Island Cafe at Tangs Orchard

Island Cafe at Tangs Orchard 

Tucked away on the fourth floor of Tangs Orchard, is a rather unknown and definitely underrated gem of a cafe - the Island Cafe.

At first thought, it might seem random that this cafe is named Island Cafe. But upon savouring the menu, one did quickly find out the meaning behind its name. Island Cafe's greatest draw is its wonderful selection of Singapore's multicultural tastes. Every key Singaporean dish, from Briyani and Chicken Rice, to Claypot Stew and Laksa, you name it, it's there.

The best part of the deal is that Island Cafe offers all of these at many notches higher than what you would get along the streets, topped with delightful teas and house wines.

Here, I have with me their Crayfish Laksa. It was served to me with a big paper napkin. The napkin caught me off-guard, and definitely increased my good impression of this place - very thoughtful.

The crayfish was just the right size for me. And I truly enjoyed the well-balanced Laksa gravy. The gravy feels rich enough with coconut milk, yet not overwhelming. I was surprised by the quality of the sambal chill provided because it felt of pure shrimps. This Laksa easily looked this good when I randomly snapped a photo!

I also ordered a Morrocan mint tea. It is teabag tea that they imported, but with their own mint leaves added.

I had to try the white wine because of an offer going on, and it did not disappoint as well. The white wine tasted surprisingly smooth, leaning just a tad fruity-sour (suiting my taste bud).

All these good food and wine while enjoying the quiet view of Orchard Road from here, was quite a surreal experience for me, in Singapore.

You could have balcony-deck meals if you asked for them to sit you outside.

The indoors decor is pretty, and a real welcome, once you step in from the shopping mall side of Tangs Plaza.

The only gripe I have with this place, after visiting it a second time, is that I really do not enjoy the weird music played in the shopping mall outside. It is way to loud, leaning on punk, and very unsuitable for this sanctuary.

Rating: 9/10.
This is probably the ONLY place in Singapore where you can find the Top 10 Local Favourites of All Time, in restaurant-standard cooking and restaurant-standard setting. It is well-worth the price and the dishes I have tried have not disappoint. I will go back to try the other dishes, and I'd love to bring my overseas friends here to try out the local food.

If the Tangs Management ever reads this, then my suggestion would be for them to somehow change the music from outside. It is not very feasible because they sell speakers and games, bags and shoes for youths, on the 4th floor. But still, they have to find a way as it is really affecting the atmosphere in this beautiful cafe!

Average cost per person: $30. Read more "Island Cafe at Tangs Orchard ..."

Ma Maison at The Central Clarke Quay

Hi everyone!

It's not that I have not been out eating, it's just that I have been too busy to blog! But I am back on Sweetly Nice, bringing to you Ma Maison!

Ma Maison @ The Central Clarke Quay

Ma Maison menu. Was this deliberately designed to look like a Singaporean passport?

Location: The Central #03-96, Clarke Quay MRT Station.

Opening Hours: 11.30am - 3pm (lunch), 6pm - 10pm (dinner).

Cuisine: Fusion, Japanese-based.

Price: ~$50/couple

Ambience: Rustic, country.

View: Singapore river along Clarke Quay.

(I figured it is easier for you to read if I put all the quick facts first before the photos, so the sub-sections may seem a little split because the words don't come with the photos. But I will caption all my photos, so you know. I will also go through the review in chronological order, according to how I actually saw the place from when I stepped in.)

Ambience
I am in love with down-to-earth country decor, so you can imagine, when I stepped in, I was awe-struck. This IS my cup of tea. =D

Inside of Ma Maison@The Central.

I don't open bottles outside, but I thought the wine shelf is really pretty, and adds well to that rustic feel. All those drinks also makes part of the wall decor.

The wine shelf.

One of the things that I always notice about a restaurant is how much effort (or sometimes lack of effort) that the management puts into these table side necessities.

Here, you can see that beautiful stain glass lamp, the vintage-style porcelain sugar holder, the little straw basket that contains the chill and pepper.

You can also glimpse a bit of the curtains. The curtains have floral prints and are absolutely in tune with the entire country-style decor of Ma Maison.

