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

Mei Xuan Food Centre

9th September, Wednesday

Roast duck noodles

Although I have worked around this area for 4 years, I haven't tried this stall before despite loving roast duck and roast pork. K ordered this today. Well, looks like I didn't miss much over these 4 years. The roast duck was decent, nothing special.

K likes the noodles, but I found it average.

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


Roast pork

Their roast pork was so-so only too. The skin wasn't crispy. But at least the meat was quite all right.

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

Urban Fav Cafe

9th September, Wednesday

Urban Fav Cafe again, my second visit in 3 days. Oh well, I have some stuff to collect at China Square Central anyway.


Special Nasi Goreng

So in what way was it special? Well, their menu had Nasi Goreng, Nasi Goreng with egg, and Nasi Goreng with chicken wings. So Special Nasi Goreng is simply Nasi Goreng with egg and chicken wing. -.-

But this was quite good too! It was a bit spicy. Quite okay for me (in fact I wouldn't mind if it was spicier) but some of my colleagues were already panting. The chicken wings were freshly fried and juicy. And the rice was topped with an egg, a piece of prawn cracker, and some deliciously crunchy ikan bilis. $6

V's verdict: 7.5/10

Urban Fav Cafe

7th September, Monday

A small cafe in China Court, quite well known for mixing up and forgetting orders. The common understanding is: If your food hasn't arrived in 5 to 10 minutes, you had better check with them.


Mee Goreng with egg

This was good! Not too oily too. $4.50

V's verdict: 7.5/10

Serangoon Garden Market

3rd September, Thursday

Bak chor mee (老松发)

I remember ordering this years ago and thinking it sucks. Today was the last day of the ghost festival and all my favourite stalls were closed, so I decided to give this stall a try again.

Well, I am still disappointed. Apparently the only thing attractive about this stall is their signboard, which looks quite attention-grabbing. The noodles were sticky and clumped together. The taste itself was wrong. The fishcake was dry and hard. The dor zai was tough and tasteless.

Next time I won't make the mistake of ordering from this stall again. Ever.

V's verdict: 4/10

Canopy

2nd September, Wednesday

Beef Tenderloin

I must have been dreaming when I was ordering this, because I missed the description that says "blue cheese on top of the beef". So when I ate a bit of the blue cheese, I thought it tasted funny. Unlike most people, I didn't think that it stinks, but the taste was very strong and personally, I thought that it didn't go well with the beef. But many other places do pair beef with blue cheese, so it's just my taste.

So I scraped the blue cheese off the beef. The potatoes were pan-fried and were absolutely delicious! The sauce used was also quite good - thick and tasty. The beef itself was not bad, though I expected tenderloin to be a bit more tender. The natural beef flavour was there, but a pity it wasn't stronger.

V's verdict: 7/10


Seafood chowder soup

Their soup of the day for today. I thought that this was not bad.

V's verdict: 7/10
K's verdict: 8/10

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

Sushi Tei (China Square Central)

31st August, Monday

Oyako Don

Well, I must say that I expected more from Sushi Tei, a supposedly Japanese sushi restaurant which is of better standards than Sakae Sushi, Ichiban Boshi etc. The rice and egg were okay, but the chicken was dry and tasted a bit stale. It didn't have the defrosted taste, but there was practically no chicken flavour at all. $9

V's verdict: 5.5/10

Din Tai Fung

26th August, Wednesday

The outlet at Junction 8, forever with people queuing outside. Reached there at 7pm and had to wait half an hour for a seat.

Steamed pork dumplings (小笼包)

Din Tai Fung's famous trademark dish. This is also the only dish that is consistently good across all its outlets. As usual, it was good; the skin was of the right thickness, the pork was tasty, and the soup inside was sweet.

V's verdict: 8/10


Stir-fried spinach with garlic (蒜炒菠菜)

A simple dish. A bit bland though.

V's verdict: 6.5/10


Fried rice with pork strips and egg

The outlet at Wisma was better. This was not bad, but not as good.

V's verdict: 7/10


Steamed chicken soup with noodles

Disappointing. The noodles was average, the soup was not bad, but the chicken had the defrosted taste! And the weird thing was that only some pieces had that taste. Bah!

V's verdict: 5/10


Soup with vegetable dumplings

The soup tasted strongly of vegetables - the filling inside the dumplings. A bit bland, but otherwise quite okay.

V's verdict: 6.5/10


Noodles with minced pork in bean sauce (炸酱面）

Another of their well known dishes. I found this average only, though.

V's verdict: 6/10


My conclusion? It wasn't worth the 30 minutes wait for a seat. Perhaps it's the image they project? By utilising a queue system and having people hang around outside the restaurant to wait, they give onlookers the impression that their food was fantastic. Well, the food was only okay. I wouldn't mind going again, but not if I have to queue for another half an hour.

Togi Korean Restaurant

25th August, Tuesday

A Korean restaurant located at Mosque Street. Not a very good location, and yet it was full during lunchtime today.

Bi Bim Bab (pork)

Mixed rice with vegetables, mushrooms, and a choice of beef, pork, or chicken. I took the pork.

When the waiter brought it over, he also mixed some chilli paste into it and stirred it uniformly. It was good! And the portion was generous. If I was full after eating this bowl, I am quite sure everyone else would. $11

V's verdict: 7.5/10


Korean appetizers

This came with any main course ordered. There were beansprouts, ikan bilis, kimchi, potatoes, and other assorted vegetables. It was not bad. I especially liked the kimchi and ikan bilis.

V's verdict: 7/10