My sister had a sudden craving for ice cream tonight, so we ended up at the Häagen-Dazs Café at Holland Village. There's nothing much to review on the quality of the ice cream because it is exactly what you would get in your usual tub of Häagen-Dazs ice cream available in supermarkets. But I do want to comment on the service, which was quite impeccable.
The Café Cartel chain has been a recent lunch/tea time favourite of my family, mainly for its value. The ribs are good value for money compared to Tony Roma's, although the dish is very localized and too spicy for my liking. I recently tried their pasta, and found that the white cream sauce is too thick. However, the pasta is done just right (al dente) and not overcooked.
Had lunch with M at Oasis Bar & Restaurant (Grand Hyatt Singapore, 10 Scotts Road, Singapore 228211) last week. They have an interesting range of health drinks. I had a "Charger", which is a blend of carrot, orange, and ginger juice. The drink is refreshing. We also shared some satay, spring rolls, and a grapefruit salad. The satay and spring rolls were ordinary, but the grapefruit salad is nice.
Had lunch with M and LH at Borders Bistro (501 Orchard Road, #01-00 Wheelock Place) last week. I enjoyed the Chicken Waldorf, a salad with lean chicken breast, lettuce, onions, and pinenuts.
Had lunch with family at Pine Court Chinese Restaurant (Meritus Mandarin, 333 Orchard Road, Singapore 238867). The food quality is very good. We enjoyed the dim sum, which had some interesting items. The prawn in pineapple sauce is also nice. The setting of the restaurant is elegant and decorated to look like a Chinese imperial court. The only drawback is that the restaurant understaffed resulting in rather unattentive service.
Had lunch with my board members at The Canteen, by Les Amis (1 Scotts Road, #02-10 Shaw Centre, Singapore 228208) sometime last month. I had the mushroom risotto with pan-fried foie gras which is alright, but my other guests doesn't seem to like the crispy braised beef that were served that day. If you want a bright, casual environment to dine in, then this is one of the places to go, but don't expect food of the same quality as Les Amis. This place is frequented by quite a number of Japanese women, from what I can tell.
The Legend Chinese Restaurant, nestled within the new Legend Country Club (Fort Canning Park, Singapore) is only 2-weeks old. My family and I tried this restaurant yesterday for lunch, and found the food rather dissapointing in both quality as well as value. The skin of the har kow (shrimp dumpling) is too thick. The S$20 portion of roast goose came with only 8 thin slices of the fowl. The glutinous rice at S$16 had hardly any ingredients, and the taste is below average. The service is quite good, but if you are looking for decent food, give this place a miss!
Had dinner at Tai Seng Herbal Restaurant (Lorong 3, Geylang, Singapore) with Ken and Jessica on 20 Jan. We ordered their famous turtle soup, which is quite good, although a little on the salty side. The soup base is very similar to that of bak kut teh (pork rib soup) and the turtle meat is very tender. The S$18 portion was just nice for the three of us.
Had dinner with family last night at Maharajah (27 Cuppage Road, Singapore 229455). We had butter chicken, butter prawns, Kashmiri chicken, lamb curry, fish Mumtaz, and a variety of Indian bread, including plain naan, tandoori roti, and kashmiri naan. On the whole, the food is quite nice, but a little pricey.