Kopi Tiam

16th December, Wednesday

Prawn Noodle Soup

The noodles and ingredients were all okay, especially the prawns, which were cut, deshelled and cleaned nicely (it's a hotel restaurant after all). But the prawns weren't really sweet, and the soup wasn't really tasty. It didn't have the thick taste of prawn heads, but tasted as if it needed some help from MSG.

V's verdict: 6/10

Prego

12th November, Thursday

Pappardelle Sugo Di Salsicci

Ribbon pasta with mushrooms, minced meat, and cream sauce. First time I tried it, and I thought it was pretty good. The cream was just nice, not as heavy as their Carbonara's. The mushrooms and other ingredients were fresh too. $26

V's verdict: 7.5/10

Stock Pot

6th November, Friday

Boston Clam Chowder


This wasn't very good, in my opinion. The clams tasted weird and stale, and the soup just didn't have the natural seafood taste. $7.90 .

V's verdict: 6/10
K's verdict: 6.5/10

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

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

Fountain Terrace

10th September, Thursday

Came to Suntec during lunchtime for Comex, so me and my colleagues grabbed a hasty lunch at Fountain Terrace.

Claypot curry chicken with rice (合利)

This was quite all right. The fact that it was extremely hot (heat, not spicy) helped to make it taste better. And it didn't have a thick layer of oil on top, unlike many other curry chicken dishes elsewhere.

V's verdict: 6.5/10

Prego

1st September, Tuesday

Prego was surprisingly crowded during lunchtime today. Normally I don't have to make reservations and the restaurant will still be less than half-filled, but today it was totally full and I had to wait almost half an hour for a table.

Spaghetti ala Carbonara

So far this is still the best carbonara pasta I have ever tasted. Some may find it too creamy and filling, but which carbonara isn't creamy and filling? The cream was tasty but not overall thick, the bacon was great, and overall this dish rocks. $24

V's verdict: 8/10

Plaza Market Cafe

24th August, Monday

Apparently they just changed their buffet spread... along with their prices. The price was reduced, but the discount from the Feed at Raffles card was also reduced to 25% for 2 people. My guess is that too many people have the Feed at Raffles card, so they are now trying to balance and find a compromise between normal customers and AMEX customers.

The salmon sashimi was still okay. The other more commendable dishes were their laksa, sambal kang kong, durian pengat, and ice cream (especially yam). The following were average - stir fried pork, stir fried beef, crab meat soup, winter melon soup, and long beans with lemak.

And the remaining dishes sucked - fried hokkien mee and fish & meat ball soup. The latter was so bland that my first thought was, "did he give me the water used to cook the noodles as soup?" It's basically hot water! They had 2 hot desserts which were not hot at all, and were all stuck together.

Disappointed. Even with the 25% discount (around $51 for 2 pax) it was still totally not worth it. Heck, it's still not worth it even with 50% discount.

V's verdict: 5/10

O'Briens Sandwich Irish Bar

21st August, Friday

Had a concert to watch at 730pm, so we grabbed a quick dinner at O'Briens (Citylink Mall outlet).

O'Briens Triple Decker

As shown in the picture, it comes with chips. Fillings include the usual tomatoes and lettuce, and chicken and bacon. This was quite good, actually. The proportions was done just nice, and the sauce was also added in the right amount, such that the sandwich wasn't too wet or too dry.

The only drawback was that the counter staff took forever to prepare this sandwich. $10.90

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

The Global Kitchen

5th August, Wednesday

A buffet restaurant at the 3rd floor of Pan Pacific Hotel.

The food there was not bad, especially their meats. Their roast chicken and duck were quite good for a buffet restaurant, and their sausages were fantastic!

They had a Japanese corner, but a pity they didn't serve sashimi. There was sushi and tempura (prawn, lady's finger, mushroom) and some other stuff, which were decent. Oh, the teriyaki beef was good!

Desserts lacked variety, but there's ice cream so it's enough for me.

V's verdict: 7/10
K's verdict: 7.5/10

Kopi Tiam

30th July, Thursday

No, this is not a normal kopi tiam along the street. It's the Kopi Tiam at Swissotel The Stamford.

Curry chicken
The scoring point of this was that there was very little oil on top of it. The curry was thick and tasty, but not hot enough for me. The chicken was quite good, but the potatoes were a bit dry. $16.50

V's verdict: 7.5/10

Chen Fu Ji Noodle House

25th July, Saturday

Most well known for their fried rice, though I have never tried it before. RBS was having a 1-for-1 promotion for its noodles, so we took up this offer.

Pork rib noodles

The soup was not bad and had a herbal tinge to it. But the pork ribs had the frozen taste and tasted horrible. $9.80, inclusive of GST

V's verdict: 5.5/10
K's verdict: 6/10


Beef noodles

The soup was quite okay, though there's no trace of the herbal taste inside. The beef was so-so, but at least it didn't have the frozen taste like the pork ribs. $9.80, inclusive of GST

V's verdict: 6/10
K's verdict: 7/10

Stock Pot

24th July, Friday

Had a quick dinner here before the concert at Esplanade. It's probably a rip-off of Soup Spoon, but the soups here were not bad.

Creamy Lobster & Crab Bisque


This was quite good for the price. The taste was quite strong, though not as good as Canopy's. But for $7.90, I am not complaining.

V's verdict: 7.5/10
K's verdict: 7/10


Mushroom Ragout

This wasn't as strong as Soup Spoon's. You could say that it's a lighter version, but I still prefer Soup Spoon's. K thinks that Soup Spoon's is too heavy and filling though and prefers this.

V's verdict: 6.5/10
K's verdict: 8/10

Pastamania

21st July, Tuesday

I haven't visited Pastamania for ages. Came with 2 of my colleagues today, and all 3 of us ordered the same dish, Al Funghi. A simple cream pasta with mushrooms. Quite all right, though Modesto's is a bit better. Of course, this was much cheaper. $7.90, inclusive of GST

V's verdict: 6.5/10

Equinox

20th July, Monday

Semi buffet style; one main course and buffet.

Char grilled beef onglet

I dunno what an "onglet" is. When I asked the waiter, he said it's a kind of beef cut. Yeah, like that helps. Dictionary.com referred me to hanger steak, and the definition is:

"a cut of beef similar to flank or skirt steak in texture and rib-eye in flavor and from the diaphragm that hangs between the last rib and the loin; also called hanging tender, butcher's steak, [butcher's tenderloin], onglet"

The beef lacked a bit of the natural flavour, so it was only average. It was done just nice; not too cooked and not too raw, so that managed to save it some marks. I didn't mind it being a bit more rare, though.

As for the buffet, they shifted the foie gras into the kitchen, so you have to order from the waiter instead of queuing and asking the chef to fry it. They said it was because of the smell. True enough, the smell of pan fried foie gras is very strong and fills up the whole place.

The foie gras wasn't too good today. It wasn't juicy enough; perhaps it was a tad overdone? But the oysters and crab were excellent! I seldom see such fat and fresh oysters in Singapore. Their parsnip soup was not bad.

Salmon sashimi wasn't as good as before, but still decent. For dessert I mainly had ice cream, so I was pretty contented. $59

V's verdict:
6.5/10 (beef)
7/10 (buffet)

Empire Cafe

23rd June, Tuesday

First time I tried this. The inner layout of the restaurant looked so much like Seah Street Deli (also in Raffles Hotel).

Fried hokkien mee

This cost me $18, but at least I had my AMEX card, which gave me 50% off. It didn't taste very good actually. It was a bit too bland, and the chilli wasn't very good too, so even after mixing it in, it failed to help much.

V's verdict: 6/10

Hog's Breath Cafe

20th June, Saturday

Had a class gathering at Hog's Breath Cafe at Chijmes. It's an Australian steakhouse that is supposedly more well known for steaks (duh), but I ordered fish instead. The steaks my mother buy and prepare herself taste so much better than outside steaks, and only cost a fraction! From what my friends say, I think the steaks weren't anything special anyway.

Battered Fish Dinner

Nothing special; it's just like a normal Fish and Chips. The corn was hard and dry. The curly fries were good, though!

V's verdict: 6.5/10

Prego

19th June, Friday

I came to Prego again because I was craving for their Carbonara pasta, but was told that during this whole Asian Youth Games period, they wouldn't be serving pork. Sigh. So my friend and I settled for something else instead.

Tagliolini al nero di seppia, gamberotti e salsa arrabbiata

Translation: Homemade squid ink tagliolini tossed with tiger prawns, chilli, and basil tomato salsa.

Initially I was worried that the squid ink will stain my teeth, but it didn't. The texture felt a bit like Japanese soba, and was actually quite delicious. The sauce was well balanced too; the tomato sauce wasn't overpowering. There was a generous serving of big prawns (too many for me, in fact). Nice! $30

V's verdict: 8/10


Polletto alla griglia, salsa al limone e verdure di campagna

Translation: Roasted free-range baby chicken served with green asparagus, farm-grown vegetables, lemon and extra virgin olive oil salsa.

This was not bad. The breast meat was very tender. It wasn't very juicy, but it wasn't too dry either. The skin was a bit crispy. On the whole, I think it was a tad overdone, but still quite good nevertheless. $33

V's verdict: 7/10

Prego

15th June, Monday

An Italian restaurant at Fairmont Hotel. My AMEX card gives me a 50% discount if I were to dine here with one more person, so it's very worth it.

Vitello tonnato e giadiniera ortolana



This is basically poached veal salad. The ham-like meat at the bottom of the dish is the poached veal, and beneath that is a layer of tuna. Nothing special with the poached veal and tuna. The sauce was a bit too sour for me, so I didn't really enjoy this dish.

V's verdict: 5.5/10


Manzo alla salvia con patate artosto



Roasted ribeye. This didn't look too appetizing, I must admit. But it turned out ok. I asked for it to be medium rare, but was told that since it is roasted, it can only be well done. Oh well.

The meat was a little tough, but still okay for me. Tastewise it was all right too. The potatoes, however, were too dry. Oh, and it wasn't well done, by the way. It was medium well.

V's verdict: 6.5/10