XW Western Grill at Lot One Choa Chu Kang

Xin Wang HK cafe is not new to all and recently they have decided to venture into Western food business building a very similar economical concept like Astons. With no service charge, orders are to be made at the cashier first before seated. 

 

We were at their Lot One branch this evening to try out their steaks and chops. XW Western grill is Halal certified thus there are no pork on their menu. We ordered their all time favourite mushroom sauce chicken chop and 200g prime sirloin steak. All mains are eligible to 2 choices of free sides and there is a wide range of hot and cold sides to choose from.

 

The staff at the restaurant was friendly and each table will be given a cup of free buttered popcorn to munch upon while waiting for the food to be served. The popcorn was surprisingly delicious .  We added mushroom soup to our mains but the soup was nothing special to comment. The food was served rather quickly and was pleased with the standard.

 

 

Chicken chop ($9.80) - price friendly and portion fulfilling. The chop was grilled tenderly and each cut could taste its juiciness. I love their onion rings as well as it was crispy but the mixed vegetables was a little salty. Rating: 4/5

 

 

Sirloin steak ($16.80) - 200g of medium cooked beef so juicy and tender. We liked it better than the ones from Astons as it is juicy and not tough. The aglio olio was normal but the coleslaw was good. Rating: 4/5

 

 

Overall we were rather pleased with the food and service so we would be back if we have sudden Western food craving again. 

A summary of what we had:

Chicken chop

Sirloin steak

Mushroom soup and Buttered Popcorn

My overall ratings:

Food: 4/5

Price: 4/5

Service: 4/5

Ambience: 4/5

 

You can locate them here:

XW Western Grill

21 Choa Chua Kang Ave 4 #01-06/07 Lot One Shoppers' Mall, Singapore  689812

 

 

 

 

Restaurant - Western

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Wang Cafe at Bukit Panjang Plaza

 

 

Wang Cafe is definitely not new to most people but today, I will be introducing their one of their new items on their menu: Tuna egg cheese toast. Delicious tuna combined with egg mayo toasted on their house standard bread slice with cheese. Simply a lovely combi. The toast was soft on the inside and crispy on the sides. Accompanied with their smooth kopi, this combi is simply awesome. 

One other set that never fails is their standard kaya butter toast set. 2 eggs cooked to the right temp to give the right runny consistency and standard delicious toast.

 

Besides their tuna egg cheese toast, they have also 2 other new items: Mentaiko egg mayo with soft bun and S'more toast. We will be back to try their Mentaiko egg mayo soft bun. Stay tune!

 

A summary of what we had:

1) Tuna egg cheese toast - Rating: 4.3/5

2) Kaya butter toast - Rating: 4/5

 

My overall ratings:

Food: 4.2/5

Price: 4/5

Ambience: 3.8/5

Service: 3.5/5

 

You can locate them here:

Wang Cafe

1 Jalan Jelebu #01-53/54, Bukit Panjang Plaza, Singapore 677743

 

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Mrs Pho at VivoCity

Mrs Pho is not new to those who loves Vietnamese cuisine, especially for pho lovers. With their 2 branches at Rangoon and Beach Road, Mrs Pho has opened their 3rd outlet at VivoCity basement and their latest one at 313 Somerset. With their great reviews going around, we have also decided to give it a try. 

 

We were at their VivoCity outlet. The restaurant is small and cosy with definitely the authentic Viet feel. I love the dark interior and wooden feel with neon lighting. Ordering is self service at the counter. The VivoCity outlet is having 1 for 1 promo for their sharing dishes but were disappointed that many dishes are not available already. It would be better if they crossed out those unavailable menu. We ordered as below:

 

1. Beef combo pho ($13.10) - a bowl of hot piping pho with different beef cuts. The pho was smooth and silly but the broth was really plain. Not sure if this is how authentic pho taste but it's really plain. Would prefer a stronger broth. Rating: 3.2/5

 

2. Dry vermicelli with meat combo ($13.10) - it comes with grilled meatballs, 1 spring roll and grilled pork. Did not like the pork as it was tough. The dish was really plain as well. Rating: 3.2/5

  

3. Grilled chicken ($13.20) - this was the best dish of all. Tenderly grilled chicken thigh with fish sauce. A dish to try. Rating: 4/5

  

4. Stir Fried vegetables ($10.90) - brocoli with cauliflower. Nothing great to shout abt. Rating: 3.5/5

 

The food was served very quickly but rather disappointed with the main dishes. Guess we preferred the stronger tasting pho dishes.

