Shabu-sushi Buffet Restaurant @ Nex

Address
23 Serangoon Central, B1-38/39/40 Nex Mall

I've never felt this cheated of my money from my meal before. It sure was a tempting option to me because I was extremely hungry, was looking for a halal option and was craving for Japanese food. and Tada! Shabu-sushi Buffet Restaurant appeared while I waiting for my glasses from Owndays.

So here's the price:
Adult
weekday lunch: 17.90 ++
weekday dinner: 19.90++
weekend lunch: 20.90++
weekend dinner: 24.90++

The layout of the place was... terrible. signages were put up with A4 paper and clear tape, paint was peeling off... it was so bad I didn't bother taking a photo of it.

I was given a choice of 4 soup bases, of which I could choose 2. They included beef soup, chicken soup, suki-yaki and tom yam soup. I got the tom yam soup which was decent, and the chicken soup which tasted no different from boiled water.

The service was poor. When I went in, the waiters just stared with this blank look and did not even ask how many people were dining together. They did not even bother putting the induction cooker and the pot into the in-built hole on the table. Instead, they chose to leave it on the table for us and the table was just crammed. I looked over at the other tables and they actually had their pots nicely fitted into the hole. :(

They served sushi and tempura. The sushi rice was hard, tasteless. I have never, in my entire life, eaten such terrible sushi. The tempura was stale, disgusting.

The shabu ingredients were delivered to us on a conveyor belt. Basically the shabu only served cabbage, once in a blue moon some mushrooms and spinach appeared. Regarding meat, most of the time chicken was seen, but we stopped eating the chicken after our first serving of it because it was stale and tasted like crap. The beef shabu was the only consolation, but it only appeared thrice on the belt throughout the 1.5 hours I was dining there. Then there was sutchi (dory) slices... which I got sick of eating because it was the only decent food there.

There was a free flow of drinks and ice cream. There were only two choices of ice cream flavour, and the restaurant did not even bother to provide ice cream scoops. Instead, they provided metal ladles placed in a cup of water that was saturated with old ice-cream.

and to round it off... here's what I saw on hungrygowhere:

And this sums it up. I have NEVER eaten such horrendous food before, not to mention i paid around 22 dollars for it. Just don't make the same mistake as me. Really. For two people, I sure regretted not buying $45 dollars worth of sushi from cold storage.

Japanese Cemetery Park and The Coffee Daily

I haven't posted in so long and I do admit this is due to the severe lack of discipline. But here I am with a couple of updates. So today we went down to explore the Upper Serangoon area. The first destination that we headed to was the Japanese Cemetery Park. Little known to many Singaporeans, it is the largest Japanese cemetery in Southeast Asia which contains up to 910 tombs of young Japanese female prostitutes, soldiers, civilians as well as convicted war prisoners. Despite its history, it is actually a very peaceful and scenic walk through the park. It is approximately 1.4km walk from Kovan MRT through a private housing area.

Address: 825B Chuan Hoe Ave, 549853 
(Note: there is only one entrance as indicated by Google Map, so do not attempt to go in through other parts of the park)

Although you really can't do much within the cemetery (well technically it's a very pleasant place to relax and meditate if you are comfortable enough with it), i guess it's really quite cool and interesting to see. The whole place is very well-maintained and strolling through it was a rather pleasant experience. 

After the visit to the park we visited The Coffee Daily, which was a 800m walk away. The cafe is located at 75 Brighton Crescent.

It was a really nice cafe with somewhere for everyone to just sit and chill to enjoy a conversation, a book or just a cuppa coffee.

We got a cup of Mocha for $6 and it was oh-kay. If you're a fan of coffee, I would suggest Lola's or Forty Hands which serves coffee which are wayyy better. We also ordered a cup of Iced Mocha at $6.50 and our advice is: don't. It was bland, lack of flavor... bad. We also got a slice of the Berry Yoghurt Tart ($6.50) which had a nice crust but there wasn't anything wow about it. In all, it's a nice place for a chill but if you want better coffee and dessert, it's better to head somewhere else :)

Dong Po Colonial Cafe @ Kandahar Street

Dong Po Colonial Cafe

56 Kandahar Street 

Singapore 198904

(nearest MRT: Bugis)

opening hours: 

10am to 10pm daily

It was fortunate for us to chance upon this cozy little place while making our way towards vintage delicafe (which turned out to be closed, so I'll write about it when I get to eat there in future!). The black signboard that said: freshly baked SCONES drew me into the shop because i ABSOLUTELY love scones. And I definitely didn't regret the visit at all. 

