*dimsumdolly* - the different morsels of the life of a foodie

Dining Report

I've been eating out quite a bit, what with meeting up with various friends over – you guessed it – meals. Here's a summary of the places I've eaten at.

1) Waraku – Ate at the Marina Square branch and I wasn't impressed by the food. The slices of fish in my sashimi salad weren't very fresh and the fish just tasted flat. The mixed yakitori also tasted rather bland and didn't have the nice, smoky flavour of well-grilled yakitori. My verdict is that I'm never going back again.

Price: At least S$15 per person

2) Nogawa – Named after its owner, this small Japanese restaurant in Le Meridien Hotel is something I wouldn't have known of if not for my Japanese food-loving foodie friend The Skinny Epicurean. Eating there isn't cheap, but you can see why from the quality of the sashimi and the service. It'd be best to make a reservation before going. I had the chirashi (sashimi placed on a bed of rice) and took delight in seeing the chef preparing it with such care . But I took greater delight in the taste of it!

Price: At least $30 per person

3) Ramen Santouka – Had the charsiew ramen with soya broth. My friend went for the charsiew ramen with miso broth. I preferred the soya broth and though it was rich and flavourful, I felt it could have done with a tad less salt and oil. The soya and miso broth were much too oily, partly also because of the fat-laden charsiew. I also didn't like the noodles which I thought were too starchy. I prefer my ramen with a more springy and chewy texture.

Price: At least $18 per person

4) Ramen Miharu – This ramen place at Gallery Hotel is another popular joint for ramen lovers. I like the noodles here because I like its springy and chewy texture. There is bite in the noodles if you know what I mean. The broth though slightly less flavourful than Santouka's, is less oily. Overall, I prefer the ramen here.

Price: At least $18 per person

5) Bar & Billiard Room – I was treated to a dinner buffet at this restaurant in Raffles Hotel. For a meal that costs S$69+++ per person, this disappointed. But I guess that's what you get from buffets – quantity but not quality. It's an international buffet but with more emphasis on Western fare. The barbecued section had a long queue for the tiger prawns, beef and sausages. I gave up queueing. Instead I just went for the sashimi, lobsters and lobster pancakes. The salmon and tuna sashimi weren't good as the fish didn't taste very fresh. The raw oysters were rather small and I didn't think they tasted very good either. I would much rather go for an a la carte meal at another restaurant and get better food for the same amount of money. Definitely not recommended unless you're going for quantity and not quality. But really, there's only so much you can eat and it definitely wouldn't add up to the amount you would pay.

Price: S$69+++ per person for dinner

6) Canele – Finally got to try some of their cakes after hearing so many people rave about them. I must say the cakes didn't disappoint. I had the Mont Blanc, Citron Tart and one of the chocolate cakes with some praline in it. All delicious and I'm particularly partial to the Mont Blanc as it's really difficult to find a good one with such a rich chestnut flavour! And oh, the hot chocolate's yummy too!

Price: At least $8 per person

7) Shokudo – The outlet at the basement of Raffles City is like the Japanese version of the now defunct Marche. I had the Omu Rice (Japanese omelette rice) with grilled chicken. I didn't think this was that great. I thought the grilled chicken tasted very flat. For dessert, I had the crepe with green tea ice cream and chestnut. I made a special request for the latter. The menu had put down green tea ice cream with azuki (red bean), but as I preferred chestnuts I asked for it instead of azuki and was glad that the cook agreed to accommodate my request. Again, this didn't taste that fantastic. Maybe it just wasn't 'sinful' enough! I thought the crepe batter was a tad too sweet. I felt that the batter could have done with less sugar since its accompaniments (banana, chocolate, green tea ice cream, azuki, chestnuts) already had sugar in them.

Price: At least $10 per person

8) E-Sarn Thai Cuisine – This small Thai restaurant at 20 Sixth Avenue serves good Thai food at reasonable prices. I enjoyed the Tom Yam soup and Pad Thai.

Price: At least $10 per person

9) Cafe Iguana – Located at Riverside Point, this is one of the few places you can find Mexican food in Singapore. The weekend crowds are insane but I liked my Quesadilla and my friends enjoyed their burritos too.

Price: At least $25 per person

10) Shin Kushiya – Went to the Suntec city branch (the other's at Vivocity) and enjoyed the meal I had there. My friend and I had the yakitori where the meat was succulent and well marinated. The rest of the food was pretty good too (I can't quite remember exactly what we ate 'cos that was sometime in January!) but I only wished the portions were bigger and the prices lower!

Price: At least S$30 per person

Posted by DSD at March 20, 2008 7:33 AM