 

A summary of what we had:

Beef combo pho

Dry vermicelli with meat combo

Grilled chicken

Stir Fried vegetables

 

My overall ratings:

Food: 3.3/5

Price: 3.8/5

Service: 3.8/5

Ambience: 4/5

 

 

You can locate them here:

Mrs Pho – VivoCity

VivoCity, #B2-29A, 1 Harbourfront Drive, Singapore 098585

Opening hours: 11am – 10pm (Mon – Sun)

https://www.facebook.com/MrsPho/

 

Restaurant - Vietnamese

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Korea House at Killiney Road

Korea House is a family based authentic Korean restaurant along 87 Killiney Road. The rest is a small and cosy, resembling some of the family restaurants we see in Seoul. The restaurant owner is a friendly Korean lady who serves the customers with great smile and patience. Surprisingly, she speaks quite good English too. 

 

The restaurant was offering dinner promo set at $9.90 and all set comes with 8 delicious small sides, ranging from kimchi, pickled cucumber to marinated beansprouts. We love their braised eggplant and spicy pickled cucumber. So delicious and best that it's free flow. Just these 8 dishes could make well as a meal with plain rice. We ordered 3 mains as below.

 

1. Japchae with beef ($9.90) - deliciously fried japchae with thinly sliced beef and spinach. Love the springiness of the glass noodles. Rating: 4/5

 

2. Pork bean paste stew ($9.90) - hot piping bean paste stew with lots of mushrooms, tofu, pork slices and leek. The soup was just right in terms of saltiness and really good with a bowl of rice. So good during a cold weather. Rating: 4.2/5

 

3. Chicken bulgogi ($15.90) - the chicken bulgogi was a little different from our expectation. More sweet than spicy, like those that we had in Seoul. We felt that it would be better if a little spiciness could be added. Rating: 3.9/5

 

We were overall very pleased with their food and service and we will definitely be back again at this family restaurant to try the rest of their dishes.

 

A summary of what we had:

Japchae with beef

Pork bean paste stew

Chicken bulgogi

 

My overall ratings:

Food: 4/5

Price: 4/5

Service: 4/5

Ambience: 3.8/5

You can locate them here:

Korea House

87 Killiney Rd, Singapore 239533

 

Restaurant - Korean

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Magic Kitchen at Ang Mo Kio Ave 10

Magic Kitchen is a family friendly little cafe located at Ang Mo Kio housing estate. This cosy family runned cafe is well liked and so popular among the residents here. It is actually a stone's throw away from the all popular Pine Garden bakery. 

  

Orders are to be taken first at the cashier and an alphabet will be assigned to the customer while waiting for table to be arranged. This cafe opens from 8am to 2pm daily except on Tuesday where it is closed. Magic Kitchen offers a wide variety of thick toast, ranging from their all popular honey butter toast to savoury flavours like egg mayo and cheese tuna. Besides toast, the cafe also offer local delights like bee hoon, Soon kuehs, chee cheong fun and desserts and drinks. We were there after lunch hour and thus there weren't much crowd. Here's our order for today:

 

1. Fried beehoon ($2) - the beehoon was so fragrantly fried and very homely. Simply love the homely old school taste. A must try!! Rating: 4.5/5

  

2. Soon kueh ($0.70) - priced at only 70cents per pc, it was so soft and delicious. The turnip filling was just enough and all goes so well with the chilli and sweet sauce. Rating: 4.2/5

 

 3. Green bean soup ($1.80) - a bowl of delicious green bean soup so cooling and just right for the hot weather. Rating: 4/5

 

 4. Tuna cheese thick toast ($2.60) - 1 of their must try flavors other than their egg mayo. The tuna tasted a little like sardine. The toast was so soft on the centre and the crust toasted to perfection. Awesome thick toast to try!! Rating: 4.3/5

 

 5. Coffee - $1 for normal kopi and $1.80 for Irish creme coffee. Decent drinks.

 

 We really enjoyed this value-for-money meal. So homely and we loved every single dish of theirs. We will definitely be back for more!!

 

  

A summary of what we had:

Fried beehoon

Soon kueh

Green bean soup

Tuna cheese thick toast

Coffee

 

My overall ratings:

Food: 4.4/5

Price: 4.5/5

Service: 4.2/5

Ambience: 3.8/5

 

 

You can locate them here:

Magic Kitchen

529 Ang Mo Kio Ave 10, Singapore 560529

 

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Shang Social at Jewel Changi

Shang Social is a dining restaurant of the Shangri-la Hotel group. Situated at level 1 of Jewel Changi, the restaurant offers modern Chinese cuisine, ranging from fine dining Chinese cuisine to casual eating Chinese cuisine. The casual range was introduced after the Post Circuit Breaker whereby food like char siew wanton noodles, dim sum are available. 