Table top decor, sauces and necessities.

View
This Ma Maison has the view of Singapore river, and by the river, are colourful old shophouses. This part actually reminds me of those world heritage sites like Cinque Terre, Italy, and the colourful streets of Mexico.

Of course, Singapore's colourful shophouses are quite far when compared to Cinque Terre, Italy (but I secretly hope some part of Singapore can make the UNESCO World Heritage List).

Regardless, our shophouses by the Singapore river, do carry our colonial past with us; it is our heritage. And if you are down by this part of the Singapore river, you need to get out there, into the sun, and take a walk across (just right across The Central), to visit what is now known as the MICA Building. It is part of our national heritage conservation list (google or Trip Advisor it). It's superbly beautiful, and trust me, MICA building is picture perfect, and will be pretty sitting in your honeymoon album or FB page.

View of a stretch of Singapore River with colourful shophouses on an unfortunately cloudy day, from my seat at Ma Maison.

On to the food!
The first that arrived were the drinks. This is ice tea (no lemon) that comes free with the dessert we ordered. It is very normal, but I took a picture anyway.

My free ice tea with order of dessert.

Next came soup! This is corn soup that comes with an Omu-Rice set.

This is worth getting envious or jealous over! =P You've got to try how smooth and tasty the soup is. As I am typing, I can still taste that balanced sweetness in my mouth. Oh, I am drooling too. I want another bowl.

Fabulous corn soup. Must try.

The next one is a simple bowl of salad. Nothing special. Raw vegetables with standard Japanese sesame dressing, but nevertheless nice enough, and I love it all the same. Again, this came with Omu-Rice set.

Small bowl of salad.

Then they placed this set of sauces on our table.

Sauces for Tonkatsu set.

Both of us were wondering what this is. Turns out, it is sauce for my Tonkatsu and that yellow one is some kind of Japanese mustard. They taste homemade, and yes, you need to try this!

Here comes the main!
This is Omu-Rice. And I am sure you've noticed that flower pattern going on in the brown sauce. The omelette also look oo-lala gorgeous. The omelette is flowy, curvy, just the right shade of yellow, yummy!

Omu-Rice. This Omu-Rice set costs $15.50.

That brown sauce is to-die-for. It is gently sour, well-balanced by a little salt. It does not overwhelms the taste of the omelette, unlike the sauces from some other restaurants. I always find that the other Japanese restaurants use supermarket mass manufactured one that is just way too sour. The best part of Ma Maison brown sauce, really, is that little work of art. Who would have thought that brown sauce can look like milk in latte?

And the egg, oh my, the egg. Speechless. It is fluffy, and not overly-seasoned till too salt.

Next up, Tonkatsu.

Gosh, you will find yourself slurping up this pork chop!

Juicy and soft Tonkatsu (pork chop) but with crispy skin and delicious homemade sauce, $19.50.

I say "slurping" because this is heavenly soft and juicy inside! The crust is crispy, not oily, and it tastes good too. You can eat this plain, or with those special homemade sauces I introduced earlier on, it will taste equally good.

You NEED to try this.

It is by far the best pork chop I've ever eaten.

And I think I have to show you the miso soup that comes with the Tonkatsu set too, because it is so enjoyable. This soup, is what I call, real-brewed. You know, like real-brewed tea? This is real-brew miso soup.

Miso soup that came with Tonkatsu set.

What I mean by real-brewed, is that this is cooked from real ingredients, so you actually get chunks of good soft meat inside, carrots, big pieces of seaweed, etc.

If you go to fast food style Japanese restaurants, they will serve you miso soup that comes out of a machine. Meaning to say, your miso soup comes from a premix packet, kind of like instant noodles, and all you need to do is pump boiling water in, to serve. The ingredients will be minimal, a little bit of tofu, a little bit of seaweed.

But this one by Ma Maison is different. You get what you think Miso Soup is.

And when you're serve high-quality real-brewed miso soup, you drink it up, to the last drop. Don't waste.

