House, Barracks and Camp

17 Apr :: Friday :: Afternoon

I’ve been to House, Barracks and Camp twice in the last month. Brought to you by the owners of Tippling Club, SPA Espirit, Strip, Browhaus, Qi Mantra and Skinny Pizza, House, Barracks and Camp is set among the numerous restaurants and bars at the hip Dempsey area.

 

Brief Description

House, Barracks and Camp is set in the original army barracks and offers both indoor and outdoor seating. Seated outdoors, you can admire the lush greenary but have to contend with mosquitoes in the evenings. Wanting a mosquito free air-conditioned environment, I’ve opted for indoor seating both times (Lunch and dinner)

The food

Famous for their Skinny Pizzas and desserts, I’ve ordered them each time I was there. The spread over 2 meals goes something like this:
Truffled Mushroom Pizza, Squid Ink Pizza, Squid Ink Pasta, Steamed Red Snapper, Strawberry shortcake, Warm Toffee Chocolate cake and Caramel Cheesecake.

 Review

1) Wild Truffled Mushroom Pizza – Pizzas are all served with Argula leaves, commonly known as Rocket Leaves. I’m not sure about you, but seriously, I can’t quite take the smell of truffles. They come across as pungent to me. Same thing with this pizza. However once it went into my mouth, it was aromatic. The skinny base made the pizza extremely easy to bite.

2) Squid Ink Pizza – The Squid Ink Pizza was simply delicious. The squid was tender and easy to chew. With the thin crust, the pizza was easily devoured.

3) Squid Ink Pasta – The dish should be Squid Ink Paella. However, we requested to change the rice to linguine. The squid ink was of the right texture and made the linguine easily enjoyed. 

4) Steamed Red Snapper- Served in a bowl with clams, the snapper is fresh and succulent.

5) Strawberry Shortcake –  Comes with fresh strawberries, the cake was sweet but not over-the-top. Voted as one of the top cakes in House, Barracks and Camp, it certainly is deserving of its ranking.

6) Warm Toffee Chocolate Cake – Two words : Sinful & Heavenly

7) Caramel Cheesecake – Sweet, sweet, sweet. This is actually off the menu and was suggested by the waiter as a daily special. Extremely sweet, this may not be good choice after a heavy meal unless you have a sweet tooth.

Total costs comes up to S$35/pax.

What to try

Skinny Pizza and Desserts.

Ratings

Food : 4/5
Ambiance : 3.5/5
Service : 4.5/5
Value: 4/5
RTE (Return to eat) : Yes

Details  

8D Dempsey Road
#01-01 to 06 Tanglin Village (Dempsey Road)
Mon-Wed, Sun & PH: 10am – 9pm
Thu-Sat & PH eve: 10am – Midnight

Tel: 6475 7787 / 6479 9212

Greenwood Fish Market And Bistro

5 Apr :: Sunday :: Evening

It has been a while since I last updated the blog. Due to increasing workload, I have not had much time to go out and enjoy… until yesterday.

Yum yum

 Brief Description

Greenwood Fish Market & Bistro provides seasonal fresh seafood served western style. Among the favourites are the oysters and salmon. Their staff are always on hand to recommend off-the-menu catch of the day and recommend ways how your food should be cooked.

 The food

I had the Hot Seafood Platter. On the menu, if I remember correctly, it was written that I would have a lobster, calamari, baby octopus salad, Littleneck clams, green-lipped mussles, oysters, fish baguette and grilled prawns. 

What I got was half a grilled lobster, Crab claw salad (substitute for the grilled prawns & octopus), Littleneck clams cooked in white wine garlic sauce, green-lipped mussles, grilled buttered oysters,  calamari and grilled fish skewers.

 Review

1) Lobster – The grilled lobster was fresh and succulent. The flesh is easy to remove and retains the original sweetness and juiciness.

2) Calamari – Greenwood Fish Market’s calamari is well-known. The calamari is cooked to the right degree, where the meat is cooked but not elastic. Tastes heavenly with the tartar sauce.

3) Crab claw salad – A cold dish which retains the sweetness of the crab claw. The salad is tossed with just the right amount of balsamic vinegar, making it a good companion to the cooked spread.

4) Littleneck clams & Greenlipped Mussles  - Nice

5) Buttered oysters – The oysters are cooked with shallots and was not overly buttery.

