Empire State @ Causeway Point Woodlands

Was at Causeway Point for late lunch, and thought of having western food since my parents seldom have those. The queue at Manhattan Fish Market was expectantly long, as they're running the $3.99++ fish & chips promo. It was a different story at Empire State with just one or two tables occupied.

regular menu

super saver meals

Parents and sis wanted the roast chicken leg (@$7.90++) while I opted for the stewed beef with rice (@$8.90++). Actually was hoping for dad to order the quarter ribs but alas, there were no takers...

Topped up $3.90++ for two of the sets to get soup of the day and a drink, and had an ala-carte order of butternut squash soup (@$5.90++). Had that once, and thought it was nice.

Food was served in a zippy! Real fast. So fast that we were just onto our fourth spoonful of soup and there our mains were already on the table. -_-'''

tomato soup (soup of the day)

butternut squash with sweet potato soup

Hmm, the butternut squash soup was thick and warm. Sweet. But somehow, the preference today went to tomato soup for it was more tangy and not too thick. Whets up the appetite! However, it was also a tad too sweet.

roasted chicken leg with aglio olio and vegetables

The roasted chicken leg was tender, though alittle smallish in size. The aglio olio was al-dente and do watch out for bits of chili padi in them.

stewed beef with plain rice and vegetables

The beef was quite chunky and lean. Somewhat stringy but thankfully, not too tough. Would've prefered if there are some fats in it. Sauce was alright and not too salty. Maybe they can serve a bit of the sauce on the side so that there's enough to drizzle on the rice...

stringy meat

Iced water is available and service was generally good. There's a 10% discount on ala-carte items if one is using OCBC credit card to pay.

Mayim @ West Mall Part II

Located at Level 2 of West Mall Bukit Batok. Was there for lunch.

revamped menu

They're having a 1-for-1 Lobster and abalone promo for $68++ but we didn't go for that.

Ordered our usual dishes with steamed rice.

sugar cane, ginseng root drink (@$4.50++)

pig trotters vinegar and stir-fried fish slice with onions (@$7++ and $9.90++ respectively)

stir-fried spinach with chinese sausage and roast pork slices (@$11.80++)

chicken dish (@$10.80++)

Everything was tasty. The pig trotters with vinegar was nicely sourish and tangy, sweet and saltish at the same time. Only downside, the meat was too lean and not tender enough!

There's a downside though. Didn't notice that they charged the kimchi (@$2.50++) though we didn't take any. Got to be more careful next time.

Meal costs $79 and fed a family of five adults.

Shabuya @ Vivocity

Located at Level 1 of Vivocity, and its just beside Tajimaya. Been to Tajimaya numerous times for the BBQ beef lunch set and yesterday, was the first time we ventured next door to Shabuya for Japanese hot-pot. I've always viewed both as the same, just that one is done BBQ style while the other is done shabu-shabu style.

ala-carte menu

lunch sets

Just one glance and all three of us, went for the Wagyu Set (@$25.90++). Under this 'Heart Warming' Lunch Set promo where two same sets are ordered, the first person pays the full price and the second person will be charged just $9.90++. So, do come in pairs to enjoy this heartwarming lunch sets! Savings is about $5+ per pax, assuming wagyu sets were ordered for both parties.

large pot, one half sukiyaki the other half shabu-shabu

flaming and ready to boil

Other tables were cooking via the induction but ours were on the small gas stove. Hmm, probably the induction on our table was faulty...

Wagyu Set /Set D (@$25.90++)

utensils for 'cooking' and eating

nice marbling

thinly sliced chicken

xiao bai cai, chinese cabbage, corn, shitake mushrooms, golden mushroom (enoki), tofu and leek

The waitress who brought the plates of raw food to our table, had accidentally dropped one mushroom onto the floor. Not a big deal, but decided to tease her abit by saying that we now had one mushroom less to eat. She said she'll replace it and true enough, she returned with not just 1 mushroom but a small bowl of it. Haha!

いただきあす~ let's start!

The small bowls of salad appeared when we were already 15 minutes into the meal. Nobody remembers because we were too busy enjoying the hot-pot!

salad of the day

steaming hot

ready-to eat

The shabu-shabu soup wasn't bland to start with, so it became even better with all the ingredients added and simmered for awhile. The rest of the table preferred the sukiyaki for it's stronger and more flavourful taste. Shabu soup was milder and more subtle.