Japanese drink miso very often, and the miso and seaweed in the soup is part of what keeps them healthy. It is said that seaweed is so deep green and full of wonderful nutrients that a bit of seaweed beats one serving of your normal vegetables.

Dessert!
Last but not least, it is my Mont Blanc. This Mont Blanc is not the pen, it is a cake. =D

See that thick crust at the bottom? I love it!

Okay, I must be one of those slightly insane people who prefers biscuit to cream, but this is homemade! It is not your normal factory-made thin crust (that you get with most mass market cheesecakes).

Mont Blanc homemade dessert, $8.80.

Actually, this whole thing is homemade. And I love everything (particularly the biscuit), especially that funny fruit on top. I don't know what it is, but it is good.

The best part about this cake is that it is not overly sweet.

Everything at Ma Maison is just so well-balanced and gentle on your tongue.

Service
I did not run into any problems with the service, so I am giving it full marks. I really liked that they clear plates fast, it felt like they secretly keep an eye on you as you eat. And so, they were able to serve your next course right on time. I never had to raise my hand to ask, because everything was done automatically.

My Bill
$51.55. Great price tag! Both of us were amazed at how affordable this was, considering the standard of the food we got. Don't forget, we had dessert! It is way below what we expected, because we have done food trips at many other places that just aren't as good, and the bill always add up to some $70-$80 (it's crazy eating in Japanese restaurants in Singapore).

My take? 10/10.
I will go back again, just to try other things on the menu. And I also want to visit the other outlets because I heard that every Ma Maison outlet in Singapore has a different theme. This one that we visited has a Western theme, so the food is Japanese mixed with European style.

I definitely recommend it to others, perhaps for Mother's Day, Father's Day, anniversaries, and tourists! If you are don't have Ma Maison in your country, come here. It will be a convenient part of the tour if you have the Singapore River (boat cruise), and Clarke Quay night scene on your itinerary.

I would limit the number of people to 4-5, because this place really isn't big, and the tables aren't made to accommodate gatherings or parties. So I wouldn't recommend this for class reunions, unless of course, you reserve the whole restaurant. Read more "Ma Maison at The Central Clarke Quay..."

Robert Timms

I have been seeing this name on the shelves of supermarkets for some time now, since I started shopping for my own groceries.

I am not a coffee drinker, so when I do get the occasional cuppa cafe, I want to drink better ones. I have been frequenting Oriole Cafe & Bar that was recommended by ieatishootipost a long time ago, and even attempt to bring friends there if they ask me where I want to go (but they tend to turn the place down because it is more pricey, and has a lack of vegetarian dishes).

However, Oriole seems to have become a bit too popular and noisy for my liking. In addition, the very poor service is just still not making sense to me.

So the other day, I spotted this new cafe a tiny walk away from Oriole, and tadaa! It's my second time in there now, and I intend to go back to try other dishes.

Okay, so the first thing I ordered was my drink. It's Ginger Herbal Tea, at $7.

I was surprised at the way this is being served even though the menu "forewarned" that it comes in a pot. haha. My idea of a pot is well, literally an English teapot.

It makes me want to buy this!

I have been thinking of buying a pot like this for a few years now, but never really saw the point of it in my house, so I've been procrastinating since.

And I love transparent cups.

I realise I didn't photograph the tea in the cup. haha.

The taste of the tea was good, I will not say great because I feel that Chinese tea always have better tastes. Please don't tell me about comparing apples with oranges, because Ginger Herbal tea exists in Chinese tea culture. I can even make my own.

I think the ginger taste here is on the mild side, but nevertheless detectable, because English customers are not into taking really strong ginger flavour. I like the extremely strong and "hot" taste that Indian Teh Halia has.

---
Next, it's my food, and I ordered Kangaroo meat.

Yes, it's Kangaroo meat. It's so exotic that I just had to order it.

What can I say? It's nice!

I love the presentation, I love the buttery taste of the biscuits, I love the small caramelised purple onions, I love the soft and tender, yet still springy kangaroo meat.

That's kangaroo meat for you.

It doesn't tastes like lamb, not like deer, not like beef, much less like pork. It's just special, has a different taste from all the other common meats I've eaten before.