6) Grilled fish skewers – Assorted fish meat was used for the skewers. Some of the meat were a bit tough and a tad tasteless when eaten alone. But together with the capsicon and tartar sauce, was quite okay.

I’ve been here at least 4 times before. While the seafood is fresh, there’s always a sense of incompleteness in me after the meal.  The upside is that Greenwood Fish Market also serves desserts such as creme brulee. Do remember to share your food with your companions to leave room for desert.

There is no discount for dinner. For the hot platter, the bill comes to S$93/2 pax inclusive tax. Quite a good deal considering the lobster and crab claw.

 What to try

 For those who have yet to try out the food, there are discounts for lunches and daily specials such as $1 oysters on Tuesdays (with every main course ordered, limited to 12 per person, last I heard).

Ratings

Food : 4/5
Ambiance : 3.5/5
Service : 4.5/5
Value: 4/5
RTE (Return to eat) : Probably Yes

Details  

34 Greenwood Avenue,  Hillcrest Park
Mon to Sun: 12noon – 2:30pm, 6:30pm – 10:30pm

Tel:  6467 4950

Greenhouse

15 August 2008 :: Friday :: Dinner

 It has been around 9 months since I last dined here with my significant other (SO). All we remembered from the last time round was the sight of a pile of boiled red lobsters behind the counter, inviting queues of diners to savour. Oh yes, they also served a relatively wide selection of fresh seafood. In order to mark our anniversary, ‘we’ decided (actually I was the one who’s more enthusiastic) to pamper ourselves at Greenhouse again -> Greenhouse

Brief Description:
While buffet dinners offer an international spread, the main attraction are the delectable fresh seafood available. Lobsters, scallops, oysters, prawns, crabs and much more.

Review

Being a Friday night, I made a reservation just to be sure. The lady who answered the call was helpful and polite, the service expected of a 5 star hotel.

Upon arrival, we were left standing at the counter for a few minutes before we were attended to. I suppose this is something that can be improved, since the restaurant wasn’t even half-full. After requesting for 2 glasses of iced-water, we quickly made our way to the food counter, eager to see what is available.

For round one, I went for the cold dishes. I took raw oysters, flower crab, sashimi, steamed prawns and lobsters.

1) Sashimi. The sashimi on offer are salmon, tuna and yellow tail. A chef was on hand to prepare the sashimi and arrange them nicely on little plates (probably to avoid having diners taking to large a serving). The quality served was above average, comparable to the finer local japanese restaurants. The slices were just nice, and doesn’t fall apart when you put them in your mouth.

2) Raw Oysters. I like my oysters raw and uncomplicated. With a dash a lemon and tabesco, the oysters were a great start to the dinner. They had none of the heavy zinc taste and were firm and juicy.

3) Flower Crab. Boiled and then iced, the fresh sweetness of the crab meat was locked in and you can almost taste the sea with each mouthful. The crabs were meaty and tastes equally good plain or with a touch of soy sauce. My SO actually went crazy over it.

4) Steamed prawns. My SO wasn’t enthuasiastic about the prawns. The meat of the tiger prawns was succulent but I guess somehow, they weren’t as sweet as expected.

5) Lobster. The boiled lobsters are served in halves, along with a claw. The lobsters are cooked just right, and easy to shell. The freshness of the lobster is apparent when you bite into it. The meat is succulent and sweet. Just the lobster alone is worth the price of the buffet!

Round two was for hot food.  I went for braised pork, braised chicken drumstick, duck, skewered sword fish, steamed fish and mutton.

1) Braised pork. I felt it was quite average. Though tasty, it didn’t really excite me.

2) Duck. The duck tasted good. The meat was cooked just about right and the flavours were well locked in.

3) Skewered swordfish. The swordfish came in sticks with green capsicum. The fish alone is quite salty when taken alone but when paired with green capsicum, it was wonderful.

4) Steamed fish. It seems to be that steamed fish is becoming quite the common dish for buffets in recent times. My last visits to Fairmont and Ellenborough both had steamed fish available. Thus, I wasn’t surprised to see that this was also offered at Greenhouse, though size-wise, it acutally pales in comparison to the former 2 restaurants. Taste-wise, it was average. Definately not as tasty as the one offered at Fairmont.

5) Mutton. The mutton was average, nothing to shout about, really.

6) Braised chicken drumstick. I felt the drumstick was overcooked. The meat wasn’t as tender as what I would’ve liked.

