Joy Bites

Sushi Tei

2007-07-22T21:02:00.000-07:00

Its weird why they sit themselves at such an odd location- out beside the taxi stand in Ngee Ann City. Most of the seats here are along the conveyor belt, so dad and i didn't have much of a choice.

Frankly speaking, i just have something against that food travellator. Freshness is the key to good sushi but those taken from the belt are often cold and stale. And you'll never know how many million rounds that inappetising sushi had actually gone through before entering your stomach. what a bad idea.

If you think ordering them instead would make things better, i'm afraid to say it is not. my attempt was futile when the waitress grabbed my order off that undesirable belt and served it to my face. Same fate.

Baked Salmon Maki ($2.80)

Without a doubt, my mini makis were far from fresh, and as cold as i can expect. It felt terrible chewing stiff rice with tasteless minced salmon. eeyer.

Thankfully, my next order saved the day.

Kani & Avocado Salad ($8)

Fresh wet crunchy greens and mushy avocado tasted so complementary with their light wafu dressing. Highlighting the dish were those 4 sticks of fresh crab meat.. tender but felt just like the crab stick imitations. I loved this refreshing match.

Salmon Shio ($9)

After 15 minutes of waiting, i had an excellently grilled salmon with the taste just right for me. The fillet's interior came cooked throughout, yet retaining its moisture and tenderness. Another good one.

Dad was satisfied with all his three choices. He was full of praise for that roe-topped steamed egg and fragrantly well-done beef patty. And at least his sushi came hot.

Ikura Chawanmushi ($7)

Aburi Salmon Sushi ($2.80)

Teriyaki Steak with Garlic ($12)

Another commendable aspect was the quality service. All their staffs spoke and greeted politely with many thankyous and welcomes amidst the interaction... i truly felt welcomed here.

Sushi Tei
391 Orchard Road
Ngee Ann City #02-13

Out of The Pan

2007-07-22T20:40:00.000-07:00

Crepes make a perfect light lunch, while sweet waffles draw lovely endings. Located just around the central fountain of Raffles Marketplace is a modern creperie dishing creations of Asian and European infusion. I noticed a revamped menu with obvious modifications done- new dishes inserted and some taken out.

To get the best of both worlds, Dad and i shared a crepe & a waffle.

Prawn Otah Crepe ($16.50)

Generous pieces of fresh succulent prawns smothered in a wet mushy otah paste. The slight spice added much excitement to the lovely whole-wheat crepe, still soft and good.

Hazelnut Royal Waffle ($11.50)

I seriously have much to rave about their waffles here! Stack of four waffle halves sandwiched with luxurious hazelnut custard cream, chocolate icecream and a mango salad alongside- all elaborately presented over chocolate sauce.

Now for the unplesant confusion... apparently my request for a vanilla icecream substitution was neglected but when i notified the waiter, he slowly served others before approaching to clarify and was reluctant to change it. The slight argument then brought his colleague over, who immediately got it switched for me. At least that was better. Sadly, all they did was to replace the top, leaving my waffle soaked with those melted chocolate icecream. terrible.

Nevertheless, i still enjoyed my dish. Waffles were impressively substantial, offering firm chewy pleasures plus a fragrant hint of cinnamon spice. thumbs up for their homemade vanilla icecream as well; being thick and not sickly sweet. Overall both taste and presentation excellently covered.

Ambience here may be a little odd with countless pairs of eyes staring but foodwise worth that sacrifice. All they had to do was improve on their service, seriously.

Out of the Pan
Raffles City Shopping Centre #B1-45

Aglio Olio

2007-07-14T09:06:00.000-07:00

Singapore's version of pasta with chilli padi in every plate! All orders may come in varying degree of spicyness based on your preference- mild, normal, spicy and very spicy.

Sotong Olio ($9.90)

Instead of being listed as 'squid aglio', it chose to use a more local term. Large pieces of sotongs and some button mushrooms was sauted in a garlic paste together with a right amount of olive oil. Really commendable a simple aglio olio can be done so tasty. be warned: normal was more than suffcient for me to gulp down 2 cups of water.

Mushroom Olio ($9.90)

Dad picked the same olive oil based one solely with button mushrooms. Mum and Sis both went for their usuals, tomato and cream-based respectively. no surprises at all.

Mushroom Cream Base ($9.90)

Vegetable Tomato Base ($9.90)

This is one of my favourite renditions of Aglio pasta so far. The use of chilli padis gives an exciting kick, which is a great plus point if not overdone.

Aglio Olio
3 Pickering Street
China Square Central #01-40/41
11am - 11pm (Closed on Sundays)

Tang Tea House, Johor Bahru

2007-06-17T08:04:00.000-07:00

Our dinner at Johor was yet another cheap eat. We happened to come across this hideous hong kong cafe nestled in the corner of City Square and decided to settle for toasts.

The menu boasted over 100 dishes of basic hong kong cafe offerings like Nissin noodles, baked items, desserts and toasts. Difference lies in the price, i was shocked to know that a bowl of noodles with egg and ham here only costs Rm 5! Just compare that to our local $6.90 pricings.

Ordered 3 varieties of bread-based dishes.

Thick Toast with Ice Cream (Rm 4)

Had a choice of vanilla, chocolate or strawberry and we picked the last. I like their thick toast used here.. tall and fluffy with the sides removed but weirdly spread with a thin layer of peanut butter over. smooth and creamy, it still tasted pretty good anyways.