So it's definitely worth your trip here should you require a cup of coffee, a different taste, and a place for celebration. Or maybe, like me, just a deserted place to chill. =)

Rating: 10/10
Yes, so far, the service has been great, and so are drinks and food. Read more "Robert Timms..."

Sakura International Buffet @ Dhoby Ghuat + My Day Out

This is the second time I am dining at Sakura International, even though I have heard lots of good things about this buffet place.

I had my first time at Safra Tampines's branch, and it wasn't as good enough to make me want to go back. However, this time, it is an invitation by my brother to spend lunch time with him, and is to go to a different branch, at which he thinks will fair well in my books.

I also agreed to give Sakura another chance, because I have not eaten Japanese, nono, I mean I have not eaten LOADS of Japanese food for a while now. hahaha. I really, really like Japanese cuisine, and will always be game for a day out to go Jap.

I am not a buffet person though, as I can never make the amount of food I eat quite match up to the cost. LOL.

I am so glad I took time and calories on this as Dhoby Ghuat branch really changed my impression of the Sakura Internation Buffet! Read on to find out... ... (invitation by bro to spend lunch with him, but I paid my share alright. haha. We are both students... ...)

Sakura International Buffet @ Dhoby Ghuat

Picture courtesy of Suki Group of Restaurants

Location
One other reason I agreed to go out for lunch was because I find that this particular branch of Sakura is exceptionally accessible. The others I know of are all at some far flung places not within reach from school or home. This Dhoby Ghaut one is centralized and looks like a city garden, reminding me of Fish & Co. glasshouse branch. =) I like the tranquil there.

Mode of Operation
At Sakura, all the diners will pay first, then be led to a table, where you get 4 tiny number clips. The number clips are for clipping onto a stand, to indicate which cooked food you'd like to be served, like Shishamo, Skewered Squid, Grilled Squid etc.

As buffets are, the rest are all self-service, with tissue and cutlery pre-arranged on the tables.

The bill for two was a standard $51.60 for two adults.

Food

Scallops, mussels and kueh pie tee.

I went for this first, which were found at the back of the restaurant, opposite the Sakura Desserts shelves. I really love mussels! haha. And the kueh pie tee is DIY, so you can choose to load your tiny cup full of fresh prawns, or do it the standard way of filling the bottom with bang guang, then eggs, a bit of chili and the prawn on top to make it look nice, like I did. =)

The scallops are not as fresh as I'd like them, but the mussels are pretty good, and the kueh pie tee is worth your calorie and stomach space too! That prawn on the kueh pie tee is really tender and fresh. =)

Mentai sauce (salmon eggs & mayo mix) mussels, crab, oyster, yakitori, and tempura prawns.

I like the mentai sauce from Sakura! The crab meat and oyster are both mixed with flour batter and placed back into the shells. The crab tastes good, but I don't like the oyster. The flour will make you fill full faster, and waste your calories, so I'd say limit your intake of things like these and the tempura... ...

The prawn of the tempura is good, but the tempura batter is tasteless.

The yakitori is not bad! My brother likes it.

Salmon sashimi!

This is what we really came for! hahaha. Yup, both of us really like salmon sashimi a lot, and wanted to "kill" this. The other one, the swordfish sashimi is not that good.

At Safra Tampines, the sashimi wasn't really fresh. But I am glad to say that this is good! This one we got yesterday is pretty much as good as it gets in Singapore for the normal price. So eat more!

Lotus slices, mentai scallop, egg mayo, meat, mentai salmon and black fish egg sushi, seaweed.

I love the seaweed! The rest are okay. I think for the sushi, just choose those that you can't eat the meat separately, as the rice will be filling. And the rice here is not particularly delicious... ... It also doesn't has vinegar which I like.

Desserts and Fruits! Skewered mochi balls with azuki topping, mochi, white chocolate, kueh lapis, orange, pineapple, guava, longan and dragonfruit.

I like the spread of fruits that they have. I took the fruits before starting on the other foods, to aid digestion and try not to eat so much. hahaha.