A mere few seconds of dipping and 'dragging back and forth' the beef in the boiling broth was enough, leaving parts of the beef slightly pink.

tangy dip

The dipping sauce was tangy and not too salty, with a hint of lemon. We were almost like more than half-way through our meal and then I remembered, "Where's the chili sauce?" So, made a request and the service staff took quite a while to bring it to us.

must-have chilies

Seriously, do remember the chilies. Tasted somewhat like chicken rice chilies but minus the oil. Yums. And, powerful enough to give a kick (but doesn't lingers). If the heat gets too much, just cool it down with ice green tea.

thirsty?

Didn't have much expectations on the udon as it wasn't much of a looker. Hahaha, ok. Sometimes, we humans can be superficial, yes? But after cooking it, the udon was smooth and chewy. Even if it was left abit longer in the pot, it was still nicely chewy. Good stuffs.

looks as if it was just awaken from chilled slumber

after cooking

All of us enjoyed the lunch set and left with a satisfied stomach.

O'Coffee Club @ Paragon

Was at Paragon on a Saturday and wanted to eat at either of the Japanese restaurants. However, the queue was daunting. Almost every other place has queues to rival Hello Kitty's. Ok. That is probably an exaggeration but queues everywhere!

One of those few places that one need not queue, was Coffee Club. It's been ages since I last drank or ate anything from Coffee Club.

shop front

They're having a limited-edition GSS menu till 28 July 2013, where if one is paying via UOB credit card, then for every 2 purchase of pasta from GSS menu, diners will get complimentary soup of the day and a soda drink (from 3 choices).

GSS menu

There's only 4 choices of pasta to choose from this menu, so we had Chilli Crab Linguini, Mad Seafood Pasta and Trailblazing Teriyaki Chicken Pasta. All of the pasta are priced at $18.50++ except for the teriyaki chicken which was a dollar less.

For soup of the day, we had a choice between mushroom or broccoli.

broccoli soup

For drinks, we chose Mojito Apple soda and Strawberry soda. The Mojito Apple soda was refreshing and not too sweet but it could definitely do better with more mint!

Apple Mojito

essence of apple?

The pasta was served piping hot.

Chilli Crab Linguini pasta

Mad Seafood Pasta

Trailblazing Teriyaki Chicken pasta

yummy chicken

The first thing that struck me about the teriyaki chicken pasta? The sweet sauce. Spaghetti in sweet sauce. Hmm. But the chicken was quite enjoyable. Tender and well marinated. The seafood pasta came loaded with ingredients but was really oily. Best flavour goes to Chili Crab Linguini. All plates have one thing in common though. The huge amount of noodles served. Hahaa! Good if you're really hungry.

Service was generally friendly.

Spent about $22 per pax for the meal.

Uma Uma Ramen @ The Forum Shopping Mall, Orchard

Located at Level 1 of Forum Shopping Mall, near Coffee Bean and Tea Leaves. Its entrance is at the outer-side, facing the road.

menu

Uma Uma specializes in Hakata Ramen, characterized with thin straight noodles. There's just those few choices in the menu so we didn't take very long to decide.

Friend ordered the Spicy Chasiu Ramen (@$16++) and added tamago (@$1.50++), while I had the Chasiu Rice (@$5++).

Ordered the Asahi Jukusen (@$8++ HH price, $12++ otherwise) since green tea already costs $3++. The Suntory Kaku Highball, which is whisky with soda water, was sold out by then.

cheers~

Asahi Jukusen premium beer

golden hue, hoppy, full bodied and smooth

Beer served in chilled glasses was enjoyable. Oh, and for two bottles of beer ordered, diners will get a complimentary tori karaage side dish. Keke.

tori karaage

We got our food pretty fast.

Spicy Chasiu Ramen with extra order of tamago

closer view

Tried a little of the ramen. It's done al-dente, and the noodles were still pretty hard. I've always preferred the noodles to be cooked slightly longer. Am not sure whether the customer can choose the hardness of the noodles according to one's likings here or not, since the waiter didn't ask us when the order was taken.

sampling chasiu ramen

The soup was leaning towards the saltier side, and it wasn't really spicy.

chasiu rice

closer view

The Chasiu Rice was a mini don. Small bowl and the portion was just right for someone who's not that hungry. Liberally slathered in sauce and topped with chopped spring onions. The sauce was also quite salty.

On average, expect to pay about $30 for a bowl of ramen and a beer.