IKEA Restaurant and Cafe @ Alexandra Road

My colleague likes IKEA for its meatballs and chicken wings, plus some minor shopping, so usually I'll just trudge along for lunch. Give me chicken wings anytime! And of course, refillable unlimited cups of coffee for just 50 cents, that is value for money!

At 12+ pm during weekdays, if you are lucky, can still find seats. It is not uncommon to find students sitting there, enjoying leisurely lunch while discussing their projects. Working adults, shoppers having lunch/brunch made up the rest of the population found in the restaurant. The food queue can get crazy long, so be prepared to wait around 20 minutes.

chicken wings for 2

yummy and oily

The chicken wings are to be ordered in multiples of two. So for us two girls, usually we'll just have 2 wings each.

swedish meatballs, with potatoes

meatballs!

The meatballs come in two sizes; 5 or 10 balls per plate. I've seen other tables of one lady and a man, having a plate of ten meatballs per pax and two wings each. I've also seen young girls (probably late teens or early twenties) having a salad, a main course (salmon), chicken wings and dessert. Wow.

The meatballs tend to dry up and harden a little if left in the open for too long. Definitely need to eat it with the sauce. The potatoes that day were slightly harder, which probably meant that it wasn't cooked as long as it should?

Sometimes, they might have a promo on desserts, and so on that particular Tuesday, they were giving free dessert for every plate of 10 meatballs.

invaded by green desserts (round one is $2 while the longish one is free)

Well, looks can be deceiving. I thought the longish looking dessert (which was the free item for the meatballs promo) was chocolate. Turned out to be something that was seriously sweet but blah. The round dessert which my colleague couldn't resist buying, was better. It was soft, with skin similar to the snowskin mooncake (but much sweeter), and its inside has cream and cake.

don't know its name, but not bad

I had two cups of coffee, and by the end of the meal, was feeling really full! The costs of the entire meal was about $12+.

Vote for Your Favourite Waterfront Feast Blogger

Dear Friends,

Pssst.. wanna stand to win a SGD$50 voucher for yourself? Here's how. Simply by voting for your favourite Waterfront Feast blogger here: http://contest.omy.sg/let-the-feast-begin-waterfront/

Hurry though, the contest ends at 9th July 2011 at 12pm! Hope you get the voucher! =)


Here's omy coverage of the event:



And the vodcast:

Imperial Treasure Noodle and Congee House @ ION Orchard

Located at B3-17 of ION Orchard. There was a waiting time of about 25 minutes on a weekday lunch. Get a queue number and wait patiently.  We were led to our table after about 15 minutes, only to find out that the table was still not cleared. So another few more minutes of waiting time. The place felt kind of small and narrow.

Ours is a booth seat with us facing the 'wall'. Hahaa, felt like a cramped 茶餐厅.

our table, facing the wall....repenting?

table settings

cold soya bean that wasn't really cold...

We ordered quite abit for two pax. My friend insisted on ordering the roasted meats (2 types: duck and pork for $16++), char siew bao and prawn dumpling salad. While I insisted on flowy custard bun, siew mai and for desserts; souffle egg puff with red bean paste and banana. For drinks, we had cold soya drink ($1.80++) which turned out to be slightly colder than room temperature. Hmmm....

prawn dumpling salad

I think the 'salad' in the prawn dumpling salad really referred to the mayonaise (沙拉酱?).

douse it with a little mayo

yup, nice crunchy prawn

This deep fried item tasted nice with mayonaise and all, but I found it a little pricey though. Next, came the roasted meat plate. The meat here is cut into smaller bite size.

roasted duck and pork

roasted duck

roasted pork

Having a basis for comparison due to the recent visit to Canton-I and having had similar dish, I would prefer the other version of the roasted pork as this one here, was somewhat smaller in size, and not as juicy. The roasted duck here has leaner meat but more crispy skin.

mustard and plum sauce for the meat

Next, came the char siew bao (3 in a basket).

char siew bao

yummy char siew bao

We liked the char siew bao (in fact it was one of the de-facto item that my friend MUST order to satisfy her dim sum cravings!). Soft fluffy bun that breaks easily with yummy moist fillings and most importantly, not much fatty meat inside. However, the sauce of the char siew bao was a little salty for me.

siew mai

chopped prawns in siew mai

The siew mai tasted much like steamed prawn dumplings, probably because much of its filling seemed to be just chopped prawn cubes. I liked it for its simplicity.
 

flowy custard bun (流沙包)

all that glitters.. golden custard

The looks of the custard bun was rather mundane and boring. Plain white small buns in a basket. How exciting can that be? Especially since I've encountered purple coloured custard bun elsewhere. BUT, the taste of the custard bun here was... divine. Its filling was thick, and you can really taste the salted egg. Savoury and sweet, it was pure indulgence! And value for money too.

