Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe (Tiong Bahru Plaza)

the restaurant was 3/4 filled when it was 11.30am on a Sunday morning.. the decor was bling bling and the restaurant was quite spacious.. but clearly. it was under-staffed! the groggy floor manager kept scolding her staff in front of the customers.. so awful lorz.. no one complained anyway.. relaxed lahz..

let's do some savour some food with ur eyes! open your mouth big big and say ahhhh~~






on the whole.. it's the 2nd best Xin Wang outlet i've been to.. the best is still Ion's and the worst is still Cineleisure's.. MUST TRY: Bo Luo Bao!! very tasty~~ *droool~*
Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe (Tiong Bahru Plaza)
302 Tiong Bahru Road
#01-05/06 Tiong Bahru Plaza
Tel: 62709646

Hippopotamus Restaurant Grill

the photos of this post were taken with my sister's new camera.. hmmm.. i'm more used to my camera so i'm not very satisfied with the pictures.. nonetheless.. my sis and i were very satisfied with the steaks at Hippopotamus Restaurant Grill..

of course.. be realistic with your expectations.. don't compare the steaks with those that cost more than 100 bucks in up-scale and high class restaurants..

considering the price range, i'd say Hippopotamus Restaurant Grill offers better steaks than Aston.. however, Aston has a better range in the choices of sides..

but i'll hold my reservations on commenting on how good or bad Hippopotamus Restaurant Grill is.. the restaurant is relatively new and i felt that it is not well-established yet.. the location is rather secluded at basement 1 of Marina Square..

when i was walking towards the restaurant, i thought it was empty.. but i realised the customers were all ushered to the back of the restaurant.. i just thought that they should fill up the seats at the entrance of the restaurant.. it's a psychological cum marketing technique.. by filling up the seats near the entrance create a false impression that the restaurant is popular and considering human's curiosity of "how could i miss this??!" will draw more customers.. rmb how we will queue in a queue even when we dunno what we are queueing for? it's the same logic..

anyway.. the staff were all courteous and knowledgeable.. very approachable.. pls don't hesitate to ask them if u have any questions! i'm not a pro when it comes to steak.. there are so many different parts of the cow where the steaks came from.. and i dunno which are what and what is where.. simply, i dunno what i'm eating.. but i know it's nice.. that's it.. haha~~




i like that they offer potato chips while u slowing decide what u want on the extensive menu of steaks.. but i really dunno how to appreciate the bread they provide after they took ur order.. if the bread hit the glass, the glass will shatter.. LOL..

let's get on with what my sis and i had.. ooops! sorry.. there'll be no explanation of the dishes coz i've forgotten what i had.. i know it's steak.. no worries.. i can assure u that the steaks at Hippopotamus are good and value for money.. XD






P.S.: they offer course meal but the main course (includes 3 sides) itself is very filling already! so if u go in pair, one course meal (main course with 3 sides plus appetiser and dessert) to share / two main courses would be enough..
Hippopotamus Restaurant Grill
6 Raffles Boulevard
#01-204/205 Marina Square
Tel: 63385352

Imperial Treasure Noodle & Congee House (ION)

i had my dim sum lunch @ Imperial Treasure (ION Orchard) on the eve of CNY.. it was very crowded.. the patient queue of people lining outside the restaurant is such a common sight already.. first of all.. i'd like to compliment the staff for their ultra-good service and politeness.. this is, thus far, the most applaudable customer service of a dim sum restaurant i've encountered.. not only they were very courteous.. the staff were super efficient.. the food were served piping hot in less than 10 minutes.. they were observant to the tables of customers.. cleared the plates and refilled the tea readily..

okay.. now let's go on to the food~~

Century Egg with Pork Congee



Smooth congee with lotsa ingredients! the pork was well marinated.. could taste the sweetness of the meat and it was still tender.. good! the congee is different from that of Crystal Jade's.. this is at least a level better than CJ's.. i find CJ's congee too diluted.. and recently has became less tastier.. Imperial Treasure's congee is more fragrant and more worth the price.. (^O^)

Har Kau



the skin was not dry but it was slightly thicker than i expected.. but still acceptable.. the prawn was very Q.. springy and tasty BUT because of the thick skin.. the prawn's juiciness diminished alot.. nonetheless it's better than CJ's..

