Peach Garden

Rating: 3.5/5

Destination: Hotel Miramar, 401 Havelock Road, Level 3

Comments: Very big Cantonese restaurant, normally used for banquets, weddings or events. Their quality of service is good, and now, Dishes time.

King Oyster Mushroom with Preserved Bean Paste accompanied with Roasted Duck and Deep-fried Bean Skin Roll. The King Oyster Mushroom is deep fried in flour, giving it a greasy and crispy texture. Slightly tasteless as it does not have any taste besides the oil and the flavor from the main ingredient. The roasted duck is well prepared, the flavor of the duck is trapped in the meat, and the skin is crispy. There is a fruity flavor sauce that has a hint of sourness that goes with it, and it’s able to cover the oiliness of the duck. The Deep-fried Bean Skin Roll is probably the best starter of all. It has bean skin and seaweed as the outer layer and fresh prawn with other ingredients as the filling. This dish is deep fried, very crispy and the fillings is piping hot. The fresh prawns used has its flavor spread throughout the fillings and the springy texture makes it more appetizing. There are beansprout used as garnish.

Double-boiled Soup with Yoshikiri Shark’s Fin, Fish Maw, Sea Whelk and Dried Scallop. This is a clear shark’s fin soup, different from the usual thick shark’s fin soup. Instead of being slightly less deep in taste and flavor, this thin clear soup have a deeper and better taste than the usual thick shark’s fin soup. The flavor of the soup reflects the amount of the time and the quality of the ingredients used to boil the soup. There’s a few other ingredients used in boiling the soup like red dates and other herbs. The ingredients used can also be consumed. Even though it’s boiled in the soup, it has yet to lose its own distinct flavors. Delish.

Pan-fried Kurobuta Pork Cube with Truffle Sauce. This pork meat is slightly charred, and the amount of truffle sauce used is not stingy. The flavor of the truffle sauce spread through the whole dish, which makes it hard to taste the flavor of the main ingredient, the black pork. The meat is slightly dry, but at the side there is a layer of fats that provides the extra moisture for the meat and a great flavor as the fats of a meat always contain a very savory flavor. Broccoli is used as garnish.

Baked Fillet of Sea Perch with Yuzu Sauce. Very well deep fried fish, very crispy even after being drenched in sauce. A very refreshing dish due to the Yuzu sauce used. One slice of lemon is topped on the fish, then the sauce is drizzled on top. This slightly sour and sweet taste has balanced out the oiliness of the dish. The meat is very fresh and juicy. Very appetizing main dish.

Stewed “Charcoal” Noodle with Conpoy, Crystal Prawn, Chive and Choy Sum. This noodle is black in color, as mentioned by the name, Charcoal noodles. They don’t specifically have a distinct flavor, but if one taste it carefully, there is a slight difference compared to normal ‘white’ noodles. Charcoal Taste? The sauce is a very thick broth that contain dried scallops as one of the ingredients, very fragrant. The prawns are very springy and is very fresh. Served with vegetables at the side. Great as a dish to end the night.

Sweet Temptation is a name for their desserts of the day. Today’s desserts is mango, sago, pomelo and mango sauce. The pomelo has balanced the sweetness of the dish as pomelo is slightly bitter and sour. Sago and the mango provides the dessert with another texture and the overall sweetness in the dish is great.

Overall, this set menu is decent but for different reasons, this set menu is lacked of something. It’s unable to provide me with the satisfaction and left me hanging halfway. The feeling of being satisfied yet not satisfied. Nevertheless, the ingredients used and the way they prepared are great.

Price of the menu is $78++, and other menus might cost higher. There are also ala-carte dishes that can be ordered.

PS Cafe

Rating: 4/5
Destination: Paragon S.C, 290 Orchard Road, Level 3
Comments: A small café that has 2 different areas to dine in. The two areas are a seating area further away from the main café and the seats in the café for people to dine in. Very cozy environment for dining in. There is also sale of wines in the café. Service is decnet even though it might be slightly slow as that place is usually very packed with people. Some dishes now!

