Monday, October 5, 2020

[Tasting] I'M KIM Korean BBQ & Shabu Shabu @ Grantral Mall

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First things first. Where in the world is Grantral Mall? Its address will lead most grab or cab to Clementi Mall. Not too far off, but not correct also. Now, knowing the bearings, alight at Clementi MRT Station, and once you've exited, move towards the left and away from the Clementi Bus Interchange (or away from McDonalds). After walking a few metres from Clementi mall, you'd come across a small junction or road between Clementi Mall and Grantral Mall and you'd notice another smallish building with steps leading to a sign that says "Grantral Mall". The signage is in blue.


Grantral Mall side view (the sushi shop is most noticeable once you are near enough)


Here's the YT video on the direction from I'M KIM website:


I'll admit that I didn't watch the direction video and hence, I was lost for about 5 minutes because I've headed towards Clementi Mall instead of the other direction, and had to seek direction from the helpful staff at the Bus Interchange.

Once in Grantral Mall, just head up to Level 2 and the restaurant large signage makes it easily locate-able.

There is a 90-minutes dining per seating and the 'buffet' table closes at 3pm and 10pm respectively for lunch and dinner.

Although it is 'buffet-style', due to current situation, the restaurant is offering table-service to get the 'buffet' item to the diners. All we have to do, is just to tick-off in the order sheet and hand it over to the friendly staff. They'll bring the items to the table for you. No need to get up from our table!

interior

order sheet

pencil holder

I was late, so my group had ordered a bunch of items. I was like whispering to them to ask if we had ordered one of each because it seemed like we had!

table-full of stuffs

While I had tried I'M KIM at SOTA, the concept here at Grantral Mall, is that this outlet not only offers BBQ, it has Shabu Shabu as well. Nice! For the shabu pot, diner could opt for miso or sukiyaki base. We opted for sukiyaki.

in goes the sukiyaki broth for shabu shabu

dipping sauces - ssamjang, goma, thai chili and thousand island

assorted side dishes


While waiting for the BBQ and Shabu Shabu to cook, one could indulge in their cooked food, especially the fried chicken wings!

Korean Chicken Wings

japchae

carbonara


Thirsty? There is an ongoing promo of "BUY 2 GET 1 FREE ALCOHOLIC DRINKS!" its Grantral Mall, SOTA and *SCAPE outlets. Do note that the free item has to be of lower value than the paid items.

Buy 2 Get 1 Free Alcoholic Drinks Promo

Hite beer

Makgeolli

Let's check how's the food doing, shall we?

ready, get set, go

turning up the heat

vegetable pot looking good

some chicken slices to shabu shabu 샤브샤브


ready to eat

The thin slices of meat cooks easily and quickly in the shabu pot, and the mixture of corn, mushrooms and seafood (prawns, mussels, clams, squid) added to the flavour.

marinated meats for BBQ


BBQ grill action


yummy black pepper chicken 후추 치킨


cheers to friendship and yummy food in our belly

make your own ssam 쌈


can't get enough of delicious meats 김치 삼겹살


The friendly staff would drop by once in a while to help change the grill paper or, if necessary, the grill plate. The sukiyaki broth would also be topped up periodically.

Overall, an enjoyable experience albeit a little hurriedly at the beginning. I felt so pampered with the buffet dishes delivered to the table. We were mindful to not over order and it was a good idea to order enough to start, and then to top up once we had cooked and eaten most of the lot.

reasonable price

Promotions at Grantral Mall Outlet:

  • Students and NSFs Promo (Until 31st October 2020) Valid Student Pass or NSF card to be eligible. Minimum 3 pax to dine. Mon-Fri Lunch: $11.9++ (UP: $16.9++) Sat-Sun Lunch & Mon-Thu Dinner: $20.9++ (UP: $26.9++)
  • 4+1 Free Promo (Until 31st Oct 2020): 1 pax dines free with every 4 full-paying pax. Valid for Sat-Sun Lunch & Sun-Thu Dinner. Have to reserve seats online and use promo code ‘4PLUS1’.
  • Early Dinner Promo (Until 31st Oct 2020) $19.90++ Sun-Thu Dinner. To enjoy the promo, dining time will be 5.30pm-7pm. Have to reserve seats online and use promo code ‘EARLY’. Minimum 3 pax to dine.
  • Healthcare Workers (Until 31st Oct 2020) 20% OFF Mon-Sun Lunch & Sun-Thu Dinner. Have to flash Healthcare Staff pass to be eligible.