 

The ambience was beautiful, with a touch of Oriental deco. Fortunately we were there early for dinner else queues will start after 6.15pm. We ordered most of their chef's recommended dishes as below:

 

1. Bamboo noodle in pork prawn broth ($15.80) - awesome tasting noodle dish. The soup was rich and delicious,  with thinly sliced pork char siew that simply melt your mouth. A noodles do not have any ghee taste as well. Rating: 4.2/5

 

 

2. Kurobuta pork & truffle xiao long bao ($8.80) - 3 pcs of wonderfully done xiao long bao for truffle lovers. The soup was delicious with perfect skin thickness. Rating: 4.2/5

 

 

3. Suzhou minced pork bun ($3.50) - a very interesting dish that tasted like baked xiao long bao. Rating: 3.9/5

 

 

4. Season vegetables with oyster sauce ($10.80) - a simple dish with blanched vegetable in oyster sauce. Nothing special to shout abt. Rating: 3.5/5

 

 

5. Soya sauce chicken ($17) - the chicken was really tender and sauce was awesome. However,  price a little steep for the dish size. Rating: 4/5

 

 

6. Sichuan spicy dumplings ($10.80) - 4pcs of succulent and full dumpling drenched in spicy Sichuan chilli oil and vinegar. Not as fragrant as the ones from Canton Paradise but love the juiciness of the dumplings. Rating: 4/5

 

 

We are overall very pleased with their service and food and would definitely be back to enjoy the great food again.

 

 

A summary of what we had:

Bamboo noodle in pork prawn broth

Kurobuta pork & truffle xiao long bao

Suzhou minced pork bun

Season vegetables with oyster sauce

Soya sauce chicken

Sichuan spicy dumplings

 

My overall ratings:

Food: 4/5

Price: 3.5/5

Service: 4/5

Ambience: 4.2/5

 

You can locate them here:

Shang Social

Jewel, 78 Airport Blvd, #01 - 219 to 222, Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore 819666

 

 

 

Restaurant - Chinese

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George Town Tze Char & Craft Beer at Boat Quay

George Town Tze Char & Craft Beer is a recently new Penang tze char restaurant opened at Boat Quay. Situated near Elgin Bridge, this alfresco restaurant offers delicious Penang tze char delicacies at very reasonable price. Reservations can be made easily online and they only offer outdoor dining near the river. 

 

We were there for CNY dinner and started it with one of their red rice craft beer. Could strongly taste the malty rice taste. Here's our dinner menu:

 

1. Salmon yusheng ($28.80) - it was generous for a small portion with lots of fresh salmon sashimi. The yusheng was tangy and delicious with the right amount of sauce and sweetness. Rating: 4.2/5

 

 

2. Penang laksa fish head ($28) - freshly steamed red snapper fish head doused with appetising tangy Penang laksa sauce. A must try dish . Rating: 4.3/5

 

 

3. Thai sotong ($15) - tempura fried sotong cooked in Thai style sweet and sour sauce. Was a little disappointed as the sotong was a little overly fried. Taste wise was still superb. Rating: 3.9/5

 

 

4. Rojak chicken ($15) - crispily fried prawn paste chicken cutlet mixed with Penang rojak sauce. It was a different fusion taste and would be better if they have peanut bits on the top. Rating: 4/5

 

 

5. Qinglong vegetables ($12) - a must order vegetable dish. A little oily but very well fried with beansprouts and salted fish. Rating: 4.2/5

 

 

6. XO horfun ($12) - tasted very much like San lao hor fun but with XO sauce on the top. Very nicely fried and delicious. Rating: 4.1/5

 

 

We were overall very pleased with the food and with the beautiful evening river scenery accompanying and awesome companionship, George Town Tze Char could definitely be considered for family and frenz gathering.

