Cafe Vic, Carlton Hotel - April 28, 2008

Yesterday, I attended another colleague's farewell lunch at Cafe Vic, Carlton Hotel. As I stepped into the restaurant, the first thing that caught my eye was the colourful salad bar (which reminded me of the veggie corner in Marche).

From caesar salad to lovely cherry tomatoes, Italian dressing to the regular thousand island...I couldn't help but to whip up my own salad. At the bottom of my salad bowl, you will see traces of the cafe's mushroom salad (not too bad) and some tomato cum cheese (that doesn't taste like cheese) salad soaked in an unknown condiment.


Beside my salad bowl, was a cup of braised crab meat soup which I'm leaving it to my colleague's boy to comment... Lele was happily taking (my) pictures until he tried the soup...hahaha

Ok, maybe it was my hp camera flash but the soup is really something you can give a miss in this buffet...starchy...hardly any traces of crab meat (when it's supposed to be a Crab Meat soup). Btw, there is an alternative soup, Onion soup (I think) but I didn't try as it wasn't very appealing to me.

On the right side of the buffet hall, you will find appetizers like japanese octopus, smoked spicy salmon, yellow clam salad deep fried (cold) samosa & spring rolls.

On the opposide pillar, you can get a good variety of cheese & 3 types of hams from the cheese & ham counter. The hams tasted ordinary but the light yellow cheese with 'holes' was nice!

On the ice, we have the usual oysters, clams & boiled prawns. The chilled prawns were pretty fresh & sweet.

Moving on to the Mains...they have hot dishes like grilled beef tenderloin with black pepper, seafood with lotus bulb, roast duck, deep fried salmon cheeks, teriyaki chicken & irish lamb stew on mashed potatoes, sushi...

The variety of main dishes was limited & ordinary except for the irish lamb stew - one of the better hot dishes. Oh ya, I also had a mini roasted drumstick & german coiled sausage from their 'show kitchen', with 2 chefs manning the oven (for roasted poultry) & teppanyaki stove (for the sausages & assorted grilled meats). The chicken was ok but the sausage was salty! The hashbrown was worst..golden brown on the outside but very dry in the inside; the MacDonald breakfast hashbrown tastes better.

Finally...something good about the buffet...

The desserts outshone the mains in turns of variety & presentation. There are at least 8 types of cakes, along with cute mini dessert tapas, bread pudding, sea-coconut dessert, standard fruit platters & ice-cream for the sweet tooth to choose.

I tried a bit of almost everything at the dessert section (since I didn't have a 2nd helping of the mains hee..) & most of them were pretty nice, except for the 2 tapas in mini glasses. They tasted like some breakfast jams & very sweet too. The brown ball in the transparent spoon was an enlarged version of the Ferror Rocher, while the white 'snow ball' in porcelain spoon is full of milky white chocolate goodness. Beside the porcelain spoon, is a solidified version of the chinese dessert 'Fu Zhu Yi Mi' (sweet beancurd barley) with a hidden ginko in the bottom & a raspberry on top. It was not too sweet & surprisingly very palatable.

The chocolate fountain was small (compared to the one at The Line) but the skewers of fruits & mashmallows had helped to make the set-up look more attractive.

Overall, nothing extraordinary about this buffet & I think it's a bit overpriced ($35++ & $45++ for lunch & dinner) if not the card discounts. Here is my verdict:

Ambience - 6.5/10 (simple decor)

Service - 8/10

Food - 7/10 (desserts saved the day!)

Value for $ - 6/10

Fyi, the reservation no. is 6311 8195 & Carlton Hotel is located at 76 Bras Basah Road S(189558)

Cuba Libre, Clark Quay - April 25, 2008

After the ramen dinner at Marutama, we strolled across the river to the Clark Quay side for a place to chill out. Most of the pubs were pretty crowded, not a surprising sight on a friday nite. TGIF, isn't it?

We did not want to wait so we walked around to source for a quieter drinking place. We passed by the 'Clinic', drinkers either sat on 'hospital beds' or wheelchairs toasting their cocktails or beers, as thou' they were celebrating their discharge tomorrow haa.. don't think I will ever like to step into this innovative pub.

Since the more popular pubs had long queues at their entrance, I suggested the 'Kandi Bar' (http://www.hedkandi.com.sg/) which was somehow less crowded. We got ourselves a corner table & the drinks menu shortly after we settled down. But less than 5 minutes we were out of the pub again as the bright colour-changing floor was giving one of my friends dizzy spell, while the other one preferred to drink from the tap (Kandi bar only serves bottled beers). So we landed up in 'Cuba Libre' a Cuba restaurant cum bar opposite Kandi bar.

