1 Market (1 Catastrophe) by Chef Wan

1 Market by Chef Wan (Score: 1.5 out of 5)

This was bad. Sorry. It's worse than bad. Ok, don't get me wrong. Its not as if the food was inedible (thought the beef rendang and the lamb leg that I had was close to being inedible) but this was just a very very very bad buffet. I should have listened to the other reviews and stayed clear of this catastrophe. 

How bad is it you ask? Well, lets try enumerating what makes a bad buffet.

1. Cold hot dishes - check
2. Hot cold dishes - check
3. Bland food - check
4. Very tough meat - check
5. Very tough bread - check (yes the rojak was horrible)
6. Seafood not fresh - check
7. Bad dessert - check
8. Celebrity Chef name to sell a bad product - check check check

Our Orders

Carving Station with ahhh yes... no edible food.

They should fire the guy behind this table. He tried to serve me cold lamb scrap to pass off as lamb leg. Then again, they should fire the EC for no QA.

Spring Roll and Samosa

Ok the spring roll and samosa was edible and in fairness it was crispy and hot.

Hot dishes (Grilled Prawn, Beef Rendang, Honey Mutton, Crispy Chicken, Mixed Vegetable)

Chef Wan if I'm not mistaken is Malaysian. He is one of the if not the most recognizable names in the Asian Food Network. Please tell me how can you have allowed the grilled prawn to be not fresh. Actually I saw them stacking this and curious as to how they can pass food safety standards for seafood. 

The beef rendang is just sacrilege. It was tough, It was cold, and it was bland. If this was my restaurant, I'd close it and fire all the responsible people in the QA. Now if Chef Wan allowed this to be the standard then Chef Wan my only message to you is this, pack up and go home. You aren't doing your reputation here any good. 

The only saving grace in the hot food area was the green curry chicken which was ok.,

Rojak

How can a restaurant make rojak bad? By serving it with bread that is dry and almost inedible. The saving grace here though was the sauce was actually good and the other ingredients like green mango and cucumber were fresh.

Tempura, Spring Roll, Samosa, Grilled Salmon

The tempura was ok. Not in the picture is the sashimi together with the tempura which was a sorry sight. Stay away from the sushi bar specially the Sotong (Squid). Actually stay away from the restaurant.

Mee Soto

Think chicken soup with noodles that you can bulk from the grocery... that is Mee Soto

Another shot of hot dishes. In fairness if presentation was reflective of taste then these would be good.

Satay Section

The saving grace of the restaurant. You will see people line up here as this is probably what people just want to eat in this place. Too bad they serve around 50 sticks of beef and 50 chicken at a time. and people normally get 10 sticks per... and the queue is for about 10 people.... go figure out my point. The bad part here is that for the saving grace of the restaurant, you can get the same if not better satay outside. LPS satay will kick this restaurants a$$.

The satay for our table

Dessert

MMMMMM..... dessert. I wish I never got these. It was bad. Saying that kids make dessert is an insult to kids who make dessert. 

Our attempt for Iced Corn on Shaved Ice (Mais Con Yelo)

This is how it looked like when we got it. This is also how it almost looked like when we left... 

I think I've bashed this restaurant too much already. At the end, a buffet with really bad food mixed with some ok food never works. I can only think of the satay and the chicken curry as the ok food. If this restaurant didn't have Chef Wan's name I think it would be close soon. 

He must visit this place and try out the food for himself. 

Price and Value

All-in-all the bill amounted to around SGD 70 (SGD 35/person). Cheap nowadays for a buffet of this size in Singapore but unfortunately everything was just that cheap. Go to hawker and enjoy the same food there with better quality. And I don't mean to insult the Hawker stalls here in Singapore.

Rating:

Food - 1

Ambiance - 3

Value - 1

Service - 1.5

Overall 1.5 of 5

Repeat Factor (No!! No! Yes Yes! Yes!!): 

No!!

Restaurant details:Official Website: N/A
Address: Plaza Singapura, New Wing, Orchard Road
Tel no: +65 6341 9159

Tim Ho Wan Preview

Tim Ho Wan : The Preview (No Score Yet)

So we went to Plaza Singapura Today in the hopes that we will be able to try the infamous Tim Ho Wan. Unfortunately, it was their grand opening today and they were only going to open to the public at 1 PM plus there was already a line snaking outside the restaurant. That meant we needed to wait in queue for probably 3 hours. The automated ticketing system is not yet in place.

Fortunately, they had a donation/charity activity ("Buy a Bao for Charity") today, where you can pay SGD 2 for 1 piece of the famous Baked Bun with BBQ Pork. SGD 5 gets you 2 pieces. SGD 10 gives you 3 pieces and SGD 20 gives you 4 pieces. Yes it doesn't make sense but heck its a charitable activity. So we get 2x of the SGD 5 offers and got ourselves a taste of what we could have had for lunch.

The Bun

I have to say, if this bun is a sign of things to come then I will just praise the Tim Ho Wan now. I loved the crispiness of the bun. I wonder how much butter they used here but I DON'T care. It's good. The bun is similar to the coffee buns available here in Singapore.