 

 

A summary of what we had:

Salmon yusheng

Penang laksa fish head

Thai sotong

Rojak chicken

Qinglong vegetables

XO horfun

 

 

My overall ratings:

Food: 4.1/5

Price: 4/5

Service: 3.9/5

Ambience: 4.2/5

 

You can locate them here:

George Town Tze Char & Craft Beer

81 Boat Quay, Singapore 049869

 

 

 

Restaurant - Chinese

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Na Na Homemade Curry at Tiong Bahru Plaza

Na Na Homemade Curry (NNHC) stall was started in 1989 by Yap Hock Kee, Grandma Khim’s eldest son. Its first outlet was at Marina South in that year, made a name for itself fairly quickly and was a hit amongst avid curry fans who would travel all the way there just to have their favourite dose of spicy curry.

 

With technology evolvement, NNHC has a manufacturing arm to prepare pre-packed curry paste for distribution. The business is currently being handed over to the next generation of the Yap family, with e-commerce and home deliveries of ready-cooked curries and accompanying condiments being the latest offerings for Singapore.

 

NNHC recently opened a new branch at Tiong Bahru Plaza. Besides the all popular curry dishes, the restaurant offers other tze char options. There wasn't much crowd on a weekday night, leaving us ample time and ambience to enjoy our dinner.

 

Curry fish head and ngoh hiang were on our choice but the items were already sold out.  We had 4 mains:

 

1. Curry chicken ($8.90) - their all popular curry dish but were disappointed with the taste. It was pure spicy and felt that there was too much curry/chilli powder. Rating: 3/5

 

 

2. Kyoto pork ribs ($10.90) - the picture shows dark juicy ribs but in actual it was light in color with no rib shape. All looks too general. Rating: 3.5/5

 

 

3. Chye poh beancurd ($9.80) - the best and very well done. The chye poh was deep dried with crispness before sprinkling over the soft tender beancurd. One of the better beancurds eaten. Rating: 4.2/5

 

 

4. Nai bai ($8.90) - ordinary dish. No wow factor. Rating: 3.5/5

 

 

Overall, we felt that the other tze char stalls surpasses NNHC. Hopefully their dishes could be improved.

 

 

A summary of what we had:

Curry chicken

Kyoto pork ribs

Chye poh beancurd

Nai bai

 

My overall ratings:

Food: 3.2/5

Price: 3.5/5

Service: 3.8/5

Ambience: 3.8/5

 

You can locate them here:

Na Na Homemade Curry

302 Tiong Bahru Rd, Singapore 168732

 

 

Restaurant - Chinese

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The Original Boat Noodle at Vivo City

The Original Boat Noodle is Singapore's first Thai Halal boat noodle restaurant. Located on the 2nd floor of the bustling shopping mall, this restaurant serves Halal Thai street food at very affordable price. These bite size noodle bowls are great for snack or full meal as you are order as many bowls as you want. 

 

There are 4 different flavors, with rice noodles or springy noodles with beef/chicken as options. Each petite bowl is priced at $1.50 each. We have the original Pathumthani, which is soy sauce broth made with 19 herbs and 5 spice powder. There is also the Ayutthaya, which is creamier and spicier. The creamy Tom Yum is good and popular among the customers whereby the sweet, sour and spiciness of each bowl brings a great kick. The last is the kway chap which is super child friendly with the sweet tasting broth. All the boat noodle bowls are rated at 4/5 with the Ayutthaya tasting the best.

 

Besides the delicious bite size boat noodles, we also ordered their sides to share.

 

1. Som tam Thai ($5.90) - thickly sliced green papaya salad soaked in tangy spicy fish sauce. Would be better if the green papaya is slightly more thinly sliced. Rating: 3.5/5

 

 

2. Grilled beef balls ($4.90) - 2 sticks of springy delicious beef balls. Loving the chilli accompanying it as well. Rating: 3.8/5

 

 

3. Thai fried chicken ($9.90) - seasoned fried chunky chicken with Thai sweet chilli sauce. Love the juiciness of the chicken thigh though its deep fried. A must try dish. Rating: 4.1/5

 

 

4. Flamed grill ayam legend ($10.90) - grilled marinated chicken thigh that is so tender. 2 thumbs for this dish. Rating: 4.2/5

 

 

All price is subjected to gst and service charge. We definitely enjoyed the boat noodle fun and will be back again for more.

 

 

 

A summary of what we had:

Som tam Thai

Grilled beef balls

Thai fried chicken

Flamed grill ayam legend

 

My overall ratings:

Food: 4/5

Price: 4/5

Ambience: 3.8/5

Service: 3.8/5

 

You can locate them here:

The Original Boat Noodle

VivoCity, #02-150,  1 HarbourFront Walk, Singapore 098585

 

 

 

Restaurant - Thai

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