Cuba Libre proves to be a more relaxing place. The restaurant has strong Cuba & Mexico colours. The waiters & waitresses are dressed in cowboys (& cowgirls) suit too. I like the bar counter where Cuba drums are creatively used as the tall stools.

The place has a stage for live band performance but too bad we did not get to see the performance. Nonetheless we enjoyed the Salsa music played throughout our stay there. The music volume is still acceptable if you like to make some comfortable chats over your drinks.

We missed the happy hours (till 9pm) by 15min and couldn't enjoy the 1-for-1 draft beers promo. So I went for a cocktail - Passionfruit Batida ($13). According to the drink menu, it is a Brazilian cocktail, which means shaken in Portuguese; Havana 3 Yrs (a cuba rum) & passionfruit top with soda. It has a refreshing nice taste & I quite enjoyed it.

On the other hand, my friend ordered the restaurant's symbolic drink - Cuba Libre ($13), a cocktail made of Havana 3 Yrs, Pepsi & a dash of lime juice. I had a sip but couldn't really taste the rum. I think the Pepsi kind of diluted the alcoholic trace. But I like the presentation of the drink. The dyed-red starfruit added color to the cocktail, compared to the lonely cherry swimming in my glass.

Here's a close-up shot with flash

The other friend had a Heineken beer from the tap, one of my favourite beer too beside Hoegaarden & Corona. Overall, this is a nice place to chill out with your friends. I would rate it...

Ambience - 8/10
Service - 7/10
Drink - 8/10
Value for $ - 7/10

Here are the restaurant details. Do share your comments with me if you try out the cuban food there.

Venue: #01-13, 3B River Valley Road, Clarke Quay, The Foundry
Contact: 6338 8982

Marutama Ramen, The Central - April 25, 2008

It was my 4th visit to this ever-long queue ramen restaurant last evening. My initial suggestion for Ma Maison (I'll write one on it when I revisit this lovely restaurant in a cosy french cottage setting) was overruled by my friend's strong liking for Marutama ramen.

Marutama, located at the 3rd level (#03-90) of The Central (opp Merchant Court Hotel), maintains a neat & simple appearance of a traditional japanese ramen stall. A conspicuous menu (written in a mixture of Hiragana, Katakan & Kanji) was mounted onto the restaurant's exterior wall, perhaps a 'closer to home' icon to attract their japanese customers.

After waiting for 20min, we were led into the restaurant. I was greeted by the usual wooden tables, chairs and some bamboo partitions. Nothing much has changed since my last visit (at least half a yr ago), there are still a flask of iced water, a box of tissue, fried shallots & sesame seeds (optional garnishings for the ramen) placed on every table. Same goes for the menu, patrons are still limited to 3 types of ramen (strictly-speaking, I would say there are only 2 types) and the same old sides. Ok, there was this new item on the list...several dumplings soaked in (what appeared to me) some kind of hot chilli oil (so we didn't order).

Since it was the first visit for one of my friends, I recommended their 'Principal' ramen (also called the Marutama ramen). I had the same thing too. It was a chicken soup based ramen with seaweed topping & a piece of char siu (pork belly) at $12. For additional topping, you MUST try their Ajitsuke tamago for another dollar!


Ajitsuke tamago is the best seasoned egg I have ever eaten. I never failed to add this since my first visit to Marutama. The egg white was hard boiled but the egg yolk remained moist & savory! Simply Sedap! (I wonder how the chef prepares it).

The springy ramen plus the rich & flavorful chicken soup, makes every mouthful a pleasurable intake. The seaweed, unlike the ordinary ones you get from the yong tou foo stall, is a delightful complement to the noodles too. For bigger eater, you may like to leave some soup in the bowl to add another dose of ramen for a dollar more.

Apart from the Marutama ramen, I had tried their Nama Karashi ramen & Aka ramen on previous occasions. I felt the Nama ramen was a clone of the Marutama ramen (also chicken-based) but mixed with chilli to please the spicy taste buds. The Aka ramen was something new; it was a seven kinds of nuts soup base Ramen with Coriander...can't remember the taste vividly (afterall it was donkey months back when I tried it) but I did not recall any nutty aftertaste. Well, my favourite is still the original Marutama ramen.

