Whampoa Keng Fish Head Steamboat @ Rangoon Road

Had dinner at this place yesterday. We reached there probably around 8+ and there were lots of tables unoccupied.

Once you're seated, they will place the utensils right away on your table, regardless of what you're ordering.

ready for steamboat

wet towel

We ordered the premium fish, pomfret steamboat (small) and a side dish of claypot pork with dried chilies and salted fish.

our order of 鱼头颅 pomfret fish steamboat (@$35)

The soup contained lots of vegetables squares, small chunks of yam, those deep fried flat fish (that enhances the taste of fish soups), and of course large chunks of pomfret fish. The soup itself was nicely sweet. Some of the fish have bones, so do be careful when eating them. Not to mention, the fish was extra smooth and may just slip out of your chopsticks if you're not careful!

yummy pomfret

claypot pork with salted fish and dried chilies

fragrant and salty sliced pork

The sliced pork goes well with rice. Not surprising to find one eating copious amount of rice due to this dish alone. It's also very oily, and some of the pork slices have soft bones in them.

Total bill came up to $54 and fed two pax. Actually, we were quite stuffed after all the vege, meat and soup.

Aerin's Cafe and Espresso Bar @ Raffles City

Located at Raffles City basement, near Din Tai Fung. It was a convenient place for a casual meet-up sans reservation on a Friday evening.

signboard

menu

The menu looked really simple at one glance. We ordered buffalo wings, portobello mushroom salad, Aerins taglietelle, prawns risotto, a hot chocolate (for the kid) and one carafe of sangria for the adults.

ready to dig in

portobello mushroom salad

One would've expected more from the salad at $13++. There were only like 2-3 smallish medium sized portobello mushroom inside, some chopped tomatoes, some pine nuts and some rocket leaves. Taste wise, it was acceptable and not too oily.

Though we ordered one carafe, only 1 glass of sangria made it to our table. Had to inform the service staff that we ordered a carafe to be shared amongst three people. One carafe can pour max. of 3 glasses only. Am not sure why, but this was the second time that the sangria that I had in Singapore, tasted like someone mixed it with candy'ied cherries. Much prefered if it was just red wine mixed with orange juice and some lemon.

sangria (@$29++) per carafe

Did not take any pictures of the main courses (risotto and taglietelle) since they were ordered by my long-lost primary school classmates. (yea... I was like paiseh!) But I did take a bite out of those two plates. The risotto could've been better, especially the texture of the rice. It smelled cheesy, lightly seasoned but maybe a little on the bland side. Came loaded with asparagus. The pasta was good though. Even the kid approved of it. Came with lots of mushrooms and some smoked salmon.

buffalo wings?

My order of buffalo wings turned out to be something different. First of all, it wasn't even a wing.. they were drumlets. Drumlets? Sigh. Another, was the sauce was more like a dip. Mention buffalo wings and I'd be expecting mid-joints totally smothered in smoky hot sauce. So, had a different expectation of what was served.

This place had baby-chair and also plastic utensils for the young ones. Service was friendly.

Total bill came up to $105 for 3 adults and 1 child.

Drinks @ Unity Street, Robertson Walk

Went to chill out at Robertson Walk yesterday. First stop, Cappadocia Cafe and Restaurant. The night was nice, air was cool and there wasn't any crowd at that cafe. Saw people smoking shisha too. Ordered a mojito cocktail as I didn't want to get a beer. The beer selection that they have are Heineken, Tiger, Sol, Efes, and  Erdinger, if not wrong. Another friend got an apple tea drink.

mojito (@$13++)

The cocktail tasted mild during the first half of the glass. I think I like caipirinha better (because of the palm sugar!). Hehehe, I was thinking that this mojito wasn't sweet enough! Anyways, the alcohol kicked in much slower and felt better after finishing the drink. The service here is somewhat, regrettable. The person who took our order seemed to have difficulty understanding our order. Took him quite a while to write it down also. Maybe he's new. Anyway, we asked for iced-water and he said he'll get it for us but it never did come.

Next stop, Wine Connection Deli & Bistro. Depending on what you're ordering, a bottle of wine could be as affordable as $25++ per bottle. We ordered a bottle of winner of some gold medal Spinyback white wine from New Zealand (@$37++) but they have this weekend charge of another $10 per bottle.

As it was past midnight, we decided to get some food as snack. Our friend who had been here before recommends the ham and bruschetta. So we did the 'make your own platter' combo where you tick off the items that you want to eat.

bruschetta, honey glazed ham and ewe cheese

favourite meat, looking yummy and waiting to be devoured

The bread was nicely crisps, tomato bits tangy and tasty but abit too laden with olive oil. The ewe cheese being a hard cheese, was a little chalky and not too pungent. Ham was fantastic. Nice thick cut, and for the good parts are what we deemed the 'fatty' parts. Not fatty per say as in you see layers of fats but that particular taste in your mouth as you savour the flavour and juiciness of the meat.

