Manchu Wok (New York, USA)

Manchu Wok @ Rockefeller Center
30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112, USA, +1 (218) 586-2638

Located in the basement of the Rockefeller Center, New York, this "restaurant" can be a little hard to find. In fact, it technically isn't really even a restaurant. It's more of like a take-out counter with a few tables. The good thing about Manchu Wok is that you get free samples! Somewhat like taste-testing ice cream flavours (pardon the mix of British and American English in this post) before you decide what flavour you want.

It is essentially what Singaporeans know as "Mixed Vegetable Rice Stall" in hawker centres and food courts. You basically look at what meats and vegetables are available though a glass and then tell the staff what you want and they'll put it on a plate and charge you accordingly. For my case, it was rice with two sides.

Nothing to wow about the presentation - it is basically a take-out but I got a tray so I could dine in at one of the tables. The service is great and the place is generally clean. The staff are mostly Chinese and they converse among themselves in Cantonese (a Chinese dialect) but are able to communicate to customers in Chinese-accented English.

There's my meal - Rice with 2 sides (meat & prawns). The vegetables are part of the prawn dish. The serving portion isn't exactly generous but it isn't too bad either. Taste was authentic as far as Chinese food in New York goes. All in, the meal was around US$10 which is not a bad deal considering it's location. I'd definitely recommend this place to anyone craving Chinese food in New York (:

Pizza Hut (Siglap)

Pizza Hut Restaurant
889/891 East Coast Road, Singapore 459092
Open 11am to 10pm daily - No contact number listed


Trip to Pizza Hut for dinner (a very late dinner..) on 13th March 2010 at 9:23 PM. Somehow the soup of the day seems to always be Cream of Mushroom.. Anyway, now they have some "must smile and greet customer" policy so all the staff seem like they're happy people (: most of them at least.

Anyway, we ordered a thin crust hawaiian pizza without pineapples =X as well as one chicken ole baked rice without capsicums =X with 10 pieces of sweet & spicy drumlets, 1 loaf of garlic bread, and a complete meal combo (1 soup of the day and a cooler drink of our choice - green apple)

First to come was the cooler and soup...

of course this photo was taken before stirring the green apple at the bottom to mix with what seems like sprite or 7up above it. The overall combination was nice and it wasn't overly gassy. But other than that it was a normal drink. High sugar content for sure.

The soup was better than we had expected. (Our last trip to this same outlet resulted in a diluted soup that was bland) This time, the soup was acceptably thick (: we finished the whole bowl. Although the number of mushrooms in the soup was a little.. little. I counted 3 tiny slices of a tiny button mushroom. which means we got about 1/4 of a button mushroom since it was sliced up. Not even one whole mushroom.

Sweet and spicy drumlets x10! This is a standard product of Pizza Hut and therefore I'm sure I don't really need to explain the taste. It's amazing how restaurant chains like this and McDonald's can achieve such a high consistency in taste. No matter where and when you order a plate of sweet and spicy drumlets from Pizza Hut, it always tastes the same - delicious and addictive. Which gets me wondering.. What do they put in these drumlets? It's oily, sweet, and spicy taste all at the same time is to be expected.

Chicken Ole Baked Rice! (without capsicums) - Another amazingly consistent taste from Pizza Hut. Creamy, cheesy, and a good balance of ingredients. The only downside is that the grains of rice at the bottom usually seems too dry and hard. However, mixing it up well usually solves that problem (:

This pizza was almost missing from the table... It was the last to arrive, after the waitress asked us whether any item has not arrived. I assumed they knew what was left so I said the hawaiian thin crust pizza. Apparently it seems they only prepared the pizza after I said that - without checking the original order slip which should have indicated without pineapples. Therefore, the pizza came with pineapples - which isn't a big deal but we highlighted it anyway that the order was wrong. The waitress simply smiled and took the pizza back. She came back sashaying happily and said she finished helping us take out the pineapple chunks. I would consider that great service as long as you're not one of those that demands for the kitchen to rebake a new pizza. The only thing was that she missed out one chunk. Lol.

