnishing, making the rice taste a little like a quick-fry glutinous rice. By doing so, it had definitely also added some dimension to the ingredient-packed rice bowls.
Under the personal invitation to try out the revamped menu, I tried the Salmon Bowl (S$14.90), which had a slice of grilled Atlantic salmon with Teriyaki sauce, flying fish roe, shredded seaweed carrots and pickled Daikon radish. In this bowl, there was no bland moment because every ingredient contributed some unique flavours to the bowl, which was best eaten after thoroughly mixing like a Bibimbap.
Portion-wise, some might argue that there might not be sufficient rice to keep them full, but this could be a healthy option for those who needed a carb-controlled diet.
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While Ah Heng Curry Chicken Bee Hoon Mee could be found in more than one location in Singapore, it was actually my first time patronising this stall and eating it for breakfast.
I knew there were many Michelin-endorsed food stalls housed in this food centre, but I would suppose this one, in particular, stood out with flavoursome curry that was not as dense as Laksa, forming a bath for the noodles and silky chicken with Tau Pok, sliced fish cake and curry potato. With a very swift set of movement, the cook scooped and drained the curry from the bowl a couple of times before finally serving the dish, with the plating of the bowl kept intact. Skilful!
A S$6.00 medium bowl of this was definitely worth the try!
Most people would love a sumptuous meal at a hotel buffet during the festive season, for the spread would include things like roast turkey, roasted beef and other festive delicacies like fruit cake and stuff.
But these were just one part of what M Hotelâs CafĂ© 2000 had to offer in their Festive Seafood Extravaganza Buffet, available from 24 November to 30 December 2019. Having the table reservation through Eatigo, two persons could get up to 50% discount to the usual price of S$78.00 per pax. Much of the items there would include seafood, but I also saw many people swarming the buffet line for satays and other meat items. And then, I realised that it was actually very gratifying to scoop lots of Durian Pengat into a coffee mug, and eat it like a boss.
While it might be quite a value-for-money thing to book a table via Eatigo, I was a bit turned off by the way the diners wiped out the more popular items by forming mountains of food on their own plate. As much as food was replenished quite promptly, it could only mean that one would either need to stay vigilant to watch what was being topped up from afar, or that he would just have to approach the buffet line like a typical âkiasuâ Singaporean. And because the restaurant appeared to be fully booked, the crowd could have taken away any peace and quiet ambience if that was to be expected.
Most people would love a sumptuous meal at a hotel buffet during the festive season, for the spread would include things like roast turkey, roasted beef and other festive delicacies like fruit cake and stuff.
But these were just one part of what M Hotelâs CafĂ© 2000 had to offer in their Festive Seafood Extravaganza Buffet, available from 24 November to 30 December 2019. Having the table reservation through Eatigo, two persons could get up to 50% discount to the usual price of S$78.00 per pax. Much of the items there would include seafood, but I also saw many people swarming the buffet line for satays and other meat items. And then, I realised that it was actually very gratifying to scoop lots of Durian Pengat into a coffee mug, and eat it like a boss.
While it might be quite a value-for-money thing to book a table via Eatigo, I was a bit turned off by the way the diners wiped out the more popular items by forming mountains of food on their own plate. As much as food was replenished quite promptly, it could only mean that one would either need to stay vigilant to watch what was being topped up from afar, or that he would just have to approach the buffet line like a typical âkiasuâ Singaporean. And because the restaurant appeared to be fully booked, the crowd could have taken away any peace and quiet ambience if that was to be expected.
It was yet another dining option for the shoppers and office workers of Novena Square, as Song Fa Bak Kut Teh made the best no-frill Pork Ribs Soup (S$9.80 for Large) available in the Novena area. The large portion came with five pieces of tender pork ribs, good for those who wanted more meat to the meal, and still spend less than getting their Premium Loin Ribs.
If the dinner was not hearty enough for you for any reason, do ask the staff to refill the soup bowl with their rich peppery soup to your heartâs content. This brought so much warmth especially on a rainy day.
Some desire for a white Christmas? Blackball had just brought back their Milky Lollies Soft Serve (S$4.50), or what was more colloquially termed as âWhite Rabbit Candy ice creamâ.
What was said to be different from its first version which was launched a couple of months ago, was that the sweetness of the soft serve was moderated, so that it was not plainly sugar. I found that while the flavours were milder than before (though I could not really draw an accurate comparison because I had not tried the last round), it might actually come across as less distinct from the regular vanilla flavour ice-cream we could find out there. But one thing I was certain was that the creaminess if the soft serve was definitely on point, so it would still be worth a try to reconnect with that childhood candy.
#BurppleEatup
Operated by a bunch of young, talented bakers, SCRATCH Bakeshop sold a variety of sweets, from cupcakes (S$4.00), cakes and cheesecakes (S$6.50), tarts (S$5.00) to large cookies (S$3.00). They also had a couple of tables outside their shop for diners who had time to sit down and chill over some cakes and tea.
And that was exactly what I did on a Friday afternoon, while enjoying the December breeze under the shady part of the building, having a pot of tea (S$4.50) with a Choc Caramel Beschuit Cupcake and a Lemon Meringue Tart.
The cupcake was kind of cutesy-looking, with what seemed like a caramel cookie butter filling, buttercream and crushed beschuit sprinkles on the top. I would have liked more filling to for a more elevated sweetness to it. Or maybe they were secretly wishing for me not to just stop at one?
As for the Lemon Meringue Tart, I felt that they managed to grasp the right level of flavour, but it would have been nice if the tart shell was just a little thinner, so that it could hold a little more lemon curd to be proportionate with the amount of meringue piped on it. But I must say I quite liked the texture of the baked meringue â definitely a light amount of sweetness!
Taking over the previous site of Edwin and Cooks was Rice-O-Bistro, which currently served mostly rice mains and some appetisers (more main courses were said to be rolled out closer to Christmas period).
The Truffle Yakiniku (S$12.90) was a fusion Donburi that came with a rice base, complete with pan-seared Brazil beef sirloin, a sunny-side-up, carrot, cooked cabbage and sautéed Shimeji mushroom, before garnished with spring onion, seaweed and the Truffle Shoyu. While the essence of each ingredient complemented one another in this bowl, it was best enjoyed by stirring up everything in the bowl so you would get an even taste and flavour profile for it as a whole.
Sadly, there was one thing that did not work too well for me today, and that was the rice. Perhaps I marked my expectation too high, but I was hoping that the rice was cooked more consistently, as within the same bowl I had some undercooked rice and some soggy clusters too. I did hope that they pull their socks up in the consistency, as there were already a couple of Japanese restaurants in the vicinity, let alone restaurants itself, if they would wish to stand out from the crowd.
They had some seats along the corridor right outside their restaurant, and an indoor dining area which took up the whole of one unit, but subjected to availability if they would have a private event ongoing.
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For S$30.00, the Wagyu Cube Steak seemed to be a great dish for one or for sharing. Basically the steak was done in such a way that they managed to trap a lot of juiciness within from the high-heat grilling, before they were served with fried garlic chips and brown sauce, both of which add dimension to the already awesome meat.
When it was a sharing dish, I caught myself popping it into my mouth quite involuntarily, and that did not end even with the âpaisehâ piece left. Oops!
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