The Spinyback wine was fruity, not tannic and has a slight salty sourish finish. Acceptable for someone who prefers moscatos.

Spinyback white wine, not sure whether it was a riesling or something else

The service at Wine Connection was good. Friendly and efficient. It started to rain while we were enjoying our drinks and snacks, so we asked their help to shift over to a dryer area where the rain don't splatter onto you. No problems here. No complaints also even when they had to lay out another set of utensils for us. Nice.

iced-water is served freely to customers

This place seemed rather popular, judging by its crowd.Oh, and by the way.. maybe it's better to look at the cheese before ordering especially for cheese illiterates like me. Ordered a goat's cheese that no one (on our table) can eat (stomach). What a waste!

Hong Kong Sheng Kee Dessert @ Clementi Mall

Located at B1 of the mall, it is one of those kiosk shops with seats. We visited on a Thursday night and the place was rather packed. The set lunch menu was available for dinner as well. There are two types of combo. Type 1 is where the main dish is a rice dish and served with a drink. Type 2 has a main dish (usually noodles) and served with desserts (sweet) and savouries (for example carrot cake). Both sets are priced at less than $10.

My friend ordered a rice dish of preserved vegetables and pork with iced-coffee for $6.90. I wasn't feeling hungry, so ordered their mango pomelo sago dessert ($4.90).

preserved vegetable with pork rice

mango pomelo sago

My friend commented that the rice dish was tasty. I liked the mango pomelo sago but wished that it was more chilled though. The dessert sweetness was just right and thick with mango flavour. Yums.

However, this is one joint that you have to eat and go. We were chased away even when my friend still had more than half a cup of his drink left...

Ma Maison @ The Central

Located at Level 3 of The Central. Go to level 2, pass by Billy Bombers, another shop that sells nasi padang place and just follow the escalator nearest to Ramen Santouka, upwards. Leads you straight to the restaurant. Made a reservation prior to our visit as we've heard that Ma Maison here, is rather small.

shopfront

cosy interior

I've always liked the ambience of Ma Maisons. Dim lights, heavy furnitures, dark wooden theme...feels cosy and intimate. Haven't been to Ma Maison for many years and this was my first time to this branch. Was amused by the number of menus displayed on our table when we got seated.

our table, reserved

an array of menus on the table

food menu, the red rectangle one is for drinks(incl. alcohol) and desserts

We ordered assorted sausages for appetiser (when I really wanted scallop carpaccio! But had a friend who didn't want that... *sobs*), and for mains, we ordered large hamburger steak, beef stroganov omurice, and mentaiko pasta.

Iced water is served freely and topped up regularly.

assorted sausages (@$11.80++)

The sausages were really tiny. Came with a small serving of sauerkraut. Everyone had 2 pieces of the sausages, one chipolata type and the other is the red coloured ones. Not sure what sauce it had, but it tasted sweetish. This is one appetiser that you can skip. Better stick to escargots or salads or scallop carpaccios.

Next, comes our mains! Large hamburger steak. During taking order time, the waitress will ask if you'd lke Japanese or brown sauce. We remembered the picture in the menu showed a sunny side up with this dish, so we asked our waitress. She said, "Oh, the egg is only if it was ordered with brown sauce." =_='
Ok, next time remember to order brown sauce instead or you'll lose an egg...

large hamburger steak with Japanese sauce

Beef patty was still moist but not as juicy as I remembered it to be, many years ago when I first had this dish. Things do change, I guessed.

beef stroganov omurice

First time having beef stroganov omurice. The egg was fluffy and light. Very yummy. The sauce was nice too, with a hint of smokey bitterness. Goes well with the rice. Beef slices were tender.

mentaiko pasta

The mentaiko pasta was likeable. The noodles texture was just right, not too al-dente. Ingredients included small clams (tiny la-la), thinly sliced mushrooms and spicy cod roe. Not spicy at all, and flavourful. Nice.

Next, desserts. The friendly waitress brought the various available tarts to our table, when we wanted to order.Tarts are one pricey dessert. Ranges from $6.80++ to $8.80++.

blueberry tart

closer look

The blueberries were encased in jelly. Much like the usual fresh cream fruit cake. Blueberries here looked bigger than the usual but that could be because I'm too used to see shrunk dried version of blueberries? Hahaa! Not too sweet, easy to eat. But my friend complained that it was too sour for her.

Total bill came up to $77 (after 10% Stanchart credit card promo) and it fed 3 pax.

ps: pictures taken by blackberry camera phone