PS. Truffle Shoestring Fries. Well deep-fried shoestring fries, very crispy even after being cooked for so long. Serving size is huge, definitely meant as a main dish. The amount of truffles fries used is appropriate, fragrant and at the same time not too heavy. Grated parmesan are topped on the fries, giving it a slightly salty and cheesy taste. Fries is also showered in salt which easily compensated for the smaller amount of truffle oil used to give this dish a great balance. Parsley is also sprinkled on top. Very addictive.

PS. Bolognese. Ingredients used are homemade ground beef, bacon, hand-grated parmesan cheese and crispy basil leaves. Spaghetti is tossed in their tomato sauce. The sauce’s flavor is completely trapped in the dish. The amount of herbs used is appropriate, balancing the sourness of the tomato sauce without being overwhelming. The beef used are well grounded and still contains its distinct flavor. The cheese which is topped on the spaghetti tasted amazing eaten together with the spaghetti. It really allow you to enjoy spaghetti so well. Perfect.

The plain water here has lemon, carrot and cucumber, giving it a very refreshing taste.

Price ranges from $15-$25 per pax.

Gyoza-ya

Rating: 4.25/5
Destination: Robinson Orchard, 260 Orchard Road, B1-02A        

Comments: A restaurant in the basement of a big shopping center. It’s situated in the middle of the line of restaurants. Counter seats are also available. Gyoza-ya probably sells one of the best gyoza in Singapore. The environment makes it a good place for a person to enjoy some small bites with a few cold beer. Let me talk about some Gyozas now.

Yaki Pork Gyoza, Pork Gyoza. The simplest dish is always the hardest to master, this phrase targets every single simple dish. Pork Gyoza may be simple to make, but definitely not easy to make it delicious. The flat side of the skin is fried till crispy, and not over cooked. The thickness of the dough is neither too thick nor too thin, allowing us to enjoy the skin and the fillings completely. When the thickness of the gyoza is perfect, you’re able to enjoy the juicy fillings to the optimum. They have a special homemade gyoza sauce ready on the table, it is slightly sour and salty and very fragrant due to some sort of oil which was used in making the sauce. Going together with the pork gyoza deeply stimulates the appetite of the consumer, making it irresistible to go get another plate to consume.

Mentaiko Pork Gyoza, pork gyoza topped with mentaiko. They are totally not stingy with the mentaiko, it completely covered the 5 pork gyoza. Before serving, they torched the mentaiko slightly in ordered to give it a charred flavor. With the mentaiko on top of the pork gyoza, there is completely no need to dip your gyoza into their homemade gyoza sauce. The moment the gyoza and the mentaiko goes into the mouth, you’re able to immerse yourself in the richness of the mentaiko and the juicy fillings. A Must Try.

Jyajyamen, Thick noodles with minced pork and special Miso. There are 2 versions to this dish. First version is when it is just served, where there are huge amount of cucumbers, spring onion and other vegetables together with minced meat and seasoned with chilli oil and white vinegar to suit your own taste buds. The first version has a very refreshing flavor due to the different types of vegetables used. Leaving a few strands of noodles aside, here comes the second version. The servers will bring miso paste and egg for you to mix with the noodle and after mixing well, they will add hot soup into it. Honestly, the looks of the second version isn’t that appetizing. It completely looked like mud water and who wants to eat mud water? But giving it a try, it actually surprised me. I liked the second version better than the first version as the taste is deeply enhanced by the miso paste and the egg. There is a very nice soupy flavor that makes you want to slurp the noodle and the soup down.  

Ninniku Yaki Meshi, Japanese Garlic Fried Rice. The dish is very well seasoned, with a very fragrant garlic aroma. The taste of the garlic swirls around in the mouth for so long that it becomes really irresistible. The rice is not dry at all, making it easy to swallow and bite in the mouth.  

Torinankotsu Tatsutaage, Crispy Chicken Soft Bone. This dish is great as a small bites for beer. Deep fried soft bones served with mayonnaise. The crispy yet easily bite-able bone going with the mayonnaise is great even though it’s slightly greasy. Gulping a mouthful of ice cold beer down after that is unimaginably good.