In my opinion, the thin crust pizza is nicer than the regular pan pizza. Simply because the thin crust pizza has a better ingredients to dough/flour ratio. The pan pizza makes me feel like i'm eating bread. The baking was very even, which means the pizza was nice (:

We were SOOO FULL after everything. In the end we had 2 slices of pizza left over that the wait staff packed for us to take away. The final bill!

NYDC (New York Dessert Cafe)

NYDC @ Wheelock Place
501 Orchard Road, #02-19 Wheelock Place, Tel: +65 6736 3253

These were taken at NYDC @ Wheelock Place - BEFORE the recent renovation and facelift. Therefore, I will not be posting my review for this food outlet at this time. I will try to arrange a new review since they've updated their menu as well. Enjoy the photos (: By the way, the mudpie is the best! Sinful.

Alright, so there you go. The last photo shows the mudpie I was talking about. It's essentially an ice cream cake. DELICIOUS.

The Cafe' Cartel (The Café Cartel) @ Upper East Coast

907 Upper East Coast Road, #01-02, Springvale, T: 64499789

Right, so here's a new review... It's actually delayed (by a lot) because I didn't have much access to my computer... In fact I'm not at mine right now but that's besides the point. This meal was eaten on 11th Dec 2009 (Last year! as of now. lols)

Anyway, this is my first time at the "refurbished" and "revamped" cafe cartel and it does seem much neater and "cleaner" in a sense but I suppose if you give it a few months it will probably return back to what I was used to (bread crumbs stuck in corners of the sofa that nobody ever clears etc.) We shall see.

On to the food! The menu was "updated" as well, along with other major changes. Firstly, NO MORE FREE FLOW OF BREAD! Sadly, that was what I was there for. Things took a turn for confusion after this. The menu indicates that you'd get a serving of a side salad and bread with every main course ordered. Elsewhere in the menu, the same bread is sold as an a la carte item as well. An inquiry with a waiter regarding the discontinued free flow of bread gave me the impression that I would be getting an extra serving of bread with every main course ordered as part of their "promotion" (in his words).

Unfortunately, this didn't happen. Only 2 servings of bread were served with 2 main courses. There was no "promotion". The waiter was referring to the side salad and bread served with every main course - which is serving fries with fish & chips - it's a given! So much for the promotion. The manager initially refused to budge on the matter but gave in eventually and we were given the extra 2 servings of bread. What a breadloaf of confusion.

Sadly, the bread was unremarkable and I'd have preferred the bread offered before the revamp.

The photo of the left is that of the side salad. Her immediate reaction was like "What is this? Chopped Vegetables Ah? Do I look Like A Rabbit?"

It felt like KFC's coleslaw - poured out on a white plate. It doesn't seem fresh either. So much for the side dishes.

Onwards! TO THE MAIN DISHES!

Item 992 : Sizzling Dory Fish & Cripsy Soft Shell Crab

In one word? OILY. In fact, all the items tasted like they were dropped into a deep fryer and served. When it comes to cripsy soft shell crabs, I think I'd go back to the specialty Japanese Restaurants for that. It was so hard to taste any crab at all amid the oil and the everything the crab was suffering in. The fish wasn't any better. Either it was too bland and tasteless, or the oil was too overpowering. Perhaps both.

Item 996 : Sizzling Grilled Dory Fish & Spaghetti in Mushroom Sauce

This item was slightly better than 992 - Perhaps redeemed by the mushroom's natural strong taste and aroma to cover the bad stuff. It was, however, oily to me as well.

Another new change is that the food was served on a hot plate - Much like Jack's Place's steaks. Other than for presentation, i don't see how it helps in the taste at all.

Last but not least, we cannot forget dessert. Here, Cafe Cartel seems to have redeemed itself.