Moving on to the sides...I would recommend the Yaki Char Siew that I tried on the last visit. Sorry no picture here cos' my friend didn't feel it was value-worthed to pay 4 bucks for 4 thin slices. I agreed it is pretty pricy but very nice! The selected meat for the grill was of a right combination of lean & fats; neither stiff nor oily. Other more popular sides include the braised radish - $6 & dashimaki tamago (the usual japanese omettele you will find on top of the sushi rice) - $8

Alright time for the final verdict...

Ambience - 6/10 (a small restaurant with a simple traditional japanese decor)
Service - 6.5/10 (bit slow in responding)
Food - 8.5/10 (authentic ramen...Oiishi! But pity no dessert in the menu)
Value for $ - 6.5/10 (pretty pricy for a ramen fix)

Btw, here is the no. 65348090, but fyi the business is so bustling that they accept no reservation.

The Line, Shangri-La Hotel - December 14, 2007

The Line is one of the most extravagant international buffets (& farewell lunch for my ex-assistant & retired colleagues) I have tried so far. Thanks god, it was at least 50% subsidised by our bosses @ Bendeemer hee.. Can't remember the exact price but I think it will cost your wallet about $120 after the ++ (before any CC discount) for dinner.

The ambience was nice (thou' it gets a little bit rowdy as the crowd built up gradually). Simply put, it was a glass tank, fused with modern simplicity of bright hues (mainly orange, red & yellow, if my memory do not fail me) and surrounded by lush of greens. A comfortable & pleasant dining venue for family, friends & colleagues gatherings. Its website claims that it has 16 culinary stations. I did not count the no. of stations but the wide spread of foods, artfully arranged in almost every corners of the restuarant, was indeed stimulating to the eyes.

I started off the buffet with the main dishes, instead of the entrée. (Well, it gave me an excuse to go back to the Mains again after the entree hee...). There were too many things to eat! Ranging from Indian curries to chinese steamed dumplings. Ok, doesn't sound very appealing haha...How about some turkey with cranberry sauce, all time favorite satays (which garnered pretty good comments from my colleagues), cod fish in some special sauce (sorry I forgot...din expect myself writing this blog when I was feasting at The Line), snow peas stirred fried with scallops (I think), cream soup, Big BBQ grilled prawns (a bit disappointed cos' it was over done), sushi, sashimi, noodles station etc...Ok,here are some pictures to tease the taste buds...afterall, a picture(s) says more than a thousand words...

I know what you are thinking about...nothing fantastic from the plates of assorted platters right? Ok, I will try to arrange my foods in a more tasteful manner going-forward. haha.

Maybe the next picture will appeal to you more...

What a cooling sight in these gradually hot days right? Isn't it lovely to see the mussels, striking red prawns & mini 'lobsters' bathing in a tub of ices? haha Now, have a closer look...

The Oyster is alluringly huge isn't it? hee... but I had one only (not really into raws). My focus was on the mini 'lobsters'...nicely chilled, sealed with sweetness of the sea! Excellent! Ok ok, I'm exaggerating here but I have to give credit to its succulent flesh that blended well with a tint of lemon juice. The prawn salad in the short glass was not too bad too. That wrapped up my entree portion & I went back for another round of mains again ho ho ho...

FINALLY...the best part of the entire buffet (in my opinion)...the DESSERTS!! Assorted cakes, crepes, choco fondue, ice-cream...yummy yummy! The ice cream station is like a mini replica of the Cold Rock Ice Creamery at Holland Village, where you can request the ice-cream chef to whip up a mix of flavors on his Cold 'teppanyaki stove'. Throw in your favourite nuts, berries or crunched cookies & you get your customised ice-cream. Too bad, I didn't manage to snap the ice-cream station. But, I had a shot of the tall choco fountain (just beside the ice-cream station) which is accompanied by 'gardens' of strawberries & checker cookies..Simply irresistible not to take a dip haa..

The dessert corner is just as exciting as the fondue...The array of delectable cakes, so exquisitely done, makes you want to try every one of them! I like the tiramisu and love the macaron that housed a rasberry & 2 'golden' blueberries on a green icing cream. I had at least 2! hee..


