House of Peranankan at Capitol Piazza

The House of Peranankan Group of restaurants is a pioneer in Nonya cuisine and it is managed by a group of Peranankan of 3 generations. Bob Seah, who is the owner, first established Peranankan Inn in the 1980s and he created many inspiring Peranankan dishes like assam prawns. 

We were at their Capitol Piazza outlet to try this exquisite Peranankan cuisine. The ambience of the restaurant was lovely and very nicely decorated with Nonya settings. We ordered 3 mains and 1 appetizer for dinner this evening.

1. Nonya ngoh hiang ($8) - 1 roll of crispily fried ngoh hiang cut into 5 pcs. The filling was crunchy and filled with bits of water chestnuts, minced prawn and pork. Goes nicely with the sweet sauce and had the right spice taste. Would be better if it is less mushy. Rating: 3.8/5

2. Nonya chap chye ($10) - braised cabbage in claypot with black fungus, beancurd skin and glass noodles. The taste was just right and goes really well with the rice. Rating: 4/5

3. Beef rendang ($14) - small beef cubes in rendang sauce. The beef was slightly tough but the rendang sauce was quite well done and flavorful. Rating: 3.9/5

4. Ikan tempra fillet ($12) - one small pc of red snapper fillet fried with lots of onions, lemongrass in sweet and sour sauce. Was surprisingly delicious and appetizing! Rating: 4.2/5

Portion of the food is really very very small and would be better if it is served in a bigger portion. Maybe the Nonyas enjoy small exquisite dishes. The place is definitely not recommended for huge eaters. Service was overall ok but food could be a little warmer.

A summary of what we had:

Nonya ngoh hiang

Nonya chap chye

Beef rendang

Ikan tempra fillet

My overall ratings:

Food: 4/5

Price: 3/5

Service: 3.8/5

Ambience: 4/5

You can locate them here:

House of Peranankan

13 Stamford Road, #B2-52, Capitol Piazza, Singapore 178905

Restaurant - Peranakan

0

Maxi Mango at Capitol Piazza

Maxi Mango originated from Davao, Philippines and has more than 43 outlets in the Philippines. It arrived in Singapore in July 2019 last year with its first flagship stall setup in Capitol Piazza. 

Maxi Mango is known for their mango soft serve ice cream topped with Cebu mangoes. The soft serves comes in 2 sizes, 8 oz and 12 oz at $4.90 and $6.90 respectively. We decided to try their Mango Graham, which comes with ice cream, sweet cream, mango cubes and Graham crackers. We thought the graham crackers tasted a little weird with the ice cream. The ice cream itself was not overly sweet and so it goes well with the sweet cream. The only drawback was the weird tasting graham crackers.

There was no more crowd in line unlike their first launch. Hopefully Maxi Mango would be able to sustain as we still see many going for our usual yogurt and bubble tea as desserts.

My overall ratings:

Food: 3.5/5

Price: 3.8/5

Service: NA

Ambience: NA

You can locate them here:

Maxi Mango Singapore

Capitol Singapore, #B2-29, 13 Stamford Road, Singapore 178905

Deserts

0

Five Guys at Plaza Singapura Dhoby Ghaut

Five Guys, America all popular burger chain has finally landed in Singapore after Shake Shack opened it's 1st outlet at Jewel. Located at the 1st floor at the entrance of Plaza Singapura, snake queue is expected during peak hours and there aren't many seats available in this fast food restaurant. 

Five Guys' menu is rather simple, with choice of cheese or ham burgers and hotdogs.

For vegetarians, they have the vegetable burger option as well.

All burgers come with free toppings and it's really up to you on how you would like to customize it. Most people would go for their All The Way topping which includes mayo, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, lettuce, tomato, pickles, ketchup and mustard. I am one who usually dislike pickles but Five Guys pickles are so good and balance that I dun mind going for 2nd helping of it. 

The beef patty itself is so moist and tender and with the soft buns and awesomely good toppings, the burger was a heavenly combination. Price range of the burgers are from $11 to $17. Rating: 4.3/5

As sides, we bought the large cajun and original fries ($11 each). The fries are freshly cut and fried with peanut oil. The cajun ones are a little salty and we all preferred the original. Rating: 3.9/5.