Siew Mai



well done! it's on par with CJ's Dining IN but i still prefer Old Hong Kong's Siew Mai.. the taste of the pork, prawn and mushroom blended nicely.. its really tender and juice spurts out when u bite it~ (>_<) sweet...

Yam Puff



i don't like this dish.. nothing against the restaurant.. just that Yam Puff was never on my dim sum list of faves.. i like yam!! but when it's mixed with mushroom and what's inside?! idk.. the taste that turns out from the whole combi really doesn't appeal to me.. so i gave mine to my mom.. haha~~

Deep-fried Prawn in Beancurd Skin



ahhhh~~ this is good!! good !! good! i wanna eat this again.. the outer is suuuuuuuper crispy! the prawns were springy and tasty! pls note that the beancurd was salty already so u don't need to dip the soy sauce provided..

Pan-fried Carrot Cake



disappointed! CJ's Dining IN and Old HK are the two places that serve the better carrot cakes.. this one is not fragrant! dry and bland.. sadzzzz..

Shrimp Rice Roll



the rice roll was too thick! another disappointed dish..

Char Siew Bao



wah! i was surprised.. not only they were generous with the char siew.. the char siew was very tasty and fragrant.. the bao was soft and fluffy.. though it was left on the table very long but it was still springy.. good!

Steam Custard Bun



MUST-EAT!!! this is much much better than CJ's!! omg.. i was shocked when the hot custard oozed out.. the fragrance just spreads through your mouth every bite u take.. this is very very good!!

Souffle Egg White Ball with Red Bean



MUST-TRY! i like this.. i can finish all 3! LOL~~ it's very nice.. the outer is fried egg white sprinkled with icing sugar.. it wasn't too sweet coz the red bean inside blended in just nice.. it's not all mushed up! u can still savour the soft red beans..

definitely i'll be going back again! hahaaa~~
Imperial Treasure Noodle & Congee House (ION)
2 Orchard Turn
#B3-17 ION Orchard
Tel: 65098283

Putien (NEX)

it was my mom's birthday so we went to Pu Tien to celebrate~ as many reviewers have mentioned, i was kinda disappointed as well to learn that they no longer serve buffet.. nonetheless.. the food is worth the visit and the $$$.. now let's cut the chase and go on to my food journey~~

Fried Noodle (Mee Sua) 妈祖面线



this is the best Mee Sua i've ever had so far.. no only the Mee Sua is super fragrant after absorbing the sweetness of the clams, scallops and prawns.. there's nuts that adds crunchiness into the soft Mee Sua.. also.. the seaweed is super crispy as if they were pan-fried.. even after u've left the dish that for a while.. unlike most of the mee sua that we had which absorbs the soup and becomes super soggy.. this Mee Sua @ Pu Tien does not! of course it absorbs the gravy/soup but it doesn't become mashy and soggy! woah~~ this is nice!
my mom's recommendation!

Bamboo Herbal Prawn 药膳竹筒虾



this is heavenly! the herbal taste is not those bitter kind.. it's sweet and very fragrant.. the bamboo, after being steamed, enhanced the aroma of this soup.. not only the soup was great till i licked to the very last drop.. the two BIG prawns are very smooth, sweet, fresh, Q and fused with the herbal fragrance of the soup..
MUST HAVE!!

Pu Tien Sweet & Sour Pork with Lychees 莆田荔枝肉



i know mixing lychees with sweet & sour pork is no longer novel.. but this one @ Pu Tien is really one of the best i've had! firstly, the sweet & sour pork is ENTIRELY cover with the thick and tangy sauce.. however, the outer of the pork remains crisp while the inner is super tender and juicy with the fragrance of lychees!! wonderful dish~~
MUST TRY!!