Finally...it's rating time! Thank you Bish Bish for his feedback, I will give an overall rating on the following:

Ambience - 7/10 (Clean, pleasant but definitely not a place to propose)
Service - 8/10 (Prompt in clearing plates, smiling waitresses & waiters)
Value for $ - 6/10 (Nice variety but I still think it's bit overpriced)
Food - 7/10 (Desset is good as emphasized above but others are mediocre)

Just my 2 cents' worth...still nice to try out if you have some spare cash to indulge ;)

Long Beach, IMM - April 18, 2008

Last night, I had a seafood feast, sponsored by my dad, thanks to my mum's cravings for crabs...Alaskan crab to be precise. The manager was kind enough to inform that this was not the season for Alaskan crabs (we'll only get 60% of the usually amount of flesh) so we were recommended the Canadian crabs which are cheaper than Alaskan ($138 per kg!) but more expensive than the usual Sri Lankan crabs ($40 per kg).

Ok, so the first dish on our menu...a 1.2 kg Canadian Crab which costed $72. We had it stir-fried in White Pepper Sauce. Its pincers were pathetically small (hardly can't see in the picture right?)..think it's a distant relative of the Alaskan crabs where the focus is on their long 'muscular' walking legs. Overall, the sauce was nice..not too spicy nor overwhelming. The meat was quite sweet & Q. I felt texture was also better than the usual Sri Lanka crab I had. Ok, I will give a 7/10 for this dish...not bad but nothing too fantastic too.

Well, how can one crab be enough to feed the 6 of us? Minutes after the Canadian crab, 2 Sri Lanka crabs were served...
The Famous LB Black Pepper Crab
The 'Nai Huang' (Cream) Crab

Somehow the famous black pepper crab did not live up to my expectation (compared to the one I had last year in the same LB branch). My sister commented that the black pepper sauce tastes like black sesame paste. Indeed the sesame tint seemed to have overwhelmed the black pepper aroma. I was also disappointed to find the amount of flesh in the deceiving huge pincher. The meat was a bit stiff too. Maybe it is really not the crab season yet. Same goes for the Cream crab. Instead of the usual Chilli crab, we decided to try something different. The portion of meat was equally disatisfying. The cream sauce had a dash of Curry flavor, tasted like the Portuguese Niang Tou Fu that Crystal Jade serve. Overall, it gave a so-so feeling. It will be a 6/10 for both crabs. Suddenly I missed the Chilli Crab (full of roe!) at No Sign Board haa...

Alright, enough of crabs, here comes the Steamed Live Scottish Bamboo Clam with Minced Garlic This was the first time I lay my hands (or fork) on the Bamboo Clam. To my surprise, I quite enjoyed this hot piping dish! The clam was succulent, coupled with the frangrant minced garlic soaked in a light soy sauce (must be special sauce)...heavenly match! I actually finished the mince garlic to its last bit! (fyi, I hate garlic...except for garlic breads) Each bamboo clam costed $8, a promotional rate already (original $12 per pc)..a little pricy. It will be wonderful if they can charge at half the promotional rate haha. Overall, I will give it a 8/10.

Now, let have something healthy & light...a steamed fish! No ordinary fish..Marble Goby...$70 for a kg! Albeit it was pretty pricy, I have to admit it was good! The fish meat was light and tender; steamed to the right degree in Hong Kong style. Thumbs up for its freshness & sweetness, absolutely no trace of fishy smell! 9/10.

Last but not least, the Golden Stripe Lobster! We had 3 live locally breeded lobsters for $118, prepared in the popular LB style. The dish was not too bad, except I felt the lobsters were bit over-fried that the meat become a little bit stiff. The shells were so crispy that you can eat up the whole thing. One thing to comment apart from the lobsters, the crisps (made from egg yolk, I think) garnished on top were sinfully nice! On the whole, I will rate it 7.5/10

Overall, it was a sumptuous dinner. We had some greens too (baby kailan stirred fried with garlic) & washed down the food with Oolong tea; leaving no room for desserts. I will rate the dining experience there above mediocre. The service was quite prompt, plates were changed now and then. They did not charge us on the towels, peanuts & tea & with 15% discount, the bill totaled to ~$433. Dad, thanks for your generosity! hee...

PS. Here is the LB website if you are interested to have meal there too.
www.longbeachseafood.com.sg

My First Blog!

Welcome to my very first blog! In my 'Makan Place', I will be sharing my encounters with food, food & more foods! Yes you can see, I love food haha...always looking out for good food (no wonder it's so hard for me to lose weight!!) Come to think of it, I think I spent more in restaurants than boutiques haa..

Someone asked me before: Do you eat to live Or live to eat? I chose the latter. How about you? :)