While waiting for food, we can help ourselves with the free ground nuts serving. The nuts are delicious!

Other than the crowd, for any burger eaters, Five Guys can definitely be considered as one of the best burger fast food chains around. So do come visit this wonderful fast food restaurant for a sinfully good meal!

A summary of what we had:

Cajun Fries

Little Cheese Burger

Vegetable Burger with Cheese

Bacon Hamburger

Bacon Cheese Burger

Ground Nuts

My overall ratings:

Food: 4.1/5

Price: 3.9/5

Service: NA

Ambience: 3.5/5

You can locate them here:

Five Guys

Plaza Singapura, 68 Orchard Road, #01-32, Singapore 238839

Restaurant - Western

0

BaGuo Grilled Fish at Food Republic Somerset 313

BaGuo Grilled Fish is opened by local restaurant Lao Sichuan. Despite located in a food court, it opted to maintain the same standard as the original restaurant at an affordable price. 

We were there for the very first time to try their grilled fish. We opted for the grilled fish with double green pepper chilli and it comes with 2 free sides. We chose our favourite golden mushroom and beancurd skin. After Passion Card and Fave discount, the grilled fish cost $33.10. 

They recommended their Qing fish as there is less bones. We had to wait about 15mins before the fish was served. The portion is sufficient for 2 persons and can opt to add in other toppings if required at $3.80 each.

As we requested for less spicy, the fish was really not spicy at all. Frankly, both of us did not like the fish as it was rather fishy in taste. The fish was not well grilled and the flesh was a little soggy for our liking especially at the stomach area. We were rather disappointed with the dish.

Maybe we should opt for their mala version instead.... nevertheless think it would be sometime before we might return to try their fish again.

My overall ratings:

Food: 3/5

Price: 3.5/5

Service: N.A

Ambience: N.A

You can locate them here:

BaGuo Grilled Fish

Level 5, 313@Somerset, 313 Orchard Rd, Singapore 238895

Food Stall - Chinese

0

Ah Ter Teochew Fishball Noodle at Food Republic Somerset 313

Ah Ter Teochew Fishball Noodle had its first stall at Amoy Street Food Center, second one at Boat Quay and with its recent opening of a new stall within Food Republic itself at Somerset 313. Ah Ter is currently run by Gilbert, trader turned hawker who took over his father's business. 

The price range in Food Republic is much higher than any of the other 2 stalls, starting from $6.50 for the basic fishball bak chor mee as compared to $3 at Amoy Street Food Center. Listed within The Michelin Guide, Ah Ter noodle is definitely one of the must try Teochew noodles. With it's new opening, the stall is running a promo of $5.50 for their fishball bak chor mee. I opted for their mee kia, which was springy and smooth and well coated with chilli. The fried lard was generous and it gave the noodle an awesome taste. The mince pork, springy fishball was just an awesome combination with the noodles.

We love the bak chor mee and will definitely be back for more!! But maybe this round we will go to their Amoy Street or Boat Quay branch for a value for money portion.

My overall ratings:

Food: 4.2/5

Price: 3.5/5
Service: N.A

Ambience: N.A

You can locate them here:

Ah Ter Teochew Fishball Noodle

Level 5, 313@Somerset, 313 Orchard Rd, Singapore 238895

Food Stall - Chinese

0

Two Men Bagel House at Icon Village Tanjong Pagar

Two Men Bagel House is Singapore's first bagel house specializing in hand rolled bagels with tasty and devilish fillings. They started in 2014 at Icon Village and till today has another branch at Novena. 

The place is so well received with the working community in both areas and thus waiting time can be quite long during lunch peak hours. The best time to visit is abt 10am on a working day and before 9am on wkends to avoid the large crowd. During our time off today, we were at their Icon Village branch to try their lovely bagels.