The BBQ pork filling though was not very special. The sauce was sweet and it was also pipping hot which was good. But I think the secret of this dish is not on the individual components but the combination of both bun and filling.

One advise, eat it while its hot :)

Restaurant details: http://www.timhowan.com/
Address: Plaza Singapura, Orchard Road,
Tel no: N/A

Ichiban Sushi @ ARC

Ichiban Sushi @ ARC near Mapletree Business Center (Score: 4 out of 5)

Ichiban Sushi is a popular chain of Japanese restaurants here in Singapore. There is another chain called Ichiban Boshi which is a sister company and mostly serves the same food. There are items that are quite pricey but in general the food is good valued specially the chicken katsudon.

Almost all of the Ichiban restaurants that I have seen always have a line be it lunch or dinner (though the one at the ARC has lighter queues in general due to its location). Though the food is not extremely good, I have to commend them for consistently serving good food.

Our Orders

Ebi Tempura Curry Rice Set (served with Miso)

Tori Karaage (Fried Chicken Dumplings)

Chawanmushi

Chicken Katsudon Meal (served with Miso Soup)

The chicken katsudon is the best value for money in Ichiban. Served with 5 thick and meaty strips of chicken this meal will surely fill you. There is nothing fancy with how they cook their Katsudon. It has the standard breaded chicken served as a rice topping plus an egg on top. They do pour some sauce which drips down to the rice which makes this dish extra yummy.

Every time that we eat here, I don't fail to order their chawanmushi. Chawanmushi, for the uninitiated, is a Japanese egg appetizer. The best way that I can translate this is Savoury Egg Custard. For me this is one where Ichiban shows terrific consistency as this dish is always good anywhich branch I visit. And yes this is a must try.

The tori karaage was also very good. The chicken was still moist and juicy inside and the skin was crispy on the outside. Any deep fried chicken that has these two is a seller and this one is one of them.

The Ebi Tempura Curry Rice is also good but nothing special. I always like tempura that isn't greasy and this passes that criteria. I am sure there are restaurants out there which serves better Japanese curry.

Note: I previously visited the same branch and ordered unaji (Eel rice meal set) and this was a definite no repeat order (ie stay away). It had 5 small pieces of eel and unlike the chicken katsudon, this item will be a let down if you order it.

Price and Value

All-in-all the bill amounted to around SGD 32. Since we are a frequent visitor of this restaurant chain, we have their promotion card which gives the chawanmushi (should be 5-6 SGD) and the tori karaage (should be 7-8 SGD) for free. So if you order this all these ala carte, the bill should be around 45 SGD. It is good value for money but just be careful with some of the menu items as they are not that good value.

Rating:

Food - 4

Ambiance - 4

Value - 3.5

Service - 4

Overall 4 of 5

Repeat Factor (No!! No! Yes Yes! Yes!!): 

Yes!

Restaurant details: http://www.ichibansushi.com.sg/
Address: ARC Mall, Pasir Panjang cor Alexandra Road, 2nd Floor
Tel no: N/A

Hyangtogol Korean Restaurant

Hyangtogol Korean Restaurant (Score: 3.5 out of 5)

Hyangtogol is located at the Amara Hotel in Singapore. Note this is not in the mall but in the actual hotel itself. The place was actually quite spacious and the restaurant wasn't so busy for a Sunday lunch. The ambiance though shouts traditional Korean food and that is what we ordered.

Our Orders

Chapjae

Sides for Bossam

Banchan (Korean Side Dishes including Kim Chi)

Spicy soup with Tofu

Grilled Beef 

Bossam

I'm not going to sell this as the best Korean Restaurant here in Singapore but all I can say is that the food was good. The highlight of the experience is actually not on the main dishes that we ordered but on the banchan. Specifically, fermented and non-fermented kimchi. Its the first time that I actually had non-fermented kimchi. Non-fermented kimchi doesn't have this distinct kimchi smell (probably due to the fermentation process) and it taste more fresh and light.

Lynn and I liked the spicy kimchi soup with tofu. It was just weird that they served it with rice but it did work. The rice did help balance the spiciness of the soup and and the same time made it more filling as well.

Bossam, is a Korean dish of steamed pork where you are given a plate of vegetables, kimchi, garlic, and steamed pork and you create your own wrap. Each person is also given their own dipping sauce. This was also very good and wished we had some soju (Korean Wine) to make the experience complete.

The Grilled Beef was also good but I wouldn't say the best. There were parts of the beef that was a bit tough but there were also some that was soft all the way (but not wagyu soft). I would love Korean BBQ more on a buffet setup though rather than ala carte.

The Chapchae is a disappointment. If you go here, don't order the chapchae. Its a waste of money (20 SGD). Not that it didn't taste ok but man we are in Singapore where you can get better noodles for a lot lot cheaper price. Ok, maybe I shouldn't compare with other noodles but this was just wrong in so many ways.

