Curry Times @ Novena Square (Velocity)

Located at Level 2 of Novena Square. Perpetually packed during lunch time. Ambiance, noisy.

curry chicken set @$8.90++

set lunch comes with a drink (coffee/tea/cold drink)

Curry was thick and came with 3 chunks of chicken thigh meat, plus two large pieces of potato. Not too spicy.

a serving of retro

The accompanying vege of the day was skinny long beans, fried with fragrant sambal that tasted a bit like hae bee hiam.

Colleague's fried laksa (ala-carte) tasted nice and modern.

fried laksa @$7.90++

Lao Beijing 老北京食堂 @ Velocity Novena Square

Located at Level 2 of Velocity, Novena Square. Was there for lunch and the place was bustling. Even so, service was efficient and we were quickly brought to the table.

menu

Ordered quickly and noodles were the first to arrive. For lunch, we opted for under $10 dishes.

stewed pork ribs noodles

老北京炸酱面 (zha jiang noodles)

Tried abit of the noodles, and the sauce on the pork ribs was not too heavy plus the meat cooked till soft. Liked the presentation, that the noodle soup was served separately from the ribs. Gives you the feeling of more bang for your buck. Ample vegetables, so that was good too!

By now, it has led me to believe that there are many variations of 北京's 炸酱面. This one in particular, looked and tasted more of 干捞面, dry noodles. Nevertheless, it was tasty.

spicy wantons@$8++

pan-fried onion pancakes 葱油饼
@$8++

mid-section view

The wantons dumplings were plump and chockful of chopped prawns and mushrooms. Nice and actually, not quite spicy. The spring onion pancakes had juicy minced pork filling that's enhanced by plenty of fragrant spring onions. However, the skin of the pancake was quite doughy.

The meal costs about $12 per pax.

You & Mee Noodle Place @ United Square

Located at B1 of United Square Shopping Mall. Place is smallish, and service was forgetful. The staff literally forgotten about our drinks, and the free crackers. Yes, one could get a pack of crackers (worth 80cents) when the bill exceeds $15.

cashier / drinks counter

80cents crackers

The number shall be flashed near the kitchen's service window, and it's self-service to get the noodles.

mee kikil @$5.50

Ordered a beef tendon noodles, which has some beef balls in it. The soup was clear as compared to the mee kangkung which looked darker and perhaps, more flavourful.

dark sweet sauce, vinegar and various chilies

Beware that both the red and green chilies on the table, are quite strong. The tummy felt hot after just a couple of dabs of those chili paste.

beef tendon

The tendons would probably be better if it was softer. The kicap goes well with the noodles.

Hansang Korean Family Restaurant @ Novena Square 2 Part III

Once again, lunch at Hansang. Was a cold afternoon, so we wanted something soupy. Ended up with budae jigae (army stew).

army stew (budae jigae)

Took the set for 3 pax @$48++. Came with steamed white rice, 6 side dishes (non-refillable), ice-lemon tea and an appetiser. Really carb overload!

appetiser: anchovies, potato salad, black beans

kimchi

The kimchi goes well with the steamed rice. Yummy. There's also a dish of sliced guava, marinated. Crisp and refreshing. Wished there were more kimchi! How can a tiny plate of kimchi satiate all 3 pax?

rice

There was an additional one small plate of pancake with just two small slices that arrived on our table after we had started our meal. Perhaps a sampler?

pancake sampler

The iced tea was nicely sweetened and a good foil to the spicy stew.

iced lemon tea

lots of zucchini, sausages. sliced rice cakes, macaroni, some spam, beansprouts, golden mushrooms, kimchi and one cake of instant noodles

The pot may look shallow but it was good enough to feed 3 pax. Doubt one would still feel hungry after all those carbs!

Click here for previous visits: Part I, Part II

Zaffron @ Oasia Hotel

Located at Level 1 of Oasia Hotel, Novena. Lunch buffet on a working day? Yup, that's right. Food coma, thereafter. In terms  of variety, it is lacking but there're still some good eats here.


Asian themed, so one would find roasted chicken/duck, laksa, fried rice, stir fried vege, sweet and sour pork, watercress soup, and a touch of western with baked salmon. Over at the appetisers section, there's kueh pie tee and smoked duck mini buns. Plenty of salads, and some variety for desserts.

let the buffet begins!

Started with some beet salad and small bites. Don't forget to add condiments to your salad, if you'd like. There's olives, seeds, cheese etc.

chicken salad, leaves and beans

mini smoked duck buns

beet salad, DIY kueh pie tee and smoked duck bun

This is the first time I'd eaten beet cubes. As a drink, it was ok. In its solid form, there's a certain rawness and subtle sweetness to it. Kueh pie tee was good. Crispy sweet shell, loaded with tasty turnip shreds, topped with a shrimp with a dash of chili. While stocks last. Come to think of it, how come I only ate one!

There's also a DIY laksa station. It was good. Not spicy but tasted fragrant and luscious with coconut milk.

DIY laksa, with quail egg, sprouts and sliced fish cake

For drinks, it was limited choices of only coffee/tea/water. No juice. I think if there's juice, even bottled ones would address a bit of customer's expectation of a buffet.

the roasts - pork, root vege, duck and chicken

Gosh, just realised that I didn't try the duck. Bummer. But the roasted pork was good. Crispy crackling skin. But too much meat though.

pork and stir fried cauliflower and broccoli

mayonaise deep fried chicken

My dad would approve of the mayo fried chicken. He's into all sorts of mayo now.

chicken fried rice with silver fish

Though there are no standout items, I had enjoyed the watercress soup, roasted pork and baked salmon. Kueh pie tee and laksa are recommended, just a little hassle to put the ingredients together.

stir fried broccoli, salmon, roasted chicken, roasted pork, fried chicken

Time for dessert and coffee.

bread and butter pudding and cakes

Bread and butter pudding was alright, but the cakes were better.

orange mousse-cake with chocolate ganache, and spongecake with cream cheese

The sponge-cake reminded me of both rainbow cake and red velvet.

Price for buffet lunch per adult is about $42 incl. tax.