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