Swensen's

28th October, Wednesday

Swensen's had the 30% discount promotion, so I went to their Bugis Junction outlet with a few of my colleagues.

BBQ half chicken
My first impression when I saw this was: the presentation sucks. They can't even bother to put the chicken in the centre of the plate, or at least spread out the side dishes such that the plate didn't look so empty on one side!

Taste-wise, it was average only. The bbq sauce was decent; the breast meat was quite dry. $14.90

V's verdict: 5.5/10

Choon Seng Seafood (Jalan Riang)

25th October, Sunday

This outlet was located at some obscure place called Jalan Riang. It's actually right smack in the middle of residential landed property, so it's pretty much inaccessible to those without a car, and also pretty much unknown. My parents had eaten at their Bukit Timah outlet and said it was quite good. But the truth is that this outlet seemed to be totally unrelated to the Bukit Timah outlet, because the food were all not up to standard.


Fried sambal kang kong

It's quite easy for this dish to be quite tasty, but this tasted average only. The only good thing was that it wasn't too oily.

V's verdict: 6/10


Beancurd on hot plate (铁板豆腐）

This was average too. Nothing special.

V's verdict: 6/10


Mee Goreng

This was a big disappointment. It had too much gravy and tasted a bit sweet, so the "wok taste" of the mee goreng was gone. The ingredients weren't fresh too and were quite tasteless.

V's verdict: 5/10


Roasted chicken (not in picture)

Instead of saying that the chicken was roasted, I would say that it was deep-fried. Some places were so crispy that the bone could actually be consumed. But the chicken was quite tasteless and didn't have the natural chicken flavour.

V's verdict: 6.5/10


Conclusion? It ain't worth it.

Canopy

25th October, Sunday

Grilled chicken sandwich

The good thing was that they used chicken thigh instead of chicken breast or chicken fillet, so the meat wasn't that dry. However, the chicken itself was tasteless. The sauce was tomato -something; it tasted a quite unique but wasn't that good overall.

V's verdict: 6/10

Pastamania

20th October, Tuesday

Wanted to lunch at Swensen's with my colleagues for the 30% discount, but we arrived at Funan to realise that this particular outlet had closed down. So we settled for Pastamania instead.

Bacon Cheesy Crumble

This dish wasn't on the main menu but on a special menu. The cheese flakes were quite large and were chunky rather than shredded. Cheesy but not too filling, so it was quite all right. $7.40

V's verdict: 6.5/10

Tonkichi

19th October, Monday

The outlet at Shaw House. Most famous for their deep fried pork cutlets. I ordered their ramen set, which consists of a ramen, a katsu, and one more side dish. Everything costs $23. Very filling, I couldn't even finish the ramen.


Tonkotsu ramen

The soup was thick and yet not filling. A marvelous balance! I thought it could be a tad saltier, but my mother found it just nice. The ramen was quite okay, but the char siew had the stale and refridgerator taste.

Finally, it's a pity they gave normal hard boiled eggs. If the eggs were those 'phoenix eggs' where the egg white is cooked but the yolk is still runny, it would be better.

V's verdict: 7/10


Tori karaage

3 pieces of fried chicken. For their skill in deep frying the pork fillet, I am surprised by how poor their chicken is. It's not hot enough, and it's dry.

V's verdict: 5/10


Hire katsu

Ah, what Tonkichi is well known for. Indeed, the pork loin was deep fried just nice - not too oily and yet not too dry. The outer layer was also nice and crisp and didn't ooze oil. And it's a huge portion!

V's verdict: 8/10

Kovan Food Centre

18th October, Sunday

Fried bee hoon (Hup Lee Economical Bee Hoon)

This stall always has a long queue. Well, it is justified. Their fried bee hoon is good and yet not oily. The vegetables weren't good today, though. It was too soft and soggy. Nothing special with the other ingredients. But then, the bee hoon is still the main course here. $2.60 (Bee hoon alone costs $1)

V's verdict: 7.5/10


Pig organs, kway chiap (万 A1 龙)

Well, I don't think I will bother ordering this again. The tau pok was dry and stale, the pork was also dry and hard, and overall it just wasn't tasty.

Also, one irritating thing was that the auntie actually opened the stall without preparing any change. She didn't have any coins at all and demanded me to pay the exact amount! When I gave her $4 (it costs $3.50) she had to exchange with the nearby stall. What sort of stallowner starts business without change? $3.50

V's verdict: 5/10

Canopy

17th October, Saturday

Canopy B.L.T


Just in case you don't know, B.L.T stands for bacon, lettuce, tomato. That pretty much sums up everything about this sandwich. Back bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, and garlic mayo. Quite good, and the portion was just right for breakfast. More garlic mayo could be added, though.

V's verdict: 7.5/10

Sushi Tei (China Square Central)

16th October, Friday

Beef Nabe Shabu Shabu

The menu said that this dish was for 2 to 3 pax, but to me it's definitely 2 pax max. The soup came with lots of mushrooms and vegetables, but the beef? 7 ultra thin slices. How can this be shared among 3 persons?

