Mad for Garlic

Came to this Italian bistro which supposedly originated from Korea. They serve pasta, pizzas and steaks, and has a garlic theme for almost all its dishes.

They seemed to have a large collection of wines. Ordered a glass of red wine at $10.50.

Tried this Garlic Tower Bread, so named because when it was served it came standing upright with a heap of minced garlic. The waiter will then cut it into fours, after stuffing the garlic into the bread.

The bread was warm and crispy. The garlic had a texture like that of preserved radish sans the garlic taste. However, I'll take the usual garlic butter bread any time over this.

"Tenderloin Steak topped with Special Balsamic Sauce and Fresh Rucola." Sounds interesting, eh? Which was why I ordered this dish called Cacciattore as my main. For $32.90, I thought this was pretty small, as the tenderloin was half the height of what you get at Jack's Place.

What's worse is that even though I ordered a medium doneness, the tenderloin was still rather rubber-y in texture. Definitely not tender at all.

Although I am not sure about their pastas and pizzas, I will definitely not be coming back here again. I think I can get way better quality food at these prices.

Read more...

PS Cafe @ Dempsey

First time here, and there was a healthy crowd even on a weekday lunchtime.

I had the PS Burger consisting of grilled wagyu + US chuck patty topped with camembert cheese, wilted spinach, bacon, tomato & caramelized onion on toasted sesame bun. The meat was quite juicy and succulent. Fries were broad and not over-fried. The dip was pretty unique; tasted like a mayonnaise base with hints of lemongrass and garlic.

For desserts, we had flourless orange cake with vanilla ice cream. Cake was not sweet and balanced well with the sweet ice cream. However, I found the butterscotch sauce tasted a little bitter to me. The cake tasted more marmalade than orange-y, but overall, it was something not usually seen.

We also had the Ultimate Fudgy Brownie with vanilla ice cream. The brownie was on the outside, while the fudge and marshmallows were on the inner end. The marshmallows were very soft, and again the brownie was not too sweet so it went well with the ice cream.

Read more...

Nando's

After a few unsuccessful attempts to dine here due to the crowds, I finally got the chance.

Packed inside on a weekend. Probably due to the crowds and the long queue outside, I thought the service was a little lacking.

Each table has 4 bottles of sauces - Tomato, Hot Peri-Peri, Extra Hot Peri-Peri and Garlic Peri-Peri. So if you think your order is not spicy enough, you can actually add more on your own. The garlic version tasted like the garlic chilli sauce from Macdonald's.

Ordered the skewered chicken, which had 4 pieces of thigh meat and 2 sides.

Maybe because the chicken are smaller pieces here, the slightly charred edges gave it flavour.

The sides were nothing to shout about. The baby potatoes only had a slight hint of the lime leaves, while the roasted vegetables were pretty tasteless.

The half chicken was rather big - enough to make me full. The breast was still tender and juicy, but I think the overall flavour came only from the sauce, and not the meat itself. I hated the taste of their coleslaw, as it seemed too sour for me. The fries weren't too bad, and were the fatty kind that I liked.

Overall, an ok meal. This place is not one I would come too often.

Read more...

Taste Paradise

Heard that the dim sum here was good, and it was! Probably just became one of my faves at the moment.

Decor inside was very Chinese-styled including the cups. We were served some pickled radish.

We ordered a XO Carrot Cake. This was mildly spicy, with bean sprouts and some leek. The carrot cake was very soft, and the texture was very slightly powdery, which made it somewhat unique, possibly home-made by the restaurant.

Smoked Duck fried spring rolls. I could taste the smoked duck, but I thought the amount inside was a little lacking. Would have been better if the filling was more generous.

Har Gao. The skin here was very soft, and the prawns very fresh and succulent.

Cod Fish Dumpling in silken egg white. This was a very light but delicious dish. The crystal skin was very soft, and inside contained pieces of cod fish and gourd vegetables.

Roast Pork. The skin was very crispy. Again, am no expert on roast pork, but it did keep me going for a couple more pieces than usual.

Siew Mai. I like this more than what I had at Wah Lok or Asia Grand. Very generous serving of roe on the top. I could taste the individual pieces of pork and prawn inside. Very juicy and hearty.

Beef Balls. The menu stated mandarin peel, but I could taste none of it. Only a slight hint of coriander; not as strong as the ones at Asia Grand.

Steamed honey pork buns. The filling was the usual and they were up to standard. I did think that the skin was very fluffy and soft. Absolute delight.

Pan fried pork dumplings. These were pan fried on the underside.

Inside, the filling was moist and savoury. I like the differences in texture and taste between the steamed portion and the pan fried portion.

Custard buns!

Ooey gooey goodness. Definitely pass the taste test. Not too overly sweet, and you can still taste the buttery goodness and the sandy texture from the yolks.

Steamed rice rolls with prawn. Skin here was up to standard - soft and delicate.

Overall a very satisfying dim sum lunch, and prices here are pretty similar to Wah Lok and Asia Grand. Will be back again, I'm sure.

Read more...

Kazu Sumiyaki

The last time I was here, I did not have my camera. Finally, I have the chance to come back again. This is probably my fifth time here, but boy, is it still as good as ever!

Fresh, crisp raw cabbage for you to dip into the miso sauce as an appetizer.

Ordered a bowl of garlic fried rice to share. This has bit pieces of fried garlic in it, but does not leave an overly garlicky taste in your mouth. Overall, very aromatic.

Zuchinni Cheese. Extremely soft and cheesy, and went well with the slight tang of the mustard sauce.

Pork belly asparagus. The pork belly was very thin and wrapped well around the soft asparagus, and grilled till it was slightly crispy but still juicy.

Beef with cheese. Extremely tender pieces of beef, which give way to the oozing cheese in your mouth.

Chicken Tsukune balls. Well marinated and soft, with a slight aromatic burnt taste. On the right is grilled gingko nuts with salt. One of my favorites as it is something out of the ordinary.

Chicken skin. This was rather fatty. I think it would have been better if it had been more crisp.

Foie gras. I am no expert on foie gras, but I like the savoury and grilled taste to it. Feels rather fatty, but not too queasy to the palate.

Spicy beef balls. This is slightly different from the chicken ones as there is no sauce here. Slightly dry on the outside, but still soft and moist on the inside.

Sweet potato. This you have to order the moment you sat down, as you have to wait for this. Somehow, they cooked this till it was very soft, moist and tender inside. Sweet on its own, but adding the butter brought it to another level.

Read more...

The Baker goes BKK: Hongmin Restaurant

After a massage, we headed to MBK hoping to get some food, but there weren't much choices, so we settled for a Thai-Chinese place.

The usual order of Tom Yum Goong, but we thought the room service at our serviced apartment served a better version.

Kangkong with chili.

I took the Jasmine fried rice with curry prawns. No idea why they called it jasmine fried rice, since it tasted pretty normal. The curry prawns were pretty spicy. Overall, this is place is nothing to shout about.

Read more...