They served lots of pasteries from cupcakes (with cream and deco on it for less than $2), cornish chicken pie, biscuits, tarts, LOTS OF COOL STUFF. And i forgot a shot of it:( will do it the very next time I get there!!

The best part of this cafe was the elegance, comfort and good food comes at an unreasonably cheap price! I got a scone set and an almond macaroon for $5. WHERE ELSE CAN YOU FIND A DEAL LIKE THAT IN SUCH AN ENVIRONMENT?! This cafe has officially become my favourite.

The interior of the shop was nicely renovated and beneath the tabletops were items from Singapore during the colonial times. The area was spacious and cooling, perfect for an afternoon tea if your legs get too tired from shopping at Haji Lane or sightseeing along Arab Street!

Almond macaroon: The top is crisp, the inside bottom crust tastes like a perfect egg-tart crust but with  a chewy, sugary, cotton-candy-like-tasting inside. In other words, if you have a sweet tooth, it is PERFECT. 

The scone (with fresh cream and homemade jam -strawberry, marmalade or lemon) came with teh/kopi at a very affordable $3.30. The scone was crusty on the outside and soft on the inside with a heavenly buttery taste. The only downside was that I think they microwaved the scone to heat it up so as it cooled down the texture of the scone because slightly chewy. Nonetheless, it was really really REALLY good. The teh was also really fragrant and not too sweet, balancing off the scone really well. 

So these, plus a teh, for only $5!!! 

//edit: I went back to check more pastries out :)

The one in the middle: three-hole cookie: $1.70
The one on the right: almond finger: $1.70

The Three-hole cookie lies on the buttery side. If you leave it overnight on a piece of kitchen towel, a lot of the oil will be absorbed. Having said that, the taste of the cookie is not compromised by having it left overnight on the kitchen towel. The jam-filled center are slightly tangy, off-setting the buttery taste and making it light for the palate. I love it for breakfast when I am rushing for work.

The almond finger lies on the sweet side, with its crisp meringue-like topping on a butter finger. With the recommendation of the owner, I paired the almond finger with kopi-o, which was thick, aromatic and not too sweet (the way I like it). This combination makes a perfect tea-time snack before getting back to the office. 

Ayam Penyet Ria @ Far East Plaza

Ayam Penyet Ria 

Far East Plaza #05-22

Opening hours: 11.30am to 10pm

We visited the restaurant on a weekday evening (around 6.30pm) and we had to wait for a couple of minutes before seats were emptied. The queue continued to form as we proceeded with the meal but if you want a short summary: don't even bother queuing for it. 

With regards to service, the staff were extremely unfriendly. They did not smile at customers, and entirely ignored customers when they said 'thank you'. 

The gado-gado ($5.90) was served with overboiled cabbage and long beans, and the tomato in it was stale such that I could taste that it was already turning bad. The sauce tasted alright, but the whole dish tasted like it was made with leftover vegetables. 

The signature Ayam Penyet was only worth its reputation for the chilli. The chilli was very fragrant and nice. However, the chicken served was dry and the batter on it was not even crispy. The meat within also tasted like it has been re-cooked after being kept for a long period of time. 

I wouldn't dare conclude this about other branches, but there are far better Ayam Penyets to try (like the one at Seah Im food center or Plaza Singapura's Kopitiam) with better price, taste and value. We were extremely disappointed by the standard of food and service provided at an establishment with quite a number of branches.

//edit: I decided to give the branch at Lucky Plaza (#04-25) a shot and the food and service was so much better! The batter was crisp, the vegetables were fresh and the chicken was tender. The difference in the standard cannot be overstated. Since the two branches are so close to each other, go for the Lucky Plaza one.