Ordering is done at the counter and names will be called upon food and drinks readiness. We went for their classic and morning glory bagel category. There are a few bagel flavours to choose from, ranging from original to the tasty cheddar and to the sweet cinnamon raisin. We ordered cinnamon raisin with cream cheese ($5) and Pearl Harbour with cheddar bagel ($12). The cinnamon raisin was toasted to the right texture and tasted awesome with the whipped cream cheese. The bagel was soft yet chewy. 2 thumbs up! (Rating: 4.3/5)

The Pearl Harbour is part of the morning glory series. It consists of spam, greens, cheese, egg and hot sauce. The ingredients were so generous and portion is huge. Delicious for meat lovers but it is a tad salty. (Rating: 4.2/5)

The coffee ($4) on the other hand was on the average and had the sourish acidic after taste. Rating: 3.5/5

The bagels are definitely a source of good breakfast/brunch/lunch option. The menu at Novena is more extensive as compared to Icon Village. We should be going over to their Novena branch soon to try their other menu, so do stay tuned!

A summary of what we had:

Cinnamon raisin with cream cheese

Pearl Harbour with cheddar bagel

Black Coffee

My overall ratings:

Food: 4.2/5

Price: 4/5

Service: 4/5

Ambience: 4/5

You can locate them here:

Two Men Bagel House

16, #01-12 Enggor St, Icon Village Altez, Singapore 079717

featured

0

Tunglok Seafood at Orchard Central

Tunglok Seafood specialises in the best of Singapore's style seafood prepared with quality and standards. All seafood ingredients are guaranteed the freshest with the finest cooking. The restaurant is all popular for their chilli crab dishes. Besides seafood, other ala-carte dishes are also guaranteed the finest ones. 

The staff/servers are very attentive, always readily to change your dish plates when they need to. With the help of a very experienced manager, we ordered 4 dishes for dinner this evening.

1. Crispy egg plant with pork floss ($8) - portion is huge. 8 big pcs of fried egg plant topped generously with pork floss. Though highly recommended, we found the batter a little too thick and dry for our liking. Rating: 3.5/5

2. Deep fried prawns with wasabi mayo ($26) - 8 pcs of big juicy prawns lightly battered and fried. They are tossed evenly with wasabi mayo and the combination was really good. One of the better wasabi prawns that we have eaten. Rating: 4.2/5

3. Coffee pork ribs with almond flakes ($18) - small pork ribs coated with thick coffee sauce. The ribs were a little fatty and porky. We preferred the ones from KEK. Rating: 3.5/5

4. Braised beancurd with nameko mushrooms and vegetables ($18) - homemade spinach beancurd with lots of mushrooms and nai bai. Love this dish as the gravy was great plus the taste. Goes well with white rice. Rating: 4/5

In terms of price point, Tunglok Seafood is definitely on the higher side but we do enjoy their service and ambience. In terms of food, they are probably still better for their seafood dishes as compared to others.

A summary of what we had:

Crispy egg plant with pork floss

Deep fried prawns with wasabi mayo

Coffee pork ribs with almond flakes

Braised beancurd with nameko mushrooms and vegetables

My overall ratings:

Food: 3.8/5

Price: 3.5/5

Service: 4/5

Ambience: 4/5

You can locate them here:

Tunglok Seafood

181 Orchard Rd, Orchard Central, #11-05, Singapore 238896

Restaurant - Chinese

0

LECOQ at Church Street Raffles Place

LECOQ is a local yakitori bar and restaurant focusing mainly on chicken dishes. Besides serving drink snacks and sides, it also offers a fusion of Japanese and French cuisine dishes. Located along the bustling restaurant street at Capital Square, LECOQ is an affordable restaurant for many of the working class to chill after a hard day's work. 

The interior of the restaurant is modern and cosy. One can choose their outdoor alfresco dining on a cool evening to enjoy the drinks as well. We were there to celebrate Kev's birthday and had a great time with all the food ordered.