Price and Value

All-in-all the bill amounted to around SGD 131. Chapjae (20 SGD), Bossam (33 SGD), Grilled Beef (40 SGD), and Spicy Kimchi Soup (15 SGD). Split among 4 people we paid about 32.50 SGD per person which isn't bad. The banchan was also refillable. So the value wasn't so bad but I still take offense with the 20 SGD Chapjae. Our friend said that in Korea this would normally be free :(

Note: I read somewhere that the RWS branch is a disaster but fotunately this was not the case in the Amara Hotel Branch.

Rating:

Food - 3.5

Ambiance - 3

Value - 3.5

Service - 3.5

Overall 3.5 of 5

Repeat Factor (No!! No! Yes Yes! Yes!!): 

Yes

Restaurant details:Official Website: http://singapore.amarahotels.com/dining
Address: 165 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore 088539
Tel no: +65 6220 7160

Luk Yu Teahouse and Restaurant

Luk Yu Teahouse and Restaurant (Score: 4 out of 5)

YOU MUST TRY THIS RESTAURANT! I won't be selfish. But I hope this dimsum place gets the recognition it deserves cause the dimsum here is GREAT!

Lynn and I were debating since last night where to have lunch today. We decided to have dimsum. First thing I did? Go to Hungrygowhere and check out what was on the highly recommended list. We have tried some other places like "Taste Paradise", "Din Tai Fung", and "Crystal Jade" but wanted to veer away from our normal places.

Fortunately she suggested that we got to the newly renovated China Point Mall in the Chinatown area. There used to be a chinese restaurant there that was good as well. So when we got there the old chinese restaurant I was thinking of became Din Tai Fung, which I wanted to avoid. 

So we went around and saw Luk Yu Teahouse and Restaurant. The receptionist was quite busy but from the outside I saw some empty tables. She also seemed to be not paying attention to the queue as she was sometime entertaining people behind us (mind you she hasn't even asked us for details yet). Not a good sign but well Singapore doesn't really have the best service standards anyway. I'd say they were roughly 90% occupied.

But kudos to this place as I would have really really regretted it if we chose any other place.

Our Orders (and emphasis on order"S")

Beef Ball Dumpling

Yam Puff

Ha Kao

Xiao Long Bao

Creamy Custard Bun 

Century Egg Pork Congee

BBQ Pork Pastry

Herbal Tea

Minced Pork Noodle

Abalone Glutinous Rice in Lotus Leaf

Siew Mai with Prawn

Pan Fried Carrot Cake

Pork Ribs in Black Bean Sauce

The food in Luk Yu was surprisingly delicious. Good enough for me to actually say... "Honey, do you think this is the best dimsum restaurant here in SG?" And I mean it. I was surprised at how good the Pork Sio Mai with Prawn (SGD 1.80/pc), BBQ Pork Pastry (SGD 3.80/3 pcs), the Chicken Feet (SGD 3.80/plate) and the Abalone Glutinous Rice in Lotus Leaf (SGD 5.5/pc) . These four dishes were probably on top of the yummy list. For some reason they have been able to make these "regular" dimsum just taste better than normal.

The next part of the yummy list is the Century Egg Pork Congee (SGD 5.80/bowl) and Minced Pork Noodle (SGD 7.80/bowl). The congee was simply fantastic. Why? I don't know. Its probably the way they executed the crispy wanton as it was perfectly crisp and every spoonful of congee seems to have that wanton skin. But it just wasn't that. There was something else which you must experience to know how that "different" tastes like.

The Minced Pork Noodle is the same. Looks like a normal bowl of noodle but again it had this distinct taste and smell that made us say "Wow! that's gooood". Normally dimsum places will have 1 or 2 good things going for them but if they are able to deliver very good food across different items then you know you have a winner.

The rest of the dishes: Xiao Long Bao, Yam Puff, Pan-Fried Carrot Cake and Beef Ball were also good but I would say nothing special. Paradise Dynasty is still my no.1 Xiao Long Bao place. Lynn does like the Yam Puff but I think I've tasted better. 

Special mention will be the Creamy Custard Bun. If people will eat this first time in this place, I promise you, they will keep on going back to order this here. But I have to give the 1st price still to Taste Paradise Creamy Custard Bun. The bun there is just softer and the Luk Yu bun was, for me, a bit tough. BUT, its still good. When I go here next, I will still order it.

But at the end of the day if a restaurant will be judged by its worst food then Luk Yu is still at least good which is very good (hope that's not confusing). Probably my only angst would be service but the food was served hot and quite fast. It just wouldn't really hurt for them to be a more courteous. 

Price and Value

All-in-all the bill amounted to just around SGD 81.70. Not cheap but I would say we ate for more than 2 people today. I'd say given what we ordered, we could have had another person and not order anything more.

Rating:

Food - 4

Ambiance - 4

Value - 3.5

Service - 3.5

Overall 4 of 5

Repeat Factor (No!! No! Yes Yes! Yes!!): 

Yes!

Restaurant details:

Official Website: http://www.lukyu.sg/ (under construction)

Address: Chinatown Point #01 - 41/42 Chinatown

Tel no: +65 6262 1717 (Reserve for big groups)