I’ll recommend all the dishes I’ve said in this review for your first try, but feel free to try other dishes too! I’m quite sure it won’t taste bad at all.

Price ranges from $10-$20 per pax without alcohol.

The Majestic Restaurant

Rating: 3.75/5
Destination: 31-37 Bukit Pasoh Road

Comments: A fine dining restaurant that serves Cantonese cuisine. Comfortable environment to dine in. The menus they provide are for minimum 2 person and of different price range. I’ll be talking about one of their menu, “Citibank gourmet pleasures 2015, exclusive dinner menu”, a 6 course meal which comprises of 1 soup, 1 starter, 1 salad, 1 entrée, 1 main course and 1 dessert. 

Pan seared Foie Gras and sliced Peking duck served with passion fruits salad. Foie gras is served on top of a slice of watermelon. There are 2 ways to eat the foie gras and the watermelon, first way is to eat the watermelon together with the foie gras which is more suitable for people who can’t withstand the rich flavor of the foie gras as the watermelon has the ability to diminish the rich flavor. The second way is to finish the foie gras first, then consume the watermelon to cleanse your palate. People who prefers the second way of consumption will be able to savor the taste due to the slightly charred parts around the foie gras. It enhances the taste of the foie gras to a very big extent. For the peking duck, it is crispy and there are not much fats around the skin which makes it less oily and easy to consume and sweet sauce are drizzled on the peking duck. For the salad, it comprises of fresh lettuces, walnut, strawberry, other vegetables and its own salad dressing that has the ability to stimulate your appetite well enough for the following dishes.

Double-boiled sea treasures soup with black truffle. Different ingredients like sea cucumber, chicken, abalone, truffle and more are used to boil the soup. This is a very clear soup yet the essence of the ingredients are contained in the soup, producing a very deep flavor.

Braised whole abalone with homemade beancurd and garden greens. Vegetables served with its deep fried beancurd topped with a whole abalone. Although abalone seems to be the main dish here, but I personally feel that the beancurd tasted best here. The vegetable is slightly bitter even though there are sauces for the dishes. As for the abalone, it’s just an abalone. Not particularly unique or good. Although it’s well cooked and not that hard, it does not have a unique flavor. However for the beancurd, the deep fried skin has its distinct flavor when eaten with the sauce which has the the unique deep fried flavor that are able to instantly stimulate the appetite. The inside of the beancurd also has its charred flavor from the outer layer.

Pan seared ribeye in homemade sesame dressing. This is different from the usual western style steak that you would have eaten. It’s cooked in a Cantonese cuisine style, but it is unique in its own style. This ribeye has a very balanced amount of fats spread around the meat which makes it very juicy and tender. the marinate used and the sauce used has created the flavor of the dish. Served together are deep fried ginger and raw beansprouts with kimchi. Honestly speaking, the beansprout is too raw for me to consume, just giving it a try has probably made me regret my decision. Nevertheless, even though this ribeye is slightly different from what I’ve imagined it to be, it turned out great in terms of taste and quality.

One of the main highlight, Stewed boston lobster noodles with ginger and spring onions turned out to be one of the unexpectedly great dish. Thick broth accompanied with its fresh lobsters and noodles seems too heavy as the last dish before desserts are served. But it turned out to be the best dish to end the course. Even though its sauce is thick, the sauce entwined and entangle with the noodles and the lobster, allowing the whole dish to be filled with a fragrant and delicious lobster flavor. The lobster is extremely fresh too, allowing the meat to be very juicy and easily consumable.

Refreshing homemade sorbet with aloe vera and grass jelly. Frozen grapes on the top, served with ice cold watermelon sorbet at the bottom. Combination of aloe vera, grass jelly and a bit of pomelo, this dessert is a very light dessert after a hearty meal. It isn’t particularly bad, nor is it particularly good.

Reservations has to be made in advance.

Prices of set meals are minimum of SGD$68.