1. Mentaiko fries ($12) - delicious fries generously topped and flamed with mentaiko mayo and roe. Awesome combi deserving 2 thumbs up! Rating: 4.3/5

2. Mini mala chicken ($10) - sous vide chicken with mala sauce. The chicken is so tender and well done. Even better than the usual local boneless white chicken. Just wondering how they can make it so tender... Rating: 4.3/5

3. Salivating chicken ($16) - Sous vide chicken, mala sauce, innaniwa udon, cucumber, cabbage slaw, shoyu egg. It's a fusion chicken horfun in mala sauce. The combi was great but not for those who cannot take spicy. Rating: 4.3/5

4. Chicken katsu ($16) - Chicken katsu, curry, coleslaw, white rice, pickled daikon. The katsu was a little dry and overly fried but nevertheless still delicious. Rating: 3.9/5

5. Rosemary chicken ($16) - grilled chicken thigh, red wine sauce, mash and cabbage slaw. The thigh is so well marinated and tender. A very rich dish better for sharing. Rating: 4/5

6. Salmon mentai don ($18) - salmon, mentai sauce, tobiko, scallions, sushi rice, onsen egg. A very good mentai don which is highly recommended for mentaiko lovers. Rating: 4.3/5

7. Yakitori sticks - we ordered breast wasabi ($2.80), pork belly enoki ($3) and marbled beef ($6.80). The sticks are definitely highly recommended and goes very well with beer and drinks. The meat are all so tender even the breast. Rating: 4.3/5

Besides the great food, the drinks are also very affordable and the choices are great! LECOQ offers great ambience, food, service and drinks!! We would definitely be back for more of their dishes.

A summary of what we had:

Mentaiko fries

Mini mala chicken

Salivating chicken

Chicken katsu

Rosemary chicken

Salmon mentai don

Yakitori sticks

My overall ratings:

Food: 4.2/5

Price: 4.2/5

Service: 4/5

Ambience: 4/5

You can locate them here:

LECOQ

25 Church St, Singapore 049482

Restaurant - Japanese

0

Aroy Dee Thai Kitchen at Bencoolen Street

Previously located at Middle Road, Aroy Dee Thai Kitchen has shifted to a new location at Bencoolen Street opposite Fortune Center. Previously we did a rather good review of the restaurant and with the new shift of location, we were hopeful that the food standard maintains. 

We ordered 2 similar dishes, stir fried fish slices with three taste sauce ($10) and pineapple rice ($7.90). The three taste sauce was less spicy as compared previously and the fish slices were not all coated evenly with the sauce. The fishes tasted quite fishy today as well. Rating: 3.5/5.

As for the pineapple rice, it still tasted average and not the best that we had. Rating: 3.5/5

The 2 other dishes that were different are stir fried chicken with cashew nuts ($13) and baby kailan with straw mushrooms ($10). We love the chicken dish as it was very fragrantly fried with cashew nuts. Deserves 2 thumbs up and would have gone well with a bowl of white rice. Rating: 4.2/5

The vegetable dish was very well fried as well, full of garlic aroma and still maintaining its crunchiness. Rating: 4/5

Just 3 yrs ago, there was no service charge and GST but today, all dishes are subjected to GST and service charge. Portion remains huge over the yrs. For a decent Thai food in town area, Aroy Dee could definitely be considered and it's also very popular among the NAFA students.

A summary of what we had:

Stir fried fish slices with three taste sauce

Pineapple rice

Stir fried chicken with cashew nuts

Baby kailan with straw mushrooms

My overall ratings:

Food: 3.8/5

Price: 4/5

Service: 3.8/5

Ambience: 3.8/5

You can locate them here:

Aroy Dee Thai Kitchen

91 Bencoolen St, Singapore 189652

Restaurant - Thai

0

Burger & Lobster at Raffles Hotel

Burger & Lobster, located in Raffles Hotel famous Arcade, is a place where diners can enjoy both burger and lobster experience at the same time. The restaurant offers the best of Nebraskan family-farmed beef burgers and Atlantic lobsters with premium spirits. 

On this special day, we were there to celebrate our Valentine's day dinner. The staffs were all so friendly and we were glad that ala-carte menu was still available on this special day. We ordered 2 of their highly recommended and popular main courses: original lobster roll ($40) and Mayfair burger ($25).