The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Beanstro @ Takashimaya

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf - Beanstro
391 Orchard Road
Ngee Ann City #B1-37
Singapore 238872

Opening Hours: 

0800 to 2300 Daily

The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf has recently set up its first bistro restaurants in Takashimaya and Marina Bay Sands! On a side note, I absolutely love how the place has been aptly named 'Beanstro'.

More importantly, it is one of the rare places which served Eggs Benedict and is halal-certified! I have been dying to let the Malay boyfriend try how my all-time favourite tastes like and I was thrilled to find out that Beanstro served its Classic Eggs Benedict for $17++.

The establishment actually serves a wide range of food including salads, sandwiches, all-day breakfasts, mains, desserts and of course, all of The Coffee Bean's signature drinks. We went on a weekday evening when it was almost full. Service was relatively fast, but the waiters/waitresses were slightly unfriendly and were not at all apologetic for serving us a wrong drink.

At $17++, the Classic Eggs Benedict has been served with salad tossed in citrus dressing. The generous serving of turkey ham  was really fragrant without being overly salty which usually comes with having too much ham. The broad was toasted with butter to a perfect crisp and taste. The only downside was that the hollandaise sauce seemed to be lacking in its lemon juice which made the whole dish very heavy. Overall, it was still one of the better Eggs Benedicts i've ever tried. 

For $18++, the serving of the lasagna was enormous. The bolognaise sauce itself was light and taste, with sweetness from both the beef and tomato that made the dish very delightful initially. While the dish was hot, the cheese (perhaps a bit too much of it) and the pasta complemented the sauce well. However, as the meal went on, the pasta sheet began to harden and it felt more like eating a raw potato instead, making it progressively hard to down. Finish it fast if you want the meal to be nice throughout. 

  Overall, it was a pleasant dining experience and we would love to return to try mains like the steak which have been reviewed to be delicious. For the two dishes above and a Frozen Lemonade drink, we paid around $50.

Food For Thought @ Botanical Gardens

Food for Thought
1 Cluny Road, Singapore Botanic Gardens,
Tanglin Gate, #B1-00, S259569
F: +65 6479 1080


Opening Hours (WEF 1st January 2013):
Mon - Sun
8am to 9pm
(Last orders at 8.30pm)

Food for Thought is well known as a social enterprise in Singapore, and honestly that is quite rare. They have 5 missions which they stand by:

Customers are encouraged to donate $2 for a free flow of plain water to which they can help themselves to during the meal, and proceeds go to Living Water International

A proportion of Food For Thought's profits proceed to support the  United Nations World Food Programme. For $20, Food For Thought helps to support one child for a month.

In support of World Vision, Food For Thought supports their sponsored children by improving overall development of their community's access to water, basic healthcare, education, nutrition and financial independence.

So curiosity drove our visit to the Food For Thought restaurant at Botanical Gardens. It is a really short walk in from Tanglin Gate and there are buses to the nearest bus stop from Dhoby Ghaut MRT, opposite Park Mall.

You might want to look at the menu, which the enterprise has on their webpage as well. My friends and I visited the place on a weekday lunch time and it was close to Christmas (yes, this is a VERY delayed post). It was relatively crowded and we had some difficulty getting seats for a group of 7 of us. 

Ladies, if you're planning to visit this place, perhaps you might want to consider leaving out the tight dresses/skirts and heels. A large portion of the seating are canteen-styled with long tables and benches. Since you would have to help yourself to ordering the food from the counter and the plain water, cutlery, sauces, etc, you'll have to leave your seats quite a number of a time through the meal. 

They did have a couple of Christmas specials served during the period of time, but we went for the regular items they served. 

The Garlic Prawn and Red Capsicum Linguine was served at $16. While the pasta was cooked to al dente and the prawns served were fresh and succulent, we had to down quite a lot of water while having this dish because it was too salty for our liking. 

For $14, the Basil Almond Chicken Pesto Linguine carried the fragrance of Basil extremely well. The chicken bits were on the dry side and it felt like they were just boiled and tossed into the pasta, without absorbing any of the Pesto's essence.  The dish almost tasted like there was no salt in it at all and we had to 're-do' the dish by adding salt and tossing it ourselves. 

