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