7) Drunken prawns. The special of the day was drunken prawns. Each table had a tripod set up. The unfortunate part was that I had to ask the waiter what the tripod was for. The drunken prawns tasted a lot more herbal than drunken. Don’t get me wrong, the prawns taste excellent, just that I’m not sure if it should be called herbal prawns rather than drunken prawns. I suppose it would have been more well-recieved if he staff told me what the day’s special was before I had to even ask. Lesson learned. Ask for the day’s special or you may end up losing out on something nice.

Round 3. Desserts

Chocolates, mango with pomelo, Aloe vera.

Round 4. Fruits. By now, my stomach is starting to test the limits of my belt. Rather than having my belt bailing out on me, I decided it was time to give the rest of the spread a miss and head on to the desserts.  I took jackfruit, peach, persimmon and grapes. The fruits are sweet and juicy, especially the peach. definitely worth the sampling.

 Round 5. Ice cream. Who can resist ice-cream? A decent range of the choices is available : Chocolate chip, Strawberry sorbet, Pistachio, Lemon sorbet and Maple and walnut. I decided to try the sweet maple and walnut and pair it with the refreshing lemon sorbet.

The maple and walnut is sweet but average. Definitely not as good as the one you can get from Baskin Robbins. The lemon sorbet however, is definitely above average. It is refreshing and neither too sweet nor sour.  

Final Round. English Breakfast Tea. After such a heavy meal, we asked for some hot tea to help in the digestion. It is indeed enjoyable to be able to enjoy sipping some nice hot tea while listening to live classical music while replaying the food which has just been savoured.

The bill came to about $85/pax (It’s $72/pax plus the customary taxes). Luckily, there was a promotion for UOB credit cards. After the 15%discount with the UOB signature card (15% for Platinum & above, 10% for Gold & Silver cards), the final bill was $72/pax. All in all, a satisfying meal. Though rather costly, the quality of the seafood made it all worthwhile.

Ratings

Food : 4.5/5
Ambiance : 4.5/5
Service : 3.5/5
Value: 4/5
RTE (Return to eat) : Yes

Details

7 Raffles Avenue,
The Ritz-Carlton Millenia
Singapore 039799
Phone:  6337 8888   

Daily: 6:30 am. – 10:30 pm.

Cathay Restuarant

02 August 2008 :: Saturday :: Dinner

Brief Description:

Located on the 2nd floor of The Cathay, once renowed as the finest Chinese restaurant in Singapore in the 1940s, Cathay Restaurant serves Chinese food since it reopened in 2007.

Review

I’ve been hearing reviews from some that the food here is delicately prepared and delicious, yet affordable.  After hearing about the 1-for-1 set menus, I decided to pay a visit to it with my gf’s family. Although it was a Saturday night, the restaurnat was relatively quiet… probably around 60% full at most. We were seated quite quickly but was disappointed that the waitress did not bother asking us for our tea preference after seating us. Hmm… poor service to be expected? After waiting for 5 mins, we decided to stop waiting and request for the tea menu. Tea choices are nothing spectacular, and consists of the usual Pu’er, Oolong and Jasmine.  We were only give the ala carte menu. Only after asking about the 1-for-1 promotion (a large sign was displayed outside the restaurant) were we given the menus.  We went for the special set, which includes a pair of Cathay movie tickets.

Food took around 20 minutes to arrive. Food was served abruptly without much explaination. The good point is that the waitresses do take note of when to serve the dishes.

First up, 1) Double boiled Shark Cartilage with Winter Melon. The soup looks watery but leaves a thick aftertaste. The soup was average at most. In fact, the majority of the family members left the soup unfinished.

2) Fried prawns with Wasabi Sauce in Golden Bow.  Since I don’t enjoy wasabi, I was apprehensive about the dish. I was plesantly surprised at how the wasabi sauce tasted. The sauce is especially mayonaise mixed with wasabi. The prawns were fried right and wasn’t dry. The sauce went well with the prawns, but sadly, the golden bowl was a disappointed.  It was just a flour mixture fried to the shape of a bowl. It was tasteless and felt plasticly.

3) Steamed Pa Ting fish with Black Fungus & Bamboo Shoots. This was probabably the best dish of the day. The fish was fresh and the sauce was well prepared.