Of the desserts, I don't think it's very worth it, except for the white chocolates! LOVE that. And go for the konyaku too, because konyaku jellies are zero calories food, but they do make you fill full. The cakes are nice. Go for the durian green tea one and the cheesecakes. Surprisingly, their cheesecake passes my standards.

Skewered squid.

Nice! This is really worth it. And having more of it will make your buffet very, very worth the $26.15. hahaha.

I like squids anyway. =)

Jing Yu.

I have forgotten the name of this fish in English. But this is good! It's one of those cooked foods where you clip the clips for.

Shishamo (Pregnant Fish)

GOod! You can eat the whole thing! This is my first time trying something like that out. My bro says that this is not the best, but I am satisfied that it is crispy, tasty, and reminds me of Kuning fish in Nasi Lemak.

Chicken Satay

This is good! The chicken is very tender, and definitely much much nicer than all the standard coffeeshops ones! Eat more, eat more.

Green Tea ice cream with peanuts chips.

I love this. My brother thinks it's nice too. Of all the ice creams, I think the durian is not bad, the sherbets are good. The rest are nice too, but you can get it outside.

Yoghurt Jelly

There are many of these packed jellies, or konyaku, as the Japanese know it, and I like them all! Feast on konyaku if you are a fan as well. These are not cheap outside, so it is another thing to make your buffet worth the money.

Drinks
There are hot drinks from the Nescafe vending machine, so you can get your hot cappaucino, milo, plain green tea, plain hot water there.

The cold drinks are pretty good too! With options such as Sjora in Mango Peach, Nestle Green Tea, Blackcurrent, Sakura's own Soya Bean Milk.

Not bad at all. I ended off the meal with the plain hot green tea. =)

Overall Rating: 8/10
I love the place, tranquil and good for a warm talk, sit down, relax, discussions. Plus really not bad food at such a great price. Can go back!

******

We went to Comex for about 3-4 hours after food stroll, and then walked to Esplanade to take the bus home. Below are some pictures along the way.

Art display at Esplanade

Stage lights.

These are really working, but I thought they make good art in a photo. haha. Not sure if anyone appreciates my sense of style.

Digital boy skating.

Digital Lady Ballet.

******

Just want to share with you a bit of hip hop dressing. haha, I went to watch Step Up 3 in 3D, and I must say, it's good! Real good in 3D. It's my best 3D movie so far. Up was rubbish. So was Avatar.

Step Up 3 is made for the 3D, so the director uses the effect and deliberately put in scenes that can be played up by 3D, making it a really good experience for viewers.

Hip hop. Baggy clothes, designer canvas shoes, a cap.

Read more "Sakura International Buffet @ Dhoby Ghuat + My Day Out..."

DOME

Recently, I have grown a bit obsessed with the cakes from a cafe in Subang Parade called DOME. Found the best cheesecake ever there. =)

Here are just some of the food that I've tried:


Espreski RM18++

Honeycomb

Espreski is a range of drinks at DOME that is made of milk and ice cream, with shaved ice made of mineral water, and having cute chocolate things on top, such as Crunche Honeycomb, Nestle Chocolate frogs and such.

This, to my disappointment, isn't much to rave about. For its price, one can easily get ice cream-blended drinks of the same taste elsewhere. The part that I don't like about this range of drinks is the fact that whatever is placed on the dome of cream can be bought at supermarket at a much lower price.

Rating: 2.5/5
Overly-priced drink without a wow.

Chicken Foccacia with Avocado sauce RM22++

This is an extremely disappointing food, given that my hopes about the quality and taste of their main course grew so much over the week, after tasting their bakery products.

The bread is rather hard, although it tastes pretty good. I think it may be the type of bread (flat bread, foccacia, etc), rather than bad baking. I like the wedges, really crispy and tasty without being overly salted, in fact, I think they make their own wedges, because it feels rather bland.

However, the main part, the chicken, was so dry and hard, it tasted like cardboard, and I just couldn't finish it. I could find much wow in the avocado sauce spread on the bread as well.