The main courses come with fries and salad. The lobster roll consists of chilled chunks of lobster meat dressed in lemon mayo and served in toasted brioche. Its served with the lemon butter dressing as well. The brioche was so nicely toasted and simply a heavenly combination with the lobster meat. The fries are also simply so crispy and addictive. Rating: 4.2/5

Mayfair burger consists of Nebraskan beef patty with lettuce, tomato, housemade pickles, onions and homemade burger sauce. The burger was full of taste and texture but we found the patty a little dry although we asked for medium as compared to others that we have eaten. Rating: 3.8/5

As sides, we opted for sauteed mushrooms ($12). The mushrooms sprinkled with parmesan cheese, garlic and very juicy. We love it! Rating: 4.2/5

Overall, Burger & Lobster offers a very pleasant dining experience and it's definitely a great restaurant to visit for its lobster roll!

A summary of what we had:

Sauteed mushrooms

Mayfair burger

Lobster roll

My overall ratings:

Food: 4/5

Price: 4/5

Service: 4.2/5

Ambience: 4/5

You can locate them here:

Burger & Lobster

328 North Bridge Rd, Singapore 188719

Restaurant - Western

0

Holy Flavour Palace at Kopitiam Blk 450 Clementi

Another new mala stall popped up in Clementi. This time it's located at Kopitiam Blk 450, just beside the very popular Banana Leaf BBQ Seafood. 

Ingredient choices are great and they look very fresh. The stall provides free hot pot base and charges a very affordable price for the rest of the ingredients as below:

$0.80 per 100g vegetable

$1 per 100g mushroom

$1.80 per 100g meat

$2.80 per 100g seafood

Choices of spiciness is common and we opted for their mild spicy version. The vegetables and meat are all nice chopped before frying and the base pot is very fragrant with the right spiciness. We love the dish as it was not too dry nor wet. I would say that it is simply awesome!! We love the taste of the fragrant pot. This is one of the best stalls we have eaten so far in Clementi other than the all popular stall in the coffee shop near Phoon Huat.

We simply enjoy the food lots and lots and will definitely be back to patronize it whenever we have a craving for mala.

My overall ratings:

Food: 4.2/5

Price: 4/5

Service: 3.8/5

Ambience: 3/5

You can locate them here:

Holy Flavour Palace

450, Clementi Ave 3, Singapore 120450

Food Stall - Chinese

0

Goobne at Great World City

Goobne, Korea's No.1 oven roasted chicken, has opened its first store at the newly revamped Great World City just this January 2020. Goobne was first opened in Korea in 2005 with the aim of serving chicken that is rich in flavour but without frying. 

The restaurant was tended by the Koreans, who are very friendly in introducing the menu to us. The menu is simple, serving their signature oven roasted chicken in 4 different flavours, original, galbi, cheese and volcano. We opted for one of their recommended, Galbi half chicken ($18).

Galbi is their Korean bbq sauce which gives a good mix of sweet and salty taste. The chicken was so juicy, tender and delicious and definitely deserves our 2 thumbs up! It has definitely met their aim of serving chicken that is rich in flavour without frying. Roasted chicken are served with pickled radish.

**Side note: the radish is non-refillable. 2nd serving is charged at 50 cents. Rating: 4.3/5

Besides chicken, Goobne also serves some sides like japchae, seafood noodles etc. We opted for their recommended Volcano cheese rice cake ($15).

 It is Korean rice cake drenched in spicy volcano sauce serve with fish cake and cheese on a hot plate. The combination was heavenly and very well done! Not overly spicy and the rice cake was chewy and delicious. The amount of fish cake was generous and it is a must try side dish. Rating: 4.2/5

For a healthier korean chicken choice, Goobne is definitely to be considered. We will definitely be back to try the other flavours thus do stay tuned! All prices are subjected to GST and service charge.

My overall ratings:

Food: 4.3/5

Price: 4/5

Service: 4/5

Ambience: 4/5

You can locate them here:

Goobne

1 Kim Seng Promenade, Singapore 237994

Restaurant - Korean

0