Additional Braised beancurd, Black mushroom & Vegetables. This was an ala carte order as we realised that the portions were small and unlikely to be sufficient. The dish was delicious and though on the costly side ($14 for a small portion of vegetables?), was quite well received.

4) Pork Chop with Brocolli. It was quite surprising when the waitress started laying knives and forks on the table. I mean, we did think that we ordered a Chinese dinner set. Hmm… The pork chop was a bit overcooked and the brocolli was too salty. I was the only one at the table to have managed to finish this.

5) Fried Udon with special sauce. By now, everyone was looking forward to the final dish (not in a good sense I’m afraid).  This was a pretty average dish, like most of the preceeding dishes.

6) Yam ice-cream with almond and pumpkin sauce. Nothing to shout about, although the pumpkin sauce went quite well with the yam.

Total – $46/pax after 1-for-1 promo.

Ratings

Food : 3/5
Ambiance : 3/5
Service : 3.5/5
Value: 3/5
RTE (Return to eat) : Probably Not

Details

2 Handy Road
#02-01, The Cathay
Singapore 229233

Weekdays & Saturday : 11.30am – 3.00pm & 6.00pm – 10.30pm
Sundays : 10.00am – 3.00pm & 6.00pm – 10.30pm

Man Fu Yuan

28 July 2008 :: Monday :: Dinner

This evening, I brought my family to Hotel Intercontinental Singapore – Man Fu Yuan Restaurant. It was for a birthday dinner and the decision was made after consultation with one of the more popular foodie websites in Singapore -> HungryGoWhere. (http://www.hungrygowhere.com/singapore/man_fu_yuan/)

Brief Description:
Man Fu Yuan serves sumptous Cantonese cuisine in a spacious setting. With well-set tables, delicate dinnerware and attentive staff, it was a pleasant dining experience.

Review

True to expectations, being a Monday night, there wasn’t a crowd. Well, still, to be sure, I made a reservation. By observing the dressing of the diners, I was already forewarned that the food isn’t going to be cheap. Since it was the first visit, I opted for the easy way out by ordering the set dinner.

I had to wait around 15 mins before the first dish came out. However, subsequent dishes were out fairly quick and it is obvious that the staff pays close attention to the diners to only serve subsequent courses only after you are done with the current.

I picked Shui Xian (aka Water Fairy) Chinese tea. Though more expensive than your average Chinese tea at local Chinese resturants (cost me $20 per pot), it was well worth a price.  Shui Xian tea is variation of the strong and full-bodied Oolong, but with a refreshing floral aftertaste. The delicate aftertaste also indicates that it is an above-average variant.

1) First up, the slicked pork, spiced jellyfish and duck. The pork was well cooked and went well with the plum sauce. The jellyfish is chewy but not tough. The duck was excellent.. if only they gave more than a slice for each person.

2) The sharks fin soup was average. The portion is quite large, but then again, serves more in filling up the stomach then satisfying the taste buds. To be fair to them, I haven’t been able to experience satisfactory sharks fin soup from other restaurants in quite a while either.

3) The soon hock was very well done. It was fried to just the right crisp. I was initially worried that the salted fish may overwhelm the dish, but I was pleasantly surprised that the proportion was just right. In fact, I would rate it was the best dish of the day. I suppose I would enjoy it even more if I wasn’t feeling a little filled up by the earlier soup.

4) The prawns were sauteed with garlic. Though the ingredients were simple, the chef’s skill shined through. The prawns were tangy and you could savor the wonderful sauce with each bite,.

5) The braised toufu with xiao bai cai was a bit disappointing, considering how impressed we have been with the earlier 2 dishes. While it didn’t taste bad, it was distinctly average.

6) The fruits took quite a while to arrive. It was a pleasant surprise to see that they were sliced papaya, manago, cherries and rambutan. I was expecting to see the usual apple, orange and watermelon. The fruits were all sweet and fresh, bring a wonderful closure to the meal.

The bill came to about $58/pax. Luckily, there was a promotion for UOB credit cards. After the 25% discount, the final bill was $44.60/pax. All in all, a satisfying meal. With the discount, it really was quite worth it.

Ratings

Food : 4/5
Ambiance : 3.5/5
Service : 4.5/5
Value: 4/5
RTE (Return to eat) : Yes

Details

2nd Floor,
80 Middle Road,
Intercontinental Hotel
Singapore 188966
+65 68251062

Daily: 11.30am – 3.00pm & 6.00pm – 10.30pm