Item 195 : Crème Brûlée (Creme Brulee)

This was the star performer! It wasn't served in a regular white ceramic but a in a simple aluminium base - but that didn't matter. Personally I prefer a harder crust on the surface, but the inside was damn nice. Somewhat like a cold egg pudding. Sweeteningly sweet. Luckily the vanilla ice cream wasn't as sweet or I'd be having sugar overload. It tasted great. Not the best, but great nonetheless.

The Final Bill:

S$44.95 in total. Breakdowns above. Oh and for the record, the manager gave us a pair of their lovely little piggy soft toys. I honestly have no idea whether it was a store promo, card promo, or just CSR (Customer Service Recovery) but it made us all feel better so everything's fine and sunshine after the rain and yada yada (: But if I go back again, it'll probably be just for the dessert.

Merry Christmas!

VIG EATS dot BLOGSPOT dot COM

would like to wish everyone a

SPARKLING MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Yaki Yaki Bo, Jurong Point, Shokutsu 10

#B1-52, Jurong Point, Tel 67920583

As you can see, there are no photos =( except for this receipt. Apologies as this was an unscheduled meal and the camera wasn't with me during the meal. However, I can describe this in one word anyway. DELICIOUS. It's basically a teppan yaki restaurant, under the RE & S group (which owns ichiban boshi/sushi etc.).

I can't find much fault with the food except that the distinction between Tamago (Egg) Rice and Garlic Rice is quite misleading. If you like garlic rice and you like egg as well, go with the tamago rice. Reason? Their tamago rice is actually garlic rice, WITH EGG! -_-

Oh and they serve prawn balls and octopus balls (the puri puri prawn and tasty tako) too, which are not exactly remarkable but are at least above average (: The prawn balls do not come with bonito flakes by default so you'd have to make a special request, which I did and they did put it in for me, albeit forgetting to do so at first.

Overall, I think I'd go back there again for the food, and perhaps some photos. If I can stomach the price again.

Waffle Factory

#B1-03, Singapore Post Centre (Paya Lebar MRT)

This is a post from memory, as the visit to this place was a long long time ago. As you can see, I ate the chocolate and honey stars waffle. I cannot recall the price. However, the food was average at best, with nothing to rave about. The only thing that makes this stall stand out from the others is the variety of fillings you get to choose from for your waffles. The seating space was extremely limited though, as the stall is a rather small one. In my opinion, it is NOT worth it to try this out. There are better waffles out there.

Marutama Ramen

#03-90/91 The Central, 6 Eu Tong Sen Street, tel 6534 8090

Entrance Signage (Above) - This isn't photos from my first trip here so this won't be about first impressions. However, I'm glad to write that my impression of the food here hasn't changed much since my first impression. In short, I think the ramen here is GREAT! In fact, it's the best ramen shop in Singapore (in my opinion). If you think there's a better or nicer ramen shop, TELL ME!

Main interior seating area (Above) - This restaurant is fully air-conditioned (duh, its in an air con mall), and has no al fresco seats. Generally there are 3 seating sections. The first (not pictured) would be the "bar counter" style seats around the kitchen at the background of the photo above. The 2nd would be this main seating area as you can see.

Back seating area (Above) - The 3rd seating section is pictured above, in a set up that I feel is the most comfortable. You can also see the provided free flow of cold water, tissue, chopsticks, etc.

(Above) Non spicy ramen with added char siew (pork) and tamago (egg)! My favourite dish at this restaurant. The soup base is absolutely delicious and the saltiness is just right, althought maybe just slightly oily, but the free flow of water helps to alleviate that problem. The char siew and the egg are both soft and extremely easy to chew. All this comes with the springy noodles and the added vegetables. The chefs/cooks are supposedly Japanese. I've no idea whether the bowl includes monosodium glutamante, but i hope not =\ perhaps I should ask next time.

