Been saying it for a while and finally, decided to book a 3 days 2 nights stay at Indigo Katong. This was my journey to the East.
exterior
entrance
Arrived at the hotel and check-in was a breeze, thanks to Kelly. Guest was offered a complimentary welcome drink of tea/coffee. Guess what I chose.
reception area
welcome drink - iced latte
My room was up at Level 8, after enjoying the cold latte, Kelly walked with me for a short distance to the lift lobby. Loved the decor at the hotel with Peranakan motifs.
King Bed Standard Room 30sqm
spacious room
Room was of a comfortable good sized and was looking forward to explore the nearby areas. I thought I could play carrom while I was there but, that's just a table that looked like a carrom board... hahaha.
view from the other side
bathrobe
bathroom
retro seat and washbasin for the tired feet
'sole' purpose
The toilet is near the room door while the bath area is way at the back of the room. No complaints, as both areas have their own sink.
Thanks to housekeeping for keeping the room clean and tidy! Bumped into her at the corridor too, friendly and cheerful lady.
glass bottle
view from 8th floor
lovely tiles
shower area
The shower area is rather spacious and shower strength was good and easy to adjust between the rainfall and the handheld.
is it visible to the outside?
The room is equipped with a coffee machine and a kettle. Minibar is empty saved for milk shots in lieu of creamer for the coffee. Not an issue as there is NTUC Finest just a few minutes walk away to stock up on any drinks of your liking.
so cute the cups
sweets
illy, I like
time to stock up
room decor points elevated
With all the trinkets/decor in the room, it's probably challenging to maintain but glad to see everything's pretty well kept at Indigo Katong. Kudos to the team!
lovely cushion covers
Went to check out the swimming pool at Level 11 and bumped into an exercise class being held at the pool. Cool!
let's go up
let's visit the rooftop pool
basking in the sun
can dine at the rooftop when it is cooler in the evenings
view from rooftop
Hotel was rather sweet to arrange a delivery of a slice of ondeh ondeh cake for the birthday girl.
for the birthday girl
thanks for the lovely cake~
Will post more on the hotel breakfast, as well as other things to do in this area. See ya soon!
Parent's Day is observed in South Korea on 8 May while United States of America has theirs on the fourth Sunday of July. Nevertheless, Goldleaf Restaurant has a Parent's Day menu to cater to your celebration needs, for the immediate upcoming celebration of Parent's Day and Mother's Day (14 May 2023).
For a family meal, the Parent's Day menu caters to 4 to 5 pax and priced at $268++, with a dishes that comprises of prawns, fish, and poultry. Hehe, my ah ma always said that for a special occasions, must have those chicken, pork, fish and prawns.
Emperor Chicken with Herbs 皇帝鸡
ready for the reveal
Emperor Chicken with Herbs
tender and flavourful
I suppose the "Emperor Chicken" was named as such due to it, being one of the many dishes that the Emperor of China had partake upon? This dish is said to boost immunity, aiding digestion, combating fatigue, repairing worn-out tissue, strengthening liver function, and alleviating bodily weakness. Sounds like the energy booster that most of us needs as well!
Am a noob in Chinese herbs, but typically this dish usually would have dang gui (当归), dang shen (党参) and obviously, I can see there's wolfberries (枸杞子) in there as well. Broth was lightly seasoned but packed with lovely herbal flavours. Chicken was tasty and most parts were fork tender, except for some bits. Loved the soft chicken skin that almost dissolves in your mouth upon contact.
Handmade Jade Steamed Egg 翡翠碧绿蛋
Handmade Jade Steamed Egg
This dish got us talking. Is it steamed egg, or is it egg tofu? It looked very much like beancurd to majority of us but when you taste it, it tasted rather eggy and of a firm texture. Hmmm, interesting!
Steamed Seabass with Chye Poh and Garlic 双宝金目鲈
Steamed Seabass with Chye Poh and Garlic
The steamed fish that night was exceptionally good. Texture and seasoning, just right. This was the favourite dish amongst the majority of us. Only thing missing, was a bowl of white rice.
thank you Alvin for helping us to portion out the fish
Wok-Fried Tiger Prawns with Premium Tea Leave 茶香老虎虾
Wok-fried Tiger Prawns in Premium Tea Leaves
The prawn dish appeared to be without any sauce, and hence that got me thinking about how this would taste like. Most of the prawns dishes unless it was a cold dish in a buffet, usually come with plenty of sauce for its taste.
The fragrance of the tea leaves were rather mild, but I enjoyed the bouncy texture of the prawn that was cooked to the perfect texture. Cooked through but not overly.
Flower Clams with Seasonal Vegetables in Superior Broth 上汤时蔬花啦啦
Flower Clams with Seasonal Vegetables in Superior Broth
For a balanced diet, this dish has soup, seafood and vegetables! Simple combinations and my dining companion commented that, for him, the allure of this dish was the right consistency of the broth.
Classic Noodles with Minced Braised Pork 中式扣肉碎面
what's in the pot?