They serve all-day breakfast, which definitely attracted our attention given the  recent  'brunch fever' going around. We went for Full Works. For $18, this set includes Scrambled Eggs, Bacon, Garlic Mushrooms, Chunky Chicken Sausage, Hash Brown, Toasted Brioche with Thyme Tomato Salad.  The scrambled eggs was made to perfection, and the mushrooms were filled with the fragrance of garlic. Tossed in butter, it laid slightly on the oily side, which made the meal even heavier than it already was. The hashbrowns (round balls on the right) were the best I've ever eaten. Deep fried, it was extremely crispy on the outside and perfectly soft and smooth on the inside. Again, the amount of oil in this meal makes it a lot heavier than one would imagine, so it might be a good idea to share the meal if you're not confident of downing this alone. 

This was one of the desserts featured in their Christmas Menu. Honestly I can't remember the name of this tart, but it was Mixed berries with some liquor in it. The tart was extremely well-made. The berries were slightly sweet and tangy at the same time, but not too much of both. The taste of the liquor made the dessert stand out because it felt like the fragrance of the berries spread in your palate and stayed on as an after taste. I hope they'd serve it again this Christmas!

The red velvet cake served was quite a disappointment. The cake lacked moisture, and the cream frosting did not seem to contain enough lemon to balance off the chocolatey flavour of the cake. 

The Bread pudding was served hot, and it looked extremely yummy. However, we were deceived by its looks. The pudding sat on the tough side, so beyond the top layer, it still took us a bit of effort to scoop from the dish. It lacked the milky fragrance that characterizes most bread puddings as well.

Overall, our dining experience at the restaurant wasn't as good as we expected it to be. However, reviews on websites like hungrygowhere.com were decently positive, so we thought it might be due to the lunch crowd that we ran into on our visit. Perhaps another visit would be made. 

Kooka Cafe

Kooka Cafe

18 Purvis Street

Tel: 64670288

Tues-Thurs: 1030 - 1900

Fri - Sat: 1030 - 2200

Sun: 1030 - 1800

Kooka cafe sits Purvis Street, along the same side as Savour (a French dining place which I promise I'll try and write about!). The interior of the cafe is perfect for a chill with a pot of tea or coffee, especially on a lazy afternoon. 

They serve specialty menus everyday, so you would have to drop by to see what they are serving for the day! The last time I visited, they had omelettes on their menu and I went for the goat's cheese and mushrooms one. The omelette was perfectly cooked, with a little juiciness left on the inside, together with fresh mushrooms, tomato, parmesan and goat's cheese. It was supposed to include bacon but I'm not a fan so I asked for a vegetarian version of it! I can't exactly remember how much this cost but it should be approximately $7. 

So I visited the place at lunchtime yesterday. It was slightly crowded because of the lunchtime crowd around town. For a cafe as such, we were pleasantly surprised to find that they were serving set lunch meals for an affordable $9.90++.

The set includes:
A drink (tea/coffee/coke/sprite/iced lemone tea),
Soup of the day (which was carrot & onion broth for yesterday),

A Main (pasta/ sandwich)

My friend and I decided to jump at it! And we ordered: 

Focaccia with Vegetables and Goat's Cheese. The Foccacia was nicely toasted to be a little crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, thought it was a tad too sweet for my liking. There was grilled zuccini, eggplants, pepper within with melted goat's cheese, making it a light and flavourful sandwich at the same time. I loved it! If you're not a fan of the strong, milky taste carried with goat's cheese, perhaps you could request for an omission of the cheese/ask for an alternative. 

My friend went for the ham and cheese sandwich.  The sandwiches came with salad tossed in balsamic vinegar and fries, both of which were made to an excellent taste and texture. The iced lemon tea served was also homemade, which rich black tea and leaned towards the  sour side. 

After lunch we decided on a pot of tea: Pearl of the orient. It was jasmine tea with rose oil. If you're a fan of floral tea, this would be perfect for you. I loved the fragrant brew! And the cookie: don't look down on it. We were served with something like orange-peel cookies and it was crispy, light and fragrant. They do sell their cookies in jars at the cafe itself, making perfect gifts for others and they are home-made by the owners of the cafe!

My verdict: I'm definitely going back to check out what they have for the day, and for a chill with a pot of fragrantly brewed tea!