Deep-fried Chicken with Garlic 脆皮蒜香鸡



i'm so glad the chicken wasn't dry and tough.. coz it sure looked like it would.. but i'm kinda disappointed with its boring and not-surprising taste.. it just taste like every other Deep-fried Chicken with Garlic that u can find in other similar chinese restaurants like Crystal Jade..
Can give it a miss. . .

Pomfret in Fermented Red Rice Wine 红糟鲳鱼



the fish was dry.. sliced toooooo thinly that i can't savour or even enjoy the sweetness of the fish.. as they were too thin so ultimately after all the frying.. the fish became super dry.. *sad*
Can we skip this?

Deep-fried Duck with Yam 芋香鸭



very very very very very very UNIQUE!! i'm a person who seldom eats duck coz i think there's a smell and i don't really like it.. but this is good! not only the duck meat is tender, soft, it is sweet too! the yam that wraps around the duck gave a very surprising good combination.. the yam is very fine and fragrant.. it is not too sweet so as not to overpower the taste of the duck (main).. the outer crust just perfects the dish.. the crust is not oily and not thick.. though i think there can still be improvement on the sauce.. as both duck and yam are considered sweet ingredients.. the sauce could be more tangy.. maybe could add like plum sauce or orange sauce?? i find the sauce they have a little too diluted.. nonetheless.. my mom and sis find this dish very good even without the sauce..
THUMBS UP!!



i enjoyed my first dining experience at Pu Tien.. the staff are very polite, attentive, well-equipped with knowledge they ought to abt the dishes and my mom likes that they are well-groomed.. looking neat and tidy also gives people the impression that the restaurant is hygienic and food is 'clean'.. most importantly.. the service is very prompt.. i waited only for abt 7 mins and within another 7 minutes i had all my dishes up.. so efficient! GOOD!!!
Putien (Nex)
23 Serangoon Central
#02-18/19 Nex
Tel: 66348035

Wong Kok Char Chan Teng (Bugis Junction)

though i've had meals at Bugis Junction so many times.. this is my first visit at Wongkok Char Chan Teng.. hmmm first impression is really important.. and frankly speaking.. Wongkok didn't leave me a good impression on the staff and customer service.. the staff weren't being attentive enough.. not only me but other tables were waiting to be served or trying to get their attention.. besides.. a smile is FOC but worths more than monies.. why can't they just be polite and give a smile or even a WARM welcome.. u should pay attention to their COLD and monotone w.e.l.c.o.m.e... (=.=) well.. though i'm unhappy with the service and some of the staff.. the food left me a totally different impression..

i was overwhelmed by the menu.. it was a little messy.. and there're tooooo many choices for me to decide what i want to eat..




the appetizers (above pictures) were generally nice.. i couldn't rmb what they were called but the first one was really nice and refreshing.. the second one tasted special.. new to me.. haha.. my description aint helpful right.. ORZ



then my main was Chicken chop baked rice.. it's GOOD!! i'm a regular of Xin Wang.. and srsly.. the baked rice at Wongkok is better.. coz Xin Wang's baked rice is actually plain rice but Wongkok's one is sth like fried rice.. the rice itself: Wongkok wins.. but Xin Wang's chicken chop is bigger and taste better.. Wongkok's chicken chop is slightly less tastier.. Chicken chop: Xin Wang wins.. the cheese of Wongkok is slightly drier and less creamier than Xin Wang so it depends on individual's preference but for me.. Cheese: Xin Wang wins.. however.. price plays a part right?? if weighing all the pros and cons and in consideration that Wongkok is just a tiny bit cheaper.. i think Wongkok is worth trying but i'll continue my regular visits at Xin Wang.. haha~~
Wong Kok Char Chan Teng (Bugis Junction)
200 Victoria Street
#02-50 Bugis Junction
Tel: 63362003