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 ..."

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..."

CK Tangs Mdm Cynthia's Pandan Chiffon Cake - Trip to find THE one

After a rave by one of ieat's readers about a hidden not-for-sale heavenly Pandan Chiffon Cake, I just had to check it out. The tip-off says that cooking tips are guaranteed, with the sweet bonus that THE cake is free.

 Cynthia a bit paiseh (shy) when I first asked if I could take photos. haha.

Pouring the batter  for Banana Marble Swirl Chiffon Cake into the chiffon cake mold.

Making paper thin egg omelette with anionized Super-B pot, while we waited for the cake to be ready.

Yay! Cutting the cake.

I adore the mold to bits. It has those waves, so you get a jelly shape. Look at how smooth and nicely-brown the skin is. Not to mention the marble pattern she created with chocolate.

Plump and standing tall.

PS: I lost my last photo of the cake slice I took. Sigh. My handphone is a little cranky.

But the cake is to die for! I have no idea how it compares to ieat's one (only him and family would know...). All I can say is that, on my side, I feel that her cake is everything I want of a chiffon.

As you can see, it looks so good. It has a thin layer of crispy skin, with spongy looking, beautifully and naturally coloured inside, and mashes into a cream texture the moment you bite and chew. It has the toughness to give you a slight kick when biting, unlike Bengawan Solo's, that basically breaks with a touch and crumbles into nothingness in your mouth, only to leave the boring taste of plain sugar.

It is a little bit oily, but definitely still on the safe side, since it's homemade. And sweet, but not diabetic. I know that it might be mild and perhaps even tasteless for older people, who somehow prefer heavy tastes. But for modern Singaporeans, who are getting more health conscious, one really can't fault this cake. Moreover, if you home make your own, you are free to adjust the sweetness. This is just a demo for the pots.

Rating: 5/5
Try it while she is still there making cakes and demos. She also gives tips along the way, like to sort of carry/hug it in two forearms, and swirl it to release the bubbles, then tap gently a few times if you really think there are bubbles still, instead of knocking the tin hard. I guess you could still knock the tin hard, but for her jelly mold, you did dent the jelly shape badly!! Doesn't matters for those flat top ones we normally see on the market. haha.

******

At the end of it all, I did make a purchase, as I need a set of cooking wares quite soon. Thought no harm getting it now, since it was supposedly on promotion for Mother's Day. LOL, promos... :P

I also like the way this cake would only take 15 min to cook in that pot, while Cynthia said that you'd have to set your oven to 180 deg C for 45 min if you want to use an oven.


(Please note that business is still business, and Mdm Cynthia and assistants are honestly making a decent living, so please be kind enough not to go everyday for free cakes without buying. Although, she does gives them out to fellow workers/friends at Tangs, out of goodwill. I stood there for the whole time the cake was cooking, so I was a little pressurized to buy, as one of the assistants kept asking if I intended to get anything. Suggest you take a walk and return if you feel you really will not be interested at all, but still want a taste of the cake. Don't say I say one. hahahaha.

On another note, practically all the viewers who stood a good while bought! Quite amazing. We were all impressed by the cake, and popcorn. The popcorn is good too, if you are not for diabetic ones from the likes of GV. Her cutey mould can be used for oven too, so no worries if you don't want that pot. I just like the jelly shape... haha. Pardon me.) Read more "CK Tangs Mdm Cynthia's Pandan Chiffon Cake - Trip to find THE one..."

Ippudo - The Restaurant That Does & The Ramen That Doesn't - Part I: Ramen

I went back a second time to try another flavour of ramen, to eat the gyoza that was sold out on my first visit, to fan off opinions that my marking for Ippudo is strict and unfair, and to reaffirm myself that I had not made the wrong judgment on the first time.

My mission is to answer the burning question, as the queue gets longer and the hype gets larger by the day, does Ippudo deserves the snaking queue every night and every weekend?

The answer, as in title is simple, and really fair enough, the restaurant does, and the ramen does not. Here's why:

Ambience & Setting
The moment I step under the draping Japanese style "curtains" at the doorway,  I felt quite overwhelmed, as the place is really dim, with a huge but definitely mesmerizing chandelier hanging down the middle of the ceiling to light up the entire area. Only a place as large as Ippudo can balance the mass of light so grand (in interior designing terms).

Only the word "chi-chi" (rich wife) is befitting of the atmosphere.

I decided to take a larger picture of this table, as I find it rather cute that so many strangers would be sharing a long table. haha. Not a bad idea. And really very good if you're organizing a gathering for lots of people.