Terms and conditions apply. Do enquire from the outlet itself.


Thank you Adrian and Kingdom Food Group for hosting the lunch, as well as a shout out to the friendly service crew at I'M KIM Korean BBQ and Shabu Shabu.


I'M KIM Korean BBQ & Shabu Shabu @ Grantral Mall

Address: 3151 Commonwealth Ave West Singapore 129581

Websitehttps://kingdomfood.sg/im-kim-korean-bbq-shabu-shabu/

Contact:  +65 62611936

Business Hours:

Weekday: 11.30am – 4.30pm, 5.30pm – 10.30pm

Buffet Counter closes at 3.00pm & 10.00pm respectively

Weekend/PH: 11.30am – 3.30pm, 5.30pm – 10.30pm 

Buffet Counter closes at 3.00pm & 10.00pm respectively 





Sunday, September 27, 2020

[Media Alert] Grissini Welcomes Diners Back for a Refreshed Dining Experience @ Grand Copthorne Waterfront

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Good news, fans of Grissini!

Grissini


Feast your senses on delicate showmanship as chefs prepares handmade pastas and josper-grilled premium meats and seafood at the live kitchens and enjoy a pleasant surprise of complimentary housemade fresh bread and condiments served to your table from a condiments cart.

img credit: Grand Copthorne Waterfront

img credit: Grand Copthorne Waterfront

Had taken a look at the menu, and saw a new item that piqued my interest, the Cacciucco alla Livornese. A Livorno-style (Tuscan) fish/seafood stew. Perfect on a cool weather day. Imagine a warm stew, bread and a sip of wine. Savoured at a leisurely pace. The worries of the world, could wait another day.

img credit: Grand Copthorne Waterfront

Do try the Fettucine Al Gamberoni, which consist of housemade spinach fettucine, prawns, in white wine sauce. Have tried the fettucine from its Alfresco dining menu and it was so good!

img credit: Grand Copthorne Waterfront

And of course, there shall be dessert. Have not tried the 64% Chocolate Mousse IN Chocolate Sphere before but it sure looks pretty from the photo. This serves two, hence keep some tummy space for it!

img credit: Grand Copthorne Waterfront


Pssst...I heard there's a complimentary Moscato (T&C applies) to celebrate this re-opening so make your reservations now! For reservations, please call 8168 1539, email dining.gcw@millenniumhotels.com or visit this link.

Enjoy! Buon appetito! 


Grissini @ Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel

Location: G/F Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, 392 Havelock Rd, 169663

Website: http://celebrateatgcw.com/grissini

Contact: 6233 1100

Business Hours:

Lunch

12pm to 2.30pm (Saturday & Sunday)

Dinner
6pm to 10pm (Friday, Saturday & Sunday)

Saturday, September 26, 2020

Xi Yan 囍宴 @ Shaw Centre

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Visited Xi Yan by Celebrity Chef Jacky Yu (余健志) at Shaw Centre recently. Had quite a nice experience with the food when we tried its Katong outlet way back in 2019, so this prompted a revisit albeit to a different outlet since the Katong one is not available.


shiny

First impression was this outlet is smaller than expected. At 6pm on a weekend, we were the first table. Diners started to trickle in around 6.40pm and by 7pm, the place was buzzing.

interior

table for 4

The menu is familiar and spotted a few items that I had tried before. To order, just tick-off the items in the order chit and pass it to the service staff. 


Chef Jacky Yu

order chit


While waiting, I had the lychee drink. Tasted like lychee in Sprite and water. 

As we handed in the order chit, the friendly staff informed that the current promo is you can get an appetizer dish (below $12) for $1 with min. spend of $50, or $1 for any dish (below $20) with min. spend of $100. Nice!


Lychee drink @$4.80

When you eat out with friends, our delegated role will be each one to order one dish of our choice. For mine, I ordered the Jiu Rong Vegetables. Turned out to be a very good choice as the vegetable was fresh and crunchy. with well cooked garlic. Those thin strips of Yunnan ham seemed scarce...

Jiu Rong Vegetables with Yunnan Ham and Garlic 云南火腿炒青龙菜 @$12.80

Fried Lo Shi Fan with Xi Yan XO Sauce  @$13.50

The fried bee tai mak (lo shi fan) was a crowd favourite. But it was missing the 'wok-hei' that was found in this dish from its Katong outlet.