The finished bowl! Yes I finished every strand of noodle! In fact, if you finish your noodles too fast and have a lot of soup left, you can order a noodle refill where they will add more noodles to your soup! (: Oh and by the way, the spicy and the non-spicy soup looks almost identical to me so be careful not to mix them up with your friends. The menu can be hard to order from the first time, so make sure you clarify with the service staff first (: lols. They have another outlet at liang court if i'm not wrong but I don't know about there cause I've never tried that outlet (:

Marutama Ramen (cont'd)

Footnote: I forgot to add that the dish pictured above costs $12 (Non spicy ramen) + $4 (Add char siew) + $1 (Add egg) = S$17++

So, 2 bowls was $34, + service charge $3.40, + GST $2.62 = S$40.00 (after rounding down the 2 cents! that should be the way lor)

Approximately $20.01 per bowl la (:

Zento Singapore

Blk 18b Dempsey Road, tel 64740378
http://www.zento.com.sg

Right, this will be a summary review, simply because I cannot remember every single dish and item separately, so I will only write based on the overall experience. I will let the dishes speak for themselves in their individual photos xD enjoy the shots!

Ice Water (above)

Scallop (above)

Calamari Rings (above)

Sushi (above)

Green Tea Crème Brûlée (above)

Okay that's all the shots I've got. This was a dinner, albeit eaten at 10:45pm. We ordered two different "Dinner Sets". The first one was $58++, The second one was $98++. Both dinner sets were supposed to come with the same dessert (supposedly a chocolate based cake whose name I forgot) but we requested for one to be changed. The service staff agreed to it but also told us that we would be charged an additional $8++ for the "Upgrade" as the other dessert (green tea crème brûlée) is not meant to be served on that day. So the total bill came up to be: $58 + $98 + $8 + SVC CHRG $16.40 + GST $12.63 + ROUND $0.02 = S$193.05 which was expected, considering the base price of 58 and 98.

However, I did not think the food was worth that much. The green tea crème brûlée was so-so. I'd have very much preferred a regular crème brûlée, and for $8++, there was nothing fantastic to rave about. The chocolate cake was average too. But then again, this isn't a dessert cafe so we'll move on to the main dishes. I suppose you probably have to be a connoisseur of fusion food to appreciate the dishes. I didn't even know what were some of the dishes I was eating. The common food items were, well, common in my opinion. That would include items like the calamari rings and the scallop. The only most outstanding dish I can remember is the sushi, which wasn't your regular mix like california roll. Both plates of sushi were delicious (: The main courses were, well, forgettable! I don't even remember what they taste like. The general impression I had over all the food (except the sushi) was.... SALTY. Perhaps it was just a bad day.

Food aside, the service was very attentive, although slightly bordering on intrusive. Kinda hard to get privacy with service staff looking at your table constantly to see if you need anything. Perhaps it was because we went there at 10.30pm and there were only two other tables occupied, so I can't comment on service during the actual dinner time.

On a side note, I think the practice of rounding up the extra $0.02 is, well, unscrupulous.

Snyder's Peanut Butter Pretzel Sandwiches

from The Market @ Central, The Central, #B1-28, tel 6222 9060

The above food item is not from a restaurant or food outlet (obviously). I have no idea what the shop name is called except that it is at the basement level of The Central (Clarke Quay) somewhere near the japanese minimart. Basically, its oreo style, two biscuits with a cream in between. In this case, it was supposedly two pretzels with peanut butter in between. In my opinion, the taste of the mini pretzel was too overpowering, such that I couldn't even taste much of the peanut butter. Anyway, the pretzel wasn't that great either, it's salty bleh. So ya, I wouldn't recommend it la. =\ I can't remember the price either oh well.

EDIT: I've located the receipt and thus updated the shop name etc. The price of one packet is S$3.05 lols.