Rating: 4.75/5
Bringing in my sense of hearing, the place was in reality rather noisy due to the full house on my first night. I did not quite enjoy it as I personally prefer a more peaceful dining setting. I do not think the noise level is suitable for first dates or romance, so this is not so the place for couples, anniversaries etc, unless two people just want to go for ramen testing, and have known each other for very long.

It is also not very kid-friendly because of the chi-chi-ness, as with feedback from a couple of forumers.

Full-house on Fri and weekend nights!

This would be the place for colleagues to gather after work and reward themselves as part of  T.G.I.F though. A lot of freedom for loud voices and chit-chat, sharing grouses and happiness.

Hence my point deduction.

The kitchen, noodle-cooking portion where the main chefs probably are. This is right in front of the bar-counter seats.

Service
Service was pretty different on both times because of the crowd.

On the first time, when I started queuing at around 8.30pm, and left only when the shop close at past 10pm, service was not satisfactory, as they were a little short-staffed to take care of a full house. There were so many other customers blocking me that it was a challenge to signal a waiter.

However, when they do come and serve you, the attentiveness is wonderful. The same standard of attentiveness, politeness, smiles and thank-yous was delivered on my second visit, even though I could tell that many are rather young and inexperienced in this line. So good one. =)

Nevertheless, they do have a decent SOP, which says that the table should be done this way:

First time.

Second time. LOL. I am not trying to be funny. Just wanted to show the table setting. And I thought I should take it slanting this time. :PPP

Rating: 4.5/5
There are a number of Japanese or Chinese who are not very familiar with English, so if you do come across someone who doesn't understands you, try to signal for a Singaporean.

Shiromara Classic

I ordered this on my first trip because it is the classic.

Looks
I guess you can tell from the photo. Not very impressive if I were to compare with many others, as the pork is for some reason covered under the broth. But since Ippudo was really my first, this presentation still struck me as acceptable, clean, neat and nice, in reality. So yup, at that time, I was eager to dig in actually. =)

Rating: 4/5

Pork
So I lifted the spoon and gave it a slight stir, to pick out a slice of chashu. This one looks good, and tastes really nice too! Now that I've tasted a handful of other bowls of ramen, I can safely say the pork here is really one of the best-cooked around.

It is soft, tasteful, non-fatty, non-oily. Very good balance in that piece of meat.

The disappointment came when I found it so nice, and put back my spoon to look for more. I stirred and stirred, and it ended up that there were only 1 and a half piece (s??) of chashu. So I set my spoon down in defeat and decided not to eat the bowl of noodles altogether. =( Great pity that this bowl is really not generous enough for the price.

After all the ramen eating thus far, I think 3 is a great number to put in a bowl of noodles, as this will provide the right amount of fats in a meal, not over for ladies, looks good, and also signifies "a great amount". In the Chinese tradition (unfortunately I do not know if Japanese believe in numbers and their meanings), 3 and multiples of 3 means "a lot". Using 72 rounds of battle as with Monkey God in Journey to the West, of 72 years etc, is really a lot, hence you'd always hear of 民国七十二周年. There is no other reason why people celebrate the 72nd year from the birth of a nation other than the meaning of "a lot" and "long" etc.

Rating: 4.75/5
Really a great piece of pork to savour.

Soup
The soup looks oily as with all ramen soups, but tastes rather light to my delight. It also tastes clear and well-filtered though it doesn't looks so. Very flavourful yet balanced one. I think this will not offend any, but failed to catch my tummy though. It's good and nice but there are more addictive ones around. It did get me to eat quite a lot more noodles than I had planned to. (Didn't want to eat or drink too much soup because I know I had ordered a lot even though I was alone.)

Rating: 4/5
On the scale, I like this as much as Santouka's broth, even though they fall into different catergories, one being so strong, and one being so delicate. Both I like.

Noodles
On my first visit, I had wanted to fail the noodles as they really are not Q. I do not think that you will ever get a bowl of Q noodles there. So if you are like me, who prefer a mild chew, you will not be 100% satisfied.

However, on second thought after my second visit, I've decided that Ippudo cooks the noodles very well! They use the type that is extremely straight and smooth, and oil it just right so that you can slurp, and slurp, and slurp, and slurp. Yes, that's the word.

