Dessert Hut, People Park Centre - July 18, 2008

It has been quite a while since our last 'venture' (lunching beyond the Bendeemeer Food Centre opposite office) and with some cravings (Mr V.Chua & mine haha) for glutinous rice balls (汤圆) in peanuts soups...the lunch khaki soon found ourselves clustering around a small round table at the Dessert Hut in PPC after a snappy lunch of the famous curry chicken noodles, prawn mee & kway chaps at Hong Lim Food Centre...oh yes, special thanks to Mr N.Lau's recommendation hee...

We were spoilt for choices...so many desserts and the 'worst' thing was...everything look so tempting (to me at least)! Haha... Here's a quick glance of the menu...


Glutinous rice balls in peanut soup is a Must on our dessert list (afterall it's the agenda of today venture haha). It is called 'Ah Boling' on their menu. According to my dad, 'Ah Boling' means duck eggs in Teochew, perhaps the shape, size and color of the rice balls resemble the duck eggs. The Dessert Hut offers 2 types of fillings for its rice balls...black sesame & peanuts. PS. there is a famous 'Ah Boling' stall at Amoy Food Centre (2nd level) that provides more varieties such as red bean and yam.

I went for the black sesame filling, which was smooth and fragrant. The rice dumpling skin was however a bit disappointing as I expecting a thinner one than this. Nonetheless, the peanut soup made amends with its soft and huge peanuts. The soup was boiled with the right degree of sweetness too. On the whole, the Ah boling was not too bad but I have tried better ones.. [My rating: 7/10]

All of us went for the rice balls in peanut soup except Mr K. Soh who chose their Iced Red Bean Drink. I had a spoonful of sample which consisted red bean, corns & shaved ice with brown sugar syrup. The red beans were soft and pleasingly sweet. This is a lovely dessert for a hot weather. [My rating: 7/10]

As a Teochew, I have always loved sweeten yam paste so when I saw the Yam Cream on the menu, I couldn't help but to order a bowl to try (thou' I was kinda full after 3 rice balls but no worries..I know Mr Chua will assist in clearing this hahaha). The yam cream was pretty fluid and not overly sweetened but somehow I felt it was lacking in something. It wasn't 'yammy' enough for my liking haha I think the yam taste could be richer for this dessert. One thing to mention...the generous serving of gingko nuts in the yam paste. Judging from the quality of these gingko, I reckon these were not canned gingko, thus made my $2.50 more well spent haa.. [My rating: 7/10]

In a nutshell, this is a simple dessert shop with no fancy decor but a nice place for a quick after-meal sweet treat. Maybe I will try their Mango Sago & Walnut Cream if I drop by here again.

Venue: People Park Centre #02-48/58
Contact: 6533 1137

Astons Specialities, The Cathay - July 15, 2008

Yesterday we caught Hellboy II: The Golden Army at Plaza Sing after work. Though not a '5 popcorns' movie, the battle between Red & Price Nuada was still quite engaging. It was 9pm when the 2hrs show ended. Finally, we could have dinner or supper rather...

Astons Specialities is a value for $$$ eatery that serves reasonable good food. I had a meal at their main outlet (@ East Coast road) last year so I decided to try out their new outlet located at the Cathay.

The simple decor pales in comparision to the one at East Coast which uses tinted colored glass lamps and comfortable partitions for making private chats. Here is the menu hung outside the restaurant. (Click on the picture to enlarge)

I tried their grilled fish with herbs on the previous occasion...vaguely recalled that I find the fish a bit bland. So this time, I ordered their Pork Chops and chose lighter side dishes to go with the meat.

2 pieces of sizable pork chop with pasta salad and warm garden veggie (S$8.90). The meat sauce was savory but the meat was a bit on the stiff side. The pasta was decently prepared with the right firmness, oil dressing and black peppers. [My rating: 7/10]

Healthy and almost oil-less garden veggies of brocoli & baby carrots...

On the other hand, my bf ordered their Hickory BBQ Chicken and had onion rings and house salad to go with the main. (S$6.50) The piquant BBQ sauce further adds flavor to the well-grilled succulent chicken steak while the juicy sweet tomatoes in garden greens and crispy onion rings made the meal even more delightful. [My rating: 8.5/10]

Overall, it was a pleasant dinner/supper. Good foods, affordable prices (only GST, no service charge), friendly attendants...I'm certainly coming back to try their other specialities.

Venue: 2 Handy Road, #04-03, The Cathay S(229233)
Contact: +65 6887 5889