Putien 莆田菜馆 (VivoCity)

Putien has always given me the impression of the place to be for family reunions. 

I have never complained about a dish of Fried Egg Plant with Pork Floss ($13.90)- it's just too safe a choice that it's difficult to get it wrong!

The famous Putien Sweet & Sour Pork with Lychees ($17.90 for medium) lacked a little of the sour oomph that we are accustomed to when eating sweet and sour pork.

Everybody loved the Spinach with Salted Egg & Century Egg in Supreme Stock ($18.90 for medium).

The Deep Fried Duck with Yam ($31.80) was pretty new to our tastebuds- a layer of crispy yam wrapped around pieces of duck- combination was great if not for the fact that the duck was a little dry.

We also had a Braised Claypot Sea Cucumber with Chestnut ($35.90). The gravy plays an important role in this dish and does not overpower the freshness of the sea cucumber.

Another famous dish the Fried Heng Hwa Bee Hoon ($23.90 for large) - it was too dry.

Overall, our food choices were very safe. Food was slightly above average although if you are looking for a Chinese restaurant, I highly recommend Tonny Restaurant which I've recently been to. The utensils here are also not clean and it's difficult to get the waiter's attention as they seem not to have enough manpower.

Putien Restaurant 
VivoCity
1 Harbourfront Walk
#02-131/132
Tel No. 6376 9358

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Greenhouse

I was really excited to step foot into the Greenhouse- have been reading great reviews of this place. Alas, it was just not meant to be. I guess buffet lunch just isn't as good as its famous Sunday brunch. 

Everything seemed so promising when we first entered Greenhouse- lots of natural light (check), witty quote by Virginia Woolf printed on its cards: "One cannot think well, love well, sleep well if one has not dined well" (check), nice little touches such as the blown glass on the walls (check). What's there not to like about this place? 

Interesting selection of bread. Unfortunately, I left my stomach space for other food instead. I tried the mushroom soup and it was rich, creamy and full of flavour with little chunks of mushroom in it.

I came back to this section again and again. I don't usually go for seconds when it comes to the salad/appetisers part, but the selection here was really quite good. Worthy of mention was the couscous and chicken. The chicken was admittedly a little tough but it went well with the couscous. The mushrooms were also bursting with juice.

The sushi and seafood section had a few hits and misses. I think Greenhouse tends to overcook its food- the cooked prawns were far too hard in some dishes, the char siew in the carving section while tasty, was too hard as well. Even the chawanmushi was lacking the jiggly consistency and instead felt more like Chinese steamed egg.

Talking about overcooking the food, I didn't take a picture of the Chinese food section. The salmon in lobster sauce was far too hard as well. I know you are concerned about us eating uncooked food... but still, this isn't the way to go! Other dishes included buffalo wings, vegetables in XO sauce etc. (all worth skipping).

The Indian food section was pretty good. I loved the pairing of nann and Chicken Curry!

If you dare display your desserts section at the entrance, my bet is that it has to be pretty good! So, there was a wonderful selection of ice cream- Good quality ice cream by the way. Not the normal supermarket chocolate/strawberry/vanilla.

But good times did not last. The kuehs were bad- I'd rather the dessert chefs stick to what they are good at as opposed to trying to make things that are not their specialities. The ondeh ondeh is one of the worst I have eaten in quite a while- extremely thick skin and no gula melaka splashing out at all! The rest of the kuehs were equally subpar.

These beautiful dainty little desserts, while at first appealing, turned out more appalling than appealing. Maybe that's putting it too strongly since the chocolate dessert was quite good. But see that orange thing in the picture, I took a bite of it, made a face and officially declared it the worst thing I have eaten in quite some time. I don't even know what it was because as you can tell, there are no signs!

The chocolate cake was rich and suitably bitter. The hazelnut cake, while acceptable, was a tad too sweet.

At $58++ for buffet lunch, the buffet was a letdown. While we were at first impressed with the service staff (one waitress was especially friendly), we realised that the service staff were a lot friendlier to tourists. This was a far cry from the impeccable service from Summer Pavilion- once we've been there, all service standards pale in comparison. 

The Ritz-Carlton Millenia
7 Raffles Avenue
#03-00
Tel No. 6434 5288

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Folks Collective

Thai restaurants in Singapore can be generally categorised into the authentic ones (e.g. Ah Loh Thai), the ones you eat because you are lazy to think (e.g. Thai Express) and the cheap and good Thai food (E.g. Jai Thai). I have some problems trying to classify Folks Collective for the simple reason that it does not fall into any of the above-mentioned categories.

This place is a mish mash of designs- look at the following pictures and you know what I mean. 

Interesting decor aside, their food is pretty good as well which was why I bothered going there a second time. I had a Seafood Pad Thai ($10.90). Not too oily, sweet but not overly sweet with fresh seafood.

I think the Cereal Soft-shell Crab ($18.90) is enough for 3 to share. On the menu, it states sharing between two or more but honestly, you wouldn't want to share this. Unfortunately, considerations of an expanding waistline kick in and your are forced to share, albeit extremely reluctantly. Normally, it's cereal prawn. This cereal soft-shell crab had a certain kick to it with the soft-shell crab and the cereal deep fried to perfect goodness.

The service here is also good. Their set-lunch menu prices seem pretty wallet friendly. I heard it can get really crowded on weekdays- this place is open on weekends as well, so you might want to head there when there are really few customers!

Folks Collective
China Square Central
20 Cross Street
#01-25
Tel No.: 6536 6739 

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Kenny Rogers Roasters

Kenny Rogers Roasters, along with restaurants like Sizzler, Jack's Place and Swensen's were the kind of places that we used to go when we were young to celebrate special occasions. 

Although I've not eaten at Kenny Rogers for what must have been a decade, the corn muffins are still my favourite! With cupcakes shop sprouting everywhere, nobody cares about the dainty cupcakes' distant cousin, the slightly coarser muffin. Don't mind me, I'm just a little sentimental that it's the end of an era for Gramophone, a place I used to buy all my CDs from.

Anyway, these muffins came out fresh from the oven- warm, not too sweet, and with little corn bits! How often do you see square muffins anyway?

I ordered the famous Roasted Chicken which came with two sides. The roasted chicken was absolutely delicious- juicy meat, non fatty skin and a nicely peppered skin!

The food here brought back memories of what it was like to be a kid, where eating Kenny Rogers was a treat. But now, it's simply not a place where you would pop by if you had a million other food options staring at you. It's just a place you would feel an urge to step into if you haven't gone there for a long time.

Kenny Rogers Roasters 
Parkway Parade
80 Marine Parade Road
Tel No: 6345 9117 

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Ellenborough Market Cafe

I have been to Ellenborough Market Cafe at least 3 times in the past few years and I think standards (both food and service) have slipped. 

Fresh sushi.

The seafood was absolutely disappointing. The prawns were not fresh, the mini lobsters were ridiculous because there was very little meat within the shell. After trying these two, I didn't bother trying the crabs but apparently they weren't