Rating: 2.5/5
Kind of just liked the wedges. I would fail everything else, apart from the fact that this is a most healthy meal. Extremely healthy.

Meanwhile (while my handphone is down, and no pictures), I must say their Marble Cheesecake IS a clear winner in my pursuit of the best cheesecake. I swear it beats Hilton Hotel's, Bakerzin's, Ippudo's Japanese, McCafe, and light Cedele's one, ALL hands down. The way there is thought put into every corner of Dome's cheesecake is clear as crystal, and it not only made me want to take a second mouth, but want to try every single cake out of their bakery. The gap between Dome's bakery and others is so large that I'd gladly pay some RM13 for a slice. Superbly satisfying yet feels healthy. Strange. But no, don't trust my blinded judgment. Cake, by any measure can never be all that healthy, especially not if you eat one after a full meal everyday. Dome's is just too nice that I am blinded. haha. If you are a cheesecake fanatic like me, must try should you spot DOME in Malaysia.

And the other thing is the Heavenly Scones. Yes, they are heavenly. Extreme good since I first tasted scones at Nanyang Cafe. This must be the taste ieat talks about when he visited Europe. I am sure. This one, yes, I can say that it's a value for money, healthy and tasteful breakfast. Read more "DOME..."

Ben & Nick's Diner @ Subang

haha, I actually managed to find good food on the first day here! Thanks to the introduction from my SO who has been here about two weeks.

We had tealight dinner at a bar called Ben & Nick's Diner, which is super convenient, and just under the building we live at. Pretty lucky that good food is at a stone's throw away!

B & N

I like the motto "Love Food, Hate Waste". Hard to disagree with it. =)

Settings

This place is quite the bar, with outdoors sitting, tealights, half pulled down blinds, romantic for a good date. =) It's also quiet enough for a small business talk, friend meetup, anything.

It also has well-set tables.

The standard Western cutlery setting.

Rating: 4.5/5

Mango Juice

Niceee! =)

This is thick, and felt like real juice, even though I think they still do add sugar. Definitely the drink if you like mango as much as we do.

Rating: 4.25/5

Fish 'N' Chips

Love it.

I was delighted though not exceedingly surprised to find good Fish 'n' Chips here, because I know that this dish generally tastes better in Malaysia (have no idea why).

The fish is crispy, and has a tasty batter, unlike the many plain and normally soggy ones in Singapore. The fish is also soft and yummy.

The fries are really well-cooked, but not salty at all. (It does seems that Malaysians do not salt their fries.) But I am fine with it, since I am not that fond of overly salted ones in kopitiams back home. If any flavoured is wanted, all you have to do is dip it in the tartar sauce, which is the standard tartar sauce taste.

I really like the fish a lot. Definitely better than Fish & Co., of which, I have not eaten a second time after I failed it on the first try. (I only recommend the Swordfish there... ..., and Sharkie Freeze.)

Rating: 4.5/5
At RM 13.90, this is one of the cheaper items on the menu of B & N. The pricing is Singapore standard.

Lamb Shank, ~RM 40... ...

My hp is not doing justice to the lamb shank.

This is yummy, this is a must try. My SO loves it so much. And true enough, when I tasted it, it was wow, since I know that lamb meat is not easy to cook deliciously.

The meat of this tears off really well, is soft yet cooked, and tasty without the fishy smell that lamb meat normally has.

This lamb shank also comes with homemade mashed potato, which I really like. The potato still has small cubes of potato inside the mashed bits, and tastes purely of potato with some butter. Good!

In fact, this tastes exactly like what my mum taught me to make. Basically, just boil the potatoes, peel it, mash it with a fork/spoon etc, then add butter/magarine, add some salt, pepper, cheese accordingly to suit your taste, mix well, and tadaa! Tasty and real mashed potatoes, not from powder like 7-eleven's or KFC, or perhaps, even Popeyes'. =)

Homemade. I don't really like powder mash potatoes. So this is good.

Rating: 5/5
This is a must try, and easily the star of B&N.


Overall rating: 9.25/10
Visit for good ambience and good food if you're in the area! Read more "Ben & Nick's Diner @ Subang..."