The soup tasted okay - it tastes healthy because it's basically vegetables, vegetables, and vegetables. The beef was so-so. The sauce they gave to dip was too sour though; I think it's mostly composed of vinegar. $18

V's verdict: 6/10


Deep fried salmon skin

This is my favourite dish at Sushi Tei, but it always gets sold out. Glad that I arrived before 12pm today and could order it. The skin was crispy and delicious, and without too much fish meat such that the crunchiness gets reduced. $4.50

V's verdict: 8.5/10


Ika sushi

Their squid was fresh, but the rice fell apart too easily. $1.80

V's verdict: 7/10

Uncle Sam's Claypot

14th October, Wednesday

Located at Afro-Asia Building, along Robinson Road. They seem to have a pro-elderly culture - practically all their waitresses were aunties! But the way our food was served was quite weird. 3 of us ordered the same dish - boneless chicken claypot. Waitress A came with 2 claypots, but only gave us one. While we were scratching our heads, Waitress B came with one more claypot. And the last claypot took another good 5 minutes to arrive.

Boneless chicken claypot

Well, this was not bad. As promised, the chicken was boneless and quite good - not too dry. The chinese sausages were quite good too, but the mushrooms, albeit juicy, were a little sour. The portions were quite generous. $8

V's verdict: 7/10


Herbal chicken soup

I usually scoff at herbal stuff sold outside because they are always too diluted. But this was quite good. The chicken drumstick was fresh and tender too. $5

V's verdict: 7/10


Duck with salted vegetable soup

Not bad, but nothing special.

V's verdict: 6.5/10

Prego

10th October, Saturday

Lasagne Al Forno

I find Prego's lasagne quite different from other Italian restaurants. The dish is prepared in a way such that it isn't as heavy as normal lasagne - there's not so much cheese that it's too filling, the beef isn't salty but retains its natural beef flavour, and just enough sauce. Nice! $25

V's verdict: 8/10
K's verdict: 7.5/10

Prego pizza

Their signature pizza; it is basically pizza topped with cheese, parma ham, and rocquet. The pizza's crust is the thin kind. I thought this wasn't special at all, actually. $27

V's verdict: 6/10

K's verdict: 7/10

Seah Street Deli

9th October, Friday

Potato Skin

My friend and I were too famished and so ordered this starter... which was a big mistake. For one thing, there was too much potato on the skin, so the skin wasn't as crunchy or crispy as I wished it to be. The cheese they topped it tasted like some cheap and tasteless cheese, and the bacon bits were also quite tasteless.

My impression was that this dish was heated up in the microwave rather than being baked in an oven. $12.65

V's verdict: 4.5/10


BroadWay

A combo of quarter chicken and pork ribs. The ribs were quite all right; the meat was so tender that you could scrap it off the bone with just a spoon. The chicken was good, however. It was baked just right, so that the skin was a bit crispy but the meat was still juicy.

It came with potato wedges which was seasoned with garlic, I think. This was excellent too. $22.55

V's verdict: 8/10


Turkey Burger


It's very easy for turkey to be dry, and this was no exception. The turkey patty was dry, the cheese was the same cheap-tasting cheese, so overall this dish couldn't make it. Fortunately their fries were good.

V's verdict: 5.5/10

Watami

8th October, Thursday

Was recommended here by a colleague, so I came here with my whole team. Watami's main outlet is at ION, and they just opened another one at Central. It's a Japanese casual restaurant.

I must say we were all quite pleased with the food here. Personally, I think they are better than Waraku, and their lunch sets are ridiculously worth it! They all came with a bowl of mini salad and a drink.


Hire Katsu Tamago Toji

This was my main course. It's basically pork cutlets served on a hot plate with some gravy. It came on a mini stove, and I was told that once it started boiling, I could crack the egg in.

This was delicious! The gravy was quite sweet and had onions, and the pork cutlets were done just right - not too dry too. $9.80

V's verdict: 8/10


Ika Maru Yaki


Grilled squid. Delicious! The squid was tender; not too tough and had the right amount of chew in it. It was quite a big portion too, and came with some mayonnaise for dipping. $7.80

V's verdict: 8.5/10

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

7th October, Wednesday

The outlet at Paragon. Before I even comment on the food, I must say I was very disappointed with this outlet. Was led here by a big sign that says "Breakfast served daily". But when I tried to order something, practically everything was sold out. They had around 6 kinds of bread, and all but one was sold out. I tried to order Eggs Ben, but guess what? They are out of sauce. As an outlet in the middle of Orchard Road, how could they allow such things to happen? I don't believe that all their bread ran out at the same time, and that they had no time to order more?

Egg Club Sandwich Set

This was a let-down. The eggs were overdone and the yolk was rock-hard. Fortunately the rest of the sandwich was still okay, but the eggs have done enough damage. $7.80

V's verdict: 5.5/10

Sashimi House Sakuraya

30th September, Wednesday

This Japanese restaurant is located at Anchorpoint.

Oyakodon

I was a bit hesitant in ordering this, because I was afraid that their chicken will have the defrosted taste. Fortunately, there was none of that taste. The chicken was a bit dry though, and the rice could have a bit more gravy and egg, but overall this was still acceptable.

V's verdict: 6/10

An extra point to add - my mother and I had diarrhea after our meal at this restaurant. We ordered different things; the only similar thing we ate was the watermelon that was served with each set. That should be the culprit... maybe their hands weren't clean when they cut the watermelon? Urgh.

Palm's Asian Brasserie

25th September, Friday

Located at Copthorne Orchid Hotel (214 Dunearn Road). Decided to give their buffet breakfast a try; anyway my mother had the a la carte card which gives 50% discount for 2 pax.

One word - disappointing. Practically nothing was good, and they don't even serve normal fried eggs - only scrambled eggs (which wasn't really good either). Only the ham and sausages were still arguably acceptable. Their prata was soggy, and I didn't like the gravy they gave, so that was a thumbs down as well.

V's verdict: 4/10