The noodles dish was nicely presented in a lovely claypot, accompanied with a tokkuri (徳利) and a side dish of mei cai 梅菜 (preserved vegetables).
Classic Noodles with Minced Braised Pork
The braised pork certainly didn't look minced to me but after the sauce and the mei cai was mixed in, the meat had broken down further into smaller meats. Aha... that was what it meant!
after mixing
knive cut noodles
The knive cut noodles (刀削面) was QQ and springy, so it was pretty nice to chew on. Noodles itself had a clean taste, and it had never occurred to me that preserved vegetables can be a topping for noodles. First experience at Goldleaf!
Aloe Vera with Wheatgrass Juice 芦荟小麦草
dessert
I still remembered once upon a time, when wheatgrass became hugely popular. That was way way many years back. Am not a fan, because it smells like freshly cut grass. Hahaa!
But of course, I tried the Aloe Vera with Wheatgrass Juice dessert. The aloe vera was rather juicy and the wheatgrass juice was more like a syrup. A refreshing dessert for the hot and humid weather.
juicy aloe
menu
Overall, the set menu offers good value and has something for everyone. The dishes are familiar tasting, and that's comforting in a way.
Thank you Kris for the invite and Karen, Goldleaf Singapore for hosting the tasting.
Heard about this place from Hence and Tracy initially. Then, Ivan had supper with them there at one point in time and I've heard good things, so been wanting to try as well. The rest of the foodie gang was activated for a meet-up and thanks to Ivan for helping to make a reservation by phone.
exterior of the restaurant
interior
our private corner
The restaurant has been around for some time and the condition of the hardcopy menu seemed to have seen better days. That aside, the staff are friendly and helpful.
menu
BBQ section
As usual, the group ordered up a feast! BBQs of both beef and pork sets, and staff kindly offered to do the cooking at another table, as ours were too full with other things.
cold water
banchans (one set per table, refillable)
My favourite side dishes (반찬) are the kimchi and seaweed. The special one here would be the candied sliced sweet potato.
Candied sweet potato slice (고구마 맛탕)
kimchi (김치)
Kimchi was bright and not too fermented. Tangy and appetising. I liked the seaweed because it is nutritious and tasty. Texture was lovely too.
miyeok julgi (미역줄기)
fishcake (어묵볶음)
And, then there's macaroni salad which was loaded with good 'ol mayonnaise. What's the deal with mayo that seemed to make food tastier?
macaroni salad
Hite Beer @$13
Let's have a look at the BBQ sets ordered.
Beef Set A has prime ribs, prime short-ribs, marinated prime short-ribs and briskets. The Black Pig Set D has belly, jowl and collar.
Beef Set A @97
Black Pig Set D @$75
briskets
beef briskets
My favourite cuts of the meats would be prime short-ribs anything for the beef (means, I didn't like the brisket as much as the rest), and for the black pig, loved the pork collar the most!
Marinated versus unmarinated? Still preferred the marinated!
beef short-ribs
pork jowl
pork collar
rice 밥 @$2
For something soupy, there's the odeng tang (fish cake soup). I'll only have this when eating in a group but it is not something that I'd order on my own.
odeng tang 오뎅탕 @$30
Have you tried Ganjang Gejang or marinated soy crabs in Singapore? Guiga has it and we ordered one to try. Unfortunately, the version here was a tad tiny, and not as flavourful. Perhaps, it is the crabs used, hence the texture/flavour here was not comparable to the ones I had engraved in my memory. Read more about it here.
Ganjang Gejang 간장게장 @$45
Nevertheless, I would recommend the seafood pancake here. Delicious and the batter was soft and fluffy on its inside. Plus, loaded adequately with seafood such as prawns and squids. It was almost like eating a seafood omelette. Yums!
Seafood Pancake 해물파전 @$24
Ah, and there's yukhoe. While many will not think twice about having sashimi (raw fish), probably most will shy away from consuming raw meat. Yukhoe is made of raw sliced beef, and commonly served with sliced pear and topped with a raw egg yolk. Here's a link to Wiki on yukhoe.
Have tried yukhoe in Busan and Singapore, and I think it was the novelty of eating such food that was the main motivating factor. The meat itself would be void of any beefy taste, texture was interesting as it had a good chew to it and some sweetness from the pear slices.
Yukhoe 육회 @$36
The makchang order arrived last. Only people who likes internal organs would probably order. Hmm, the intestine itself was only slightly crisp on the outer side (because Tracy put in a request for extra crispiness) and texture was kind of chewy. Not the hard chewy but it'll still give the jaw some work-out. The accompanying julienned leek and onions provided all the flavours.
Makchang 막창 @$30
All in all, it was a flurry of dishes, a continuous stream of hands and camera taking photos, of us scooping up copious amounts of food and some attempts at conversation with the person next to you.
We spent about $62 per pax and all the foods fed the 8 of us. For me, the aftermath was the same effect as after a buffet.
My top picks here would be the Beef BBQ of all the boneless prime beef short-ribs and the seafood pancake.
It was good to gather with Elle, Kris, Alvin, Hence, Tracy, Ivan and Tiara.
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