At this point, both of us were clutching our tummy and complaining about how full we are. We both concluded that it could be the soya bean drink that done us in. Felt bloated already. But, there was still one more dessert to eat.

Hehehe, this was one meal that I had not just one, but two desserts! Well, the story went like this. Earlier, while we were still waiting to be seated, they had this screen at the shopfront that displayed pictures of selected items from their menu. There was one that caught my eye, so we ordered it to try. We waited quite a while for it to come though. It was delivered to our table only after we asked for it twice, and 10 minutes after we finished everything and our tables cleared.

So, was it worth the wait?

souffle egg with sugar dusting

red bean paste and banana fillings

The answer was, YES. Definitely worth the wait! Served piping hot, the souffle was sooooo soft. A bite of this sweet dessert and you can taste the eggy texture, mixed with the heady scent of red bean and banana. Yums! But, it was kind of oily though.. so probably hot chinese tea would be a better choice of drink as compared to soya bean. The soya bean tasted blah after having the souffle, as the souffle was super sweet (according to my definition, that is).

The meal costs $47 for two pax. Most of the dim sum items that we ordered had prices ranging from $3.30 ~ $4.50. If you are not using the wet towels, just simply indicate so prior to paying and check the bill to ensure that the towels are not charged. Service was adequate, and the wait staff were friendly. Just take note that it could take a while to get the bill settled during their peak hours.

Waterfront Feast @ Riverside Point

This event was part of the "Let the Feast Begin" gastronomical experience made possible by omy.sg. You can read more about it here. Am lucky to be one of the participants for this fun-filled, laughter-induced and tummy-filling experience, so here's an account on the happenings of that day.

Our group of bloggers first convened at Jumbo Seafood Restaurant. Expectations were high and images of chili crabs were conjured in my mind. Indeed, we were not disappointed. On our sampling menu, were two of their signature dishes; Jumbo Chili Crab (awarded The Best Chili Crab in Tiger Beer Chili Crab Championship Series 2006) and Salted Egg Golden Prawns (awarded Best Seafood Dish in Tasty Singapore Chef RAS Culinary Competition 2007).

Their amiable executive chef, Chef Ng Chong Guan made an appearance for us to explain a little on our dishes. Did you know the number of ingredients found in the sauce of chili crab? Thirteen, he told us. For me, there is no need to crack my skull thinking of what went into the ingredients, as Jumbo is also selling the chili crab paste so that you can recreate the taste from the comfort of your own home.

friendly Chef Ng and Ms Estelle Tan

What about the food? Here are the pictures.

salted egg golden prawns

chili crab

thick luscious sauce

fried 'mantou' or buns

The prawns were of a good size, and retained its outer crunchiness. Each prawns were evenly coated with thick layer of salted egg sauce. There wasn't much of a spiciness in here. Just pure salted egg goodness. Best to eat it while it's hot!

prerequisite prior to eating chili crab, a bib

The spicyness of the chili crab was certainly something that was distinguishable. One sip and it hits you. But almost as immediately, that heat dissipates and an overall sweetness envelopes the tongue. An agreeable taste, I would say. Fresh seafood is a must and the crab that I had, certainly was fresh as the flesh was meaty and firm. The fried mantous were so good! The mantou was kind of small (2-bite size) and it was slightly sweet to begin with. Dip it into the sauce for a heavenly pillowy spicy sweet combo.

After our mini sampling in the airconditioned enclave of the restaurant, we piled out for an outdoor photography shoot where there is better lighting.

outdoor seats by the river

Salted Egg Golden Prawns

Jumbo Chili Crab

Next stop, Cafe Iguana.

cafe iguana facade

Game for a sampling of tequila? Why not? We chorused. Hahaa! How about a margarita? YES! This was my first time at Cafe Iguana, and being a Mexican restaurant, one would expect fajitas and tequila shots. I know, what limited knowledge of Mexican food! We were met by Ms Erin Frey and she explained our food and drinks itenary for this stop. We were to try their featured margarita of June, which is Jose Cuervo Tradicional Margarita. And also to sample their "Red Snapper Enchiladas". According to Erin, this dish is not that well-known amongst diners but for regulars, it is one of the favourite item to order.