The radish cake was good too, but because it was also XO sauce, the taste was actually similar to the fried lo shi fan. So, recommend to get either of this dish and probably not both. My group was divided in opinion and it was about half preferred the carrot cake while the other half preferred the lo shi fan.

Radish Cake M Size @$1 (promo price, UP. $14.70)

The speed of the dishes being served was rather amazing. Most of the dishes were served within 10 minutes after the order was placed. Wow!

Sake Dongpo Pork @$20 (M size)

delicious pork belly with mei cai (preserved vegetables)

And, we must have meat. Definitely. The Sake Dongpo Pork Belly with Mei Cai (Preserved Vegetables) was a good choice. Though the pork belly could be softer, it was a balanced taste of savoury, sweet, collageny but not overwhelming (jelak). Best paired with white rice.

The most underwhelming dish was the Fried Sotong with salted egg yolk. The batter was oily and soggy. Tasted of salted egg but overall texture left much to be desired. Squid was tender though.

Fried Sotong in Butter and Salted Egg Yolk M Size @$25.50

Lastly, we tried the Hakka Duck as I've not tried anything like this before. Surprise surprise! The duck was more sweet than savoury. Homely tasting and I think goes well with beer. The sweet taste was most prominent and the duck was lightly chewy. Best part? The skin.

Hakka Marinated Duck with Sweet Sauce @$23.80 (Half)

At 7pm, we were informed that there is a next booking for our table at 8pm. This was another surprise as the reservation did not indicate that there was a next seating. Nevertheless, we ate fast and furious and by 7.30pm, we were about done.

The staff offered complimentary dessert on our next visit, and we jokingly said why not have it now and he really did bring out the ice-cream for each of us. Hahaa, thanks!

Coconut Ice-cream with palm jelly

Spent about $28 per pax for the meal.


Xi Yan Shaw, Casual Dining

Address: 1 Scotts Road, Shaw Centre, #03-12/13, S228208

Websitehttps://www.xiyan.com.sg/casual-dining

Contact: +65 6733 3476

Business Hours:

Daily 11.30 am to 3pm, 5.30 pm to 10 pm



Tuesday, September 22, 2020

Burger and Lobster @ Raffles Hotel

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Ok, so this was an 'atas' (similar connotation to high-class) tea session. Hey, once in a while, it's ok to pamper ourselves. Nevertheless, it was rather rare for us to be having a meal at 3.30pm. But then, it's Happy Hour (3pm to 6pm) at Burger and Lobster too!

Tip: If you're taking a cab/grab, drop at Raffles Hotel Seah Street side. Otherwise, it was a one big round walk to Burger and Lobster.

The usual temperature taking and Safe Entry check-in before admission. Was late, hence the group had already ordered and started by then. Ambiance was cosy and I enjoyed the view of the lovely looking bar.

lovely bar view

Besides admiring the bar, of course I'd be trying the cocktails. Cocktails at $10 during Happy Hours, yay! To start, had a South Side. My first time trying it. Gin based with Angostura Bitters, lemon and a mint leaf. Refreshing. 

South Side 

Old Fashioned

Ok, let's get some munchies with the drinks. Friend had already finished with her lobster roll and she enjoyed it tremendously. I went with the flow and had a small bite with whatever else that was on  the table. The Salted Egg Yolk Baby Squid was good. Not too tiny, tender yet with a soft chew.  The coating/batter of the salted egg yolk was tasty and goes so well with the cocktails. Best eaten when it was still hot. Lovely!

Salted Egg Yolk Baby Squid @$12

Another friend had Lobster Thermidor and it looked so pretty. There's something about gratinated cheese that looked inviting. Served with garlic toast. 

I had a bite of the garlic toasties, and because we ordered the Lobster Rosti, I made a small bite by breaking off a corner of the garlic toast, placed a good amount of guacamole and some lobster meat on it. Hehe.


Lobster Thermidor @$31 (Half Lobster)

say cheese~


Talking about Lobster Rosti, here's a pic of it. Light tasting and value for money. 

Lobster Rosti @$18

The place tends to get busier after 5pm on weekends. A good place with $10 Happy Hour cocktails, and lobster rolls.


Burger and Lobster

Address: 328 North Bridge Rd, Singapore 188719

Websitehttps://www.burgerandlobster.com/menu/raffles-menu/

Contact:  6971 6127

Business Hours: 

Daily 11am to 930pm

 
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