Chocolate Soymilk (Pacific Natural Foods)

from The Market @ Central, The Central, #B1-28, tel 6222 9060

As you can see, I have no idea what this is supposed to be called. Anyway I guess the full name must be Pacific Natural Foods Enriched Soymilk (Chocolate Flavoured). Regardless, it wasn't worth the money. I threw it away halfway through. It didn't taste like a single drink. It felt like drinking chocolate milk and soyabean milk at the same time, horrible! Price: S$1.80

I've tasted better chocolate soyabean milk.

DONUT FACTORY (SUNTEC CITY)

These were taken about a month ago? I think. Lols.

I tried to order a mixed milkshake. The order went something like - Me: Can I have the vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate milkshake all mixed together? Auntie: Huh? Me: Like the three flavours just pour in and mix lor. Auntie: Orh okay.

I guess it must be hard to get them in at 33.3% each. The final product? Strawberry Milkshake w/ tinges of vanilla & chocolate (: It was nice though. Strawberry was strong but nt overpowering, milky enough for me too. So it was okay. I've lost the receipts so I forgot the price.

These "balls" of doughnuts were nice. Although I can't remember what they're called or how much they cost. Lol.

COFFEE BEAN & TEA LEAF (:

Outlet: 51 Bras Basah Road, Plaza by the Park (T: 62380267)

Had a light dinner, or rather supper, since it was at 10pm, at this branch of coffee bean. I've honestly never eaten a "meal" per se at a coffee bean outlet before. Usually only go there to dapao a drink or something. But then the delifrance next door already "closed" so can't eat there and didn't feel like eating kopitiam next next door. So we tried this place (:

SALMON QUICHE. This slice costs $4.90, You can see the mushrooms and etc. inside. It was my first time eating a salmon quiche, or rather, it was my first time eating ANY quiche at all. Wikipedia says that a quiche is a french baked dish that is based on a custard made from eggs and milk or cream in a pastry crust. Anyway, I think that the quiche was not bad, but I only had a small bite of it, considering how full I already was with my late lunch and my own meal (below).

This was my meal (: It's called scramble and toast, costing $6.90! not very worth the money considering the fact that it's just scrambled eggs and two slices of toast. But it's amazing that their breakfast menu was available all day (this is from the breakfast menu). Nothing extraordinary about this set. The eggs are the same as what you'd get from a food court stall. The bread was slightly better than that of a regular loaf of gardenia/sunshine bread, but it got cold really quickly, and the taste went down with its temperature. Jam wasn't fantastic. Ate the bread with butter instead. Verdict? A simple meal lor.

These food items were accompanied by a regular hot chocolate ($5.50) and a small double vanilla latte ($2.10). The taste was as expected (nothing amazing), but the amazing thing was that it was extremely hard to tell the difference between the small cup and the regular cup. They were of the same height and shape and design! I could have sworn it was the same sized cup. The only difference was the diameter of the cup at the top -_- lol.

With regards to the post below, it's referring to the restaurant called saycheezecake, located at Tampines 1.

Their website is (apparently) located at http://www.saycheezecake.com/

Please note that the website appears to be outdated, considering that the tampines 1 outlet isn't even listed.

TODAY! I'll let the photos speak for themselves. ABOVE: Baked Salmon Risotto (S$13.90++) - Loads of cheese melted nicely over a bed of rice and salmon. The salmon is above average, but the rice is surprisingly nicer than regular baked rice, simply because it isn't plain white rice. I'm guessing it was cooked with herbs or something. This dish is delicious. Although the salmon could be better (: ABOVE: Miso Salmon (S$16.90++) - The salmon in this dish is extremely delicious. Well and thoroughly cooked, yet delicately soft and not dried out. Paired with "miso" sauce (tasted like some dashi stock based sauce), the main item in this dish is definitely worth eating again. The 2 side dishes are up to you to choose. (In this case, macaroni & cheese and broccoli) Both shots above: Treblo Cheesecake (S$6.20++) - A heavenly 3 layered cake with Chocolate sandwiching the cheesecake in the middle. Cocoa powder covers the top of the cake, giving any milo dinosaur lover a treat (: Super nice.