If I am not wrong, a lot of ramen houses are what young Singaporeans would call dingy, as they really are houses of the owners, as you might have seen in movies like Handsome Suit and Ramen Girl. So ramen is like the gong zai mian you find in Hong Kong cafes, basically meant for workers. And by imagination (quite like Bangladeshi in Singapore when they eat), the workers just sort of want to eat to fill their tummy, and will slurp up the noodles one mouthful after another without stopping much, and drink the soup if light enough.

Nevertheless, in my first bowl, I got undercooked noodles (which are actually authentically Japanese, but doesn't goes well with Singaporeans) that didn't quite agree with my tummy. Quite hard.

So for this bowl, my rating is not so good.

Rating: 3.8/5
You might like to make it a point to ask for cooked noodles when ordering, just in case the chef decides to do it authentic Japanese style. Unless of course, you'd like to try undercooked noodles, and prefer it this way.

Overall rating: 8.2/10
One of the better ones around. I feel that there is still a lot of room for better ramen in Singapore.

Spicy Ramen

I didn't want to give Ippudo another chance, at least not in the short term. But I caved in when I saw the spicy ramen that has nuts on it. (My tummy almost died on me in Beijing because there is very little chili there. Really can't live without chili.)

Looks
Hmmm, I guess what's wrong with Ippudo's ramen is that the pork always gets pitifully covered up. Don't you think so?

Spicy ramen looks a little bit nicer than Shiomaru, but gave me an overly oily feeling.

Rating: 4/5

Pork
I didn't like the pork this time. I though chashu means that round piece as seen in Shiomaru above... But this time I got what Chinese call san ceng rou (3-layered pork/roast pork as in roast pork rice). This is probably the belly part, and is extremely fat. The most tasty if you use it for bak kwa (use the buttocks for mid-fat mid-tough bak kwa.)

This is okay... ...

So yucks, I don't like it. If you're a fan of zhu jiao cu (Hakka Vingarized Pork Leg), pork skin or kway chup, I think you will appreciate the "chashu" I got a lot better.

Also, I have the firm belief that chi-chi restaurants should give more meat and weed out the fats. Fats are junk (other than omega 3 and 6), when it comes to food. You only need minimal amount of good fats to maintain good skin, build lipoproteins, coat certain cell components and line your heart, so on and so forth. Moreover, all nutrients, be it carbohydrates or proteins eventually gets converted into fats if you don't need them, so you actually have a lot, a lot of fat sources without eating much fats. I shall not nag about the cholesterol, blocked arteries etc.

This is really not okay.

In any case, apart from health reasons, the "chashu" this time was really too fat to maintain the texture balance in your mouth. So yup, taste-wise, this wasn't too good.

Rating: 3/5

Soup
Okay. I don't know how else to talk about this, because it is neither nice nor not nice. All I can say is that this is not spicy at all. So don't waste your calories if you are looking for chili, like I was on that day.

I honestly can't taste the presence of secret in this soup, unlike in the Shiomaru. At least I could tell it wasn't that simple.

Rating: 3/5
Really okay lorz.

Noodles
The noodles here are like that at Tampopo's. Basically, they break extremely cleanly, with little strength, upon a light bite. Like I have described for the Shiomaru, every strand breaks together in one mouthful, and the rest all falls back into the soup. Clean.

Just to add on, the noodles from Ippudo take up the sauce rather well, so they are fragrant and tasty. But I just do not have the habit of biting and slurping noodles so quickly as if I haven't eaten in 10 years, hence the penchant for a bit chewy/QQ ones that would last a wee bit longer in my mouth. Perhaps I should revise Tampopo's rating for noodles... They are good if you do not ask for chewiness.

Rating: 4/5
I only came to appreciate Ippudo's noodles a bit more because this time, they gave me cooked ones instead of undercooked. Thus the slightly higher rating.

Egg
I ordered the egg this time.

As can be seen in the photo below, it's not bad, as the uncooked portion takes up some 30% of the egg's volume, so I could still slurp out the "juice", which would consist of some uncooked white and some just cooked but still creamy yolk.

However, this is not the best I've tasted as the taste of the "braised-ness" is lacking, so it wouldn't be full marks.

Rating: 4/5
Suddenly decided that it was not all that good as I see lots of fingerprints on my egg, and quite badly cracked. Taste-wise, I had wanted to type 4.25.

Overall Ramen Rating: 7.5/10
This type of marks means it's good, but not all that good as hyped or advertised etc.

It's really not worth your time queuing. Try to catch weekdays if you need to go at night, otherwise, go between lunch and 7pm.

I spent about 1 hour on the first time... ... Read more "Ippudo - The Restaurant That Does & The Ramen That Doesn't - Part I: Ramen..."