French Toast with Kaya (Rm 3.50)

Thickly-battered bread offering a clear eggy taste but just a tad oily. The mushy middle was filled with normal coconut kaya with maple syrup by the side.

Ham and Cheese Sandwich (Rm 4)

It did look rather pathetic until we opened up the slices..

Between toasted white bread oozes warm melted cheese with tasteless ham. Acceptable for a safe dish like this.

Rm 12.70 in total made up a low-cost dinner for the 3 of us (:

Secret Recipe, Johor Bahru

2007-06-17T07:57:00.000-07:00

A slice of Secret Recipe cake for just $2 plus? no way.

That was how i used to think... until i chanced upon a Secret Recipe Cafe at Johor Bahru. This branch at Aeon Tebrau City Shopping Centre was spacious, so nicely-furnished with red that i immediately entered for lunch with my cousins Valerie & Jamie.

Luxury eats are made so affordable- the prices on the menu were similar to Singapore's but all in terms of ringgit! Comfortable sofa seats were another plus point.

Pan-grilled Dory with Lobster Sauce (Rm 17)

My main-course order of fish came with some mediocre crinkle fries and dry seasonal vegetables. The fish was battered in an coating loaded with sodium and had a slighlty undercooked centre. To be picky, the sauce was also too saltish for my liking. Now i can see how the quality is sacrificed with its price.

Both of them had a kid's meal each- dainty portions of food with mini alphabet hashbrowns. They looked awfully cute! The first was 4 bite-sized chicken burger pieces so tiny that i probably need double that portion to fill me up. Fortunately, Valerie's battered fish fillet looked a tad more decent.

Kid's Mini Chicken Burger Bites (Rm 10)

Kid's Fish and Chips (Rm 10)

Without a doubt, we had to attack their crazily cheap cakes!!

Blueberry Cheese (Rm 5.50)

Blueberry is my classic favourite without fail. Whoa, this one even had whipped cream by the side of those thick bluberry topping. The cheese was still good- fine, smooth but nothing to wow about. I didn't fancy that thick disgestive base though, it was too soft and lacked crunch.

Chiiled Strawberry Cheese (Rm 5.50)

This was done much better, comparable to the standard i get in Singapore. The nice chilled cheese with a refreshing strawberry flavour went well with chocolate cookie base. Valerie loved it.

Chocolate Chip Walnut (Rm 5.50)

Jamie, on the otherhand, made a wrong choice with their cream cakes. Yes, this was sure a generous slice but definitely not at its best.. the sponge was dry and contained little nuts within.

Foodwise, although not exactly up to mark, but i couldn't complain much for the price paid. However i must mention about their intolerant service here! Those slipshod and not-at-all approachable waiters just didn't deserve the service charge.

Still it was a good meal enjoyed with my cousins.

Yami Yogurt

2007-06-16T07:49:00.001-07:00

Yogurt aids disgestion and is a good alternative to fattening icecream...this outlet at Suntec City is where i get my yogurt fix since young!

Peach Yogurt in Cone ($2.30)

Peach Jumbo Cup ($5.20)

A 2oz softserve in for me. i simply love icecreams in cones and eaten with a spoon... pure delight! Mum and sis shared a huge 8oz portion- an order made by a pure mistake but they still loved it anyways. no one can resist such refreshing bliss.

Yami Yogurt
Suntec City #B1-K04
Fountain Terrace

Noodle House Ken

2007-06-16T06:44:00.000-07:00

It was a rare occasion to have mum offering a treat on Father's day. Dad's choice was Noodle House Ken; a ramen specialisation hidden deep inside Orchard Plaza.

Although the two available dining areas were just across each other, they were far in terms of conditions. We obviously picked the air-conditioned room with proper wooden tables and chairs instead of the stuffy space near the kitchen. Very limited menu offered... just the basic shio, miso and pork-based ones i can expect.

Taking the hint from Lifestyle's Top 10 Ramen feature, Sis and i selected the Stewed Egg Ramen.. but it was so hard to believe that they don't serve it for the day! Disappointed, but we went ahead with the miso while both mum and dad had the Charsiew one.

Opted for less oil and salt, healthy!

Miso Ramen ($12)

It was sad how this bowl of noodles turned out to be a letdown for me. Not because it wasn't up to standard, but just due to my high expectations... Everything was good, above average, but simply lacked the punch. The soup, cooked for 8 hours, came passably tasty but inadequate. Could be due to the less salt request but it just required more kick.

Much thicker and heavier noodles than anticipated; it gave firm substantial bites too heavy for my liking. I got pretty much sick of it after some mouthfuls. Charsiew on the bland side as well. But i liked the corn bits and bamboo shoots..odour-free and palatable.

Char Siew Ramen ($12)

Comparatively lighter and tastier pork-based soup with slices of charsiew in pork-based soup.

Gyoza ($5)

Low in grease with a nice crisp surface but the soft minced filling were just average.

For health-conscious ramen lovers out there, this one is a pretty good place to get your ramen fix.

Noodle House Ken
Orchard Plaza #01-17/18
150 Orchard Road

A New Start

2007-06-15T10:46:00.000-07:00

A whole new beginning to a revamped version of Joybites..

wait up for more updates! (: