Food Junction (Junction 8)

9th July, Thursday

Sorry for the lousy pictures... the lighting at the food court was poor.

Curry beef pepper rice (Pepper Lunch Express)

The only difference between this and their normal beef pepper rice is the curry powder on top. Not bad, but I still think the normal version is nicer.

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


Chicken chop (Western Food)

The mushroom soup they gave was horrible. It tasted like... tasteless cream? The garlic bread and coleslaw were decent. The chicken was so-so only. But I must admit, their service was good. Now, if only they can improve on their food...

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

Thye Hong Cafe, Gourmet Corner

13th July, Monday

Wanted to have the sliced fish bee hoon at Thye Hong Cafe, but at 12pm the whole frigging place was full. And there were around 20 people queueing for the sliced fish bee hoon already. -.-

So my colleagues and I decided to da bao instead. Bought sliced fish bee hoon and some roasted meats from the well known stall beside the cafe (Gourmet Corner).


Sliced fish bee hoon (旺盛)

This was not bad, but not as good as the tom yam sliced fish bee hoon I had last time. I am definitely eating the tom yam next time instead. $3.50 + $0.20

V's verdict: 7/10


Roasted meats (Gourmet Corner)

There's also always a long queue at this stall, but they are very efficient (there's 8 people manning the stall!). But it's damn expensive! I told the person "roast duck and roast pork for 3 people" and the cost came up to $25. Goodness!

Interestingly, they only served breast meat for the duck. I think if you want the drumstick, you need to order it specifically. I am sure it will cost a bomb.

The roast duck breast was excellent, I must admit. It was tender; probably the most tender I have ever eaten before. The roast pork was not bad, but not as good as the roast duck.

V's verdict:
8/10 (roast duck)
7/10 (roast pork)

Crystal Jade Kitchen (Junction 8)

12th July, Sunday

Compared to Din Tai Fung, their business isn't really good. At 8pm, there were more than 20 people queueing outside Din Tai Fung, while we got a table immediately at Crystal Jade Kitchen.

Mixed mushrooms with fried beancurd

This was quite good. The fried beancurd was delicious!

V's verdict: 7/10


Vegetables with salted egg and century egg

This was not bad, though I thought the taste of the salted egg didn't really seep into the vegetables and gravy.

V's verdict: 7/10


Minced pork with prawn and salted fish

This was quite all right too. A bit salty of course, so make sure you eat it with something else.

V's verdict: 7/10

The Marmalade Pantry

10th July, Friday

The Marmalade Pantry has 3 outlets in Singapore; at Raffles Place (Hitachi Tower), Orchard Road (Palais Renaissance), and Robinson Road (Capital Tower). My boss treated our department to the outlet at Hitachi Tower.

The restaurant used to stink, and every time after a meal our clothes will all smell of smoke (like Arcade). It's also a problem of poor ventilation, and they even had to leave their main door open to let out some of the smell. But ever since they stopped serving french fries, the smell seemed to be mostly gone.

Their menu can be found here.

Ribeye steak sandwich with grilled onions avocado and wasabi & mayonnaise

FYI, the burger is actually bigger than it looks. It looks deceptively small because my hands are too big. -.-

The dish comes with salad and tapioca/sweet potato/yam chips. Personally, I would prefer their fries, but the price to pay for that is stinky clothes, so....

This was quite good. The ribeye steak was not bad, although I ordered medium rare and it came out nearer to medium well. The wasabi mayonnaise was nice too, but I would prefer more wasabi; it wasn't hot enough. Overall, it's worth a try. $24

V's verdict: 7/10

Fei Siong (肥雄), Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks

8th July, Wednesday

Fishball noodles (Fei Siong)

I ordered mee kia, dry, takeaway. But they added so much sauces and soup that it seemed almost like fishball noodles soup! I was even doubting myself whether I ordered correctly or not.

But when I reached home and opened it, the noodles had absorbed all the soup. And it was surprisingly good, though the noodles were a bit too soggy. They added some vinegar too, and it did contribute to the overall taste. $3 + $0.20

V's verdict: 7/10


Handmade Oyster Mee Sua (Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks)

The last time I tried it, their shredded chicken tasted so horrible (defrosted taste) that I threw all of it away. This time it was all right, and the mee sua seemed to taste better than the last time I had it! Hmm... let's just give them the benefit of doubt. The oysters were quite good too. Quite expensive though, for just a small bowl. $3.50

V's verdict: 7.5/10

Food Junction (Junction 8)

7th July, Tuesday

Beef noodle (soup)

I ordered this as takeaway, so I didn't bother taking a picture. Anyway it's quite lousy. The beef is tough, the soup is bland and doesn't have the taste of beef. Not gonna try this again. $4 + $0.20

V's verdict: 4/10

Canopy

1st July, Wednesday

Seafood tomato soup

Ah, this was fabulous! The blended taste of seafood and tomatoes was done just nice, and it was really, really good. By the way, this isn't on the menu yet; I think it will be on the new menu which is coming out this month.

V's verdict: 9/10


Baked brown rice with mushrooms

A vegetarian dish which is actually from the Greenroom. The vegetables on top seemed to clash with the baked rice, and the cheese and rice weren't very good too. I know it's a vegetarian dish, but it's still too bland.

V's verdict: 5.5/10


Smoked duck salad

This is also not on the menu yet. The vegetables were okay, but the smoked duck was absolutely delicious!

V's verdict: 8/10


Sticky red dates with ice cream

I have never been particularly fond of red dates, so...

V's verdict: 5/10


Apple crumble with ice cream

The apple crumble wasn't very good. The one at Lao Pa Sat was much better (and costs only $2!). So far the desserts at Canopy haven't been really attention-grabbing.

V's verdict: 5.5/10

Serangoon Garden Market

5th July, Sunday

Carrot cake (Hock Kee Fried Oyster)

Finally got to try their white carrot cake. In my opinion, this wasn't as good as their black carrot cake; the taste just wasn't there.

V's verdict: 6/10

Town Restaurant

3rd July, Friday

Had a business lunch here, so I didn't have to pay a single cent. It serves buffet, but as it was a business lunch, I didn't get to eat as much as I wanted. So everytime we left the table, I made sure my plate was full.

For one thing, they didn't serve soup and sashimi. I was surprised; which buffet restaurants don't serve these now? But their oysters and mussels were fresh, and their salads were quite good. The roast beef and lamb were decent.

For desserts, I tried their oreo chocolate cake, cheese cake, mango pudding, and some other weird dessert in a small glass. All were decent; nothing special.

V's verdict: 6/10

Tanjong Pagar Food Centre

1st July, Wednesday

Fried kway teow [ Katong (Peter) Fried Kway Teow ]

This was not bad! Not too oily too. Worth a try.

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


Fried carrot cake (利兴菜头粿 Fried Carrot Cake)

This looked promising, but didn't taste that good. I thought that it wasn't tasty enough.

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


Chicken claypot rice (Kim Kee Cooked Food)

One of K's favourite foods. But I didn't like it; the rice wasn't tasty enough. It seemed as if the whole dish wasn't cooked long enough for the taste from the meat and mushrooms to seep into the rice.

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