Brotzeit (Westgate)

Rating: 3.5/5
Destination: Westgate, 3 Gateway Drive, #01-04

Comments: A German Bar and Restaurant, but definitely more like a great bar. Bar counters and normal tables and chairs for customers to seat on. As Westgate is an eco-mall, seats outside might be slightly warm even though there are big helicopter fans. But that does not make Brotzeit a bad place to drink and enjoy. I’ll be talking about some of their main dishes and sausages.

Rinderfilet, Grilled Beef Tenderloin.
Grilled Tenderloin served with bacon, baked potato and fine beans. Mushroom sauce is used for the tenderloin. Medium doneness is requested for the beef. It is well cooked and charred on the outer layer with a slightly bloody red middle that is juicy and tender. The flavor of the beef is trapped in its meat and spread in the mouth. Baked potato with sour cream and bacon provides the dish with another salty and sour flavor that stimulates the appetite. Fine beans are seasoned slightly, producing its flavor to cleanse the palate after consuming the tenderloin and the baked potato.

Lachs/Car-grilled Salmon Fillet.
Grilled Salmon Fillet served with sautéed spinach and parsley potato. Balsamic vinegar are drizzled around the plate. The fresh salmon retained its freshness, and went along with a salty sauce which was used to cook the potato and the salmon. The balsamic vinegar gives a slightly sweet and sour taste that assist in creating more flavors in the dish. But one thing about this dish is that the sautéed spinach has an ingredient used in it that gives out an over-salty taste, making the combination of the spinach and that certain ingredient bad.

Sausages

Grilled Pork Sausages, normal pork sausages grilled on the pan. It might be less tasty compared to others as this is just pure pork sausages grilled without any extra enhancements.
Pork Cheese Sausages, pork sausages with cheese in the middle. One of the better ones as the thick and greasy cheese enhances the taste of the sausages, and giving it a very satisfying feeling. Salty and cheesy flavor, great as a beer snack.
Spicy Chicken Sausages, quite a spicy sausage compared to the others. Can't be any better if you’re a fan of spicy food, as it also serves as a great appetizer and drinks snack. Spicy and salty, great as a beer snack.

Schokokuchen, Warm chocolate cake with its ice cream. Never miss a dessert to end the day. This may not be the perfect example of a chocolate lava cake due to the lack of lava in the center of the cake, but there are crispy chocolate bits in the cake that melts in your mouth that acts as a substitute. Going along with it is their ice cream, which balances up the thickness and the sweetness of the chocolate. 

Highly recommended to get their sausages to go with your beer. There are still other small bites worth getting for the night too.

Price ranges from >$25

Hatched

Rating: 2/5
Destination: 267 Holland Ave

Comments: Comfortable and cozy environment to dine in. Hatched serves all day breakfast and eggs are their specialty. They can be poached, boiled, fried, baked or scrambled.

Sir Benedict, which is also eggs benedict. Half English Muffin topped with smoked ham, bacon, poached eggs and hollandaise sauce, served with homemade mash. The ham & bacon are the main contributor to the salty flavor of the eggs benedict and the hollandaise sauce seems to be slightly off the taste. As for the sides, vegetable salad with its own salad dressing that seems to be vinegar and oil but there seems to be a kind of unpleasant taste or smell that made me feel uncomfortable eating it. The mash was topped with cream of mushroom sauce and had bits of potatoes that are not mashed. It is also not well seasoned.

A very bad experience compared to my previous visits and I've no special recommendations.

Price ranges from >$15.

Marks and Spencer's Palmier

Rating: 4/5
Destination: Marks and Spencer, Westgate 

Comments: A pastry worth mentioning once in a while. Big in size, great in taste. Unrivalled among most palmier when this is fresh from the oven. That fragrant aroma of the palmier spread through the whole of Marks and Spencer. There is a layer of coating on the top of the palmier, probably sugar/honey, that gives the body a sweet yet not too sweet flavor. The aroma of the butter stimulates the appetite and the coating on the top provides you with the perfect sweetness. Crispy and flaky pastry, perfect as a snack.

Recommended to anyone who likes or don’t likes sweet stuffs. Do buy it when its fresh from oven, as it do taste different when it’s hot and slightly cold.
Price of this palmier is $1.70.