Jose Cuervo Tradicional (40% alcohol) - tequila reposados (aged in wood for 2-12 months)

What is tequila by the way? According to Wiki, it is a spirit made from blue agave plant and the spirit is so named tequila because it is grown in the city of Tequila. If you want to know what is a blue agave plant, click here.

The small sampling of tequila that I had, tasted smooth and very light in colour. Best if it was chilled.

margarita with salt-crusted rim

The margarita tasted lovely, on the rocks, sweet and the right amount of alcohol. The salt does give the drink an extra kick! After satisfying our thirst, it was time to refuel with food.

red snapper enchiladas (sampling size)

red snapper fillet

The red snapper enchiladas was likeable. Served warm and drizzled with tomatillo sauce and melted cheese.

tomato and onion bits

I had a blogger who does not take much fish, and she did partake in this dish. And that says a lot! The fish was well-cooked and tasted pretty much like chicken. I liked the tomato and raw onion bits that gave the dish that extra dimension in taste. This is a non-spicy dish. The tortilla was quite filling, and soon we were all stuffed.

actual serving size (the Mexican rice was nice too! Bursting with tomato taste)

Next up, Harry's Bar.

bar counter

We were seated at a cosy corner. So cosy that I forgot to take a picture. Ms Roza (Marketing Manager) was very personable and she sat with us to give some background information on Harry's Bar islandwide. Harry's has currently reinvented itself from being a jazzbar, a gastrobar and now, a sports bar. With so many outlets everywhere, it is easy to chill and relax at Harry's.

We were there to sample their fish and chips, so here are the pictures.

fish and chips (half size for sampling)

fish fillet

The fries were nicely crisp and only lightly salted. The fish was thinly coated with batter and fried till golden brown. Its meat was firm and it disintegrates nicely when popped into the mouth. Good to eat without any sauce too!

There is a saying, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do". So when in Harry's, what else do we need to do? Get a drink, of course!

caipirinha

cider

peach bellini

Hey, not all are mine, ok... I had the caipirinha which I offered to everyone else (well, almost), and it received many thumbs up! The apple cider was Bryan's while the Peach Bellini was Irene's.

By this time, everyone was quite full but we shall not rest, till we are at the finishing line. Last stop, was at Brewerkz. As Brewerkz and Cafe Iguana are under the same group, we met up with Erin once more.

beer tasting session

gosh, how many glasses are we having?

We drank in the order of light to more intense. First up was Kolsch beer (Germany), which was light but still hoppity and bitter. Next up was the steam beer from California, which was medium bodied. And apparently, this beer used to be cheaper than soda! Gosh! Scholar Red sounds interesting. Made from black glutinous rice, and was drunk by scholars in China during the imperial examination period. Most full-bodied and bitter amongst the three, and with lingering smokey aftertaste.

kolsch

steam beer

scholar red

To accompany the beers, we had buffalo wings. They had categories of spiciness for the buffalo wings and they are called 'mild', 'hot' and 'suicide' in ascending order of heat. But frankly, the heat was just minor. Didn't even break a sweat.

buffalo wings

colourful beers: pilsner, oat-stout and dragon fruit beer (from left to right)

And that ends, our wonderful gastronomical journey for Waterfront Feast at Riverside Point. Below is a summary of the restaurants that we trawled:

1. Jumbo Seafood @ Riverside. Address: #01-01/02 Riverside Point, S058282.Website: www.jumboseafood.com.sg
2. Cafe Iguana. Address: #01-03 Riverside Point, S058282.Website: www.cafeiguana.com
3. Harry's Bar. Address: #01-04 Riverside Point, S058282. Website: www.harrys.com.sg
4. Brewerkz. Address: #01-05/06 Riverside Point, S058282. Website: www.brewerkz.com

And dear readers, here is a link (http://blog.omy.sg/let-the-feast-begin/promotions/) to a series of promotions that lasts till end of July 2011. Hurry!

Also special thanks to Alvin Lim for the invite, and the rest of the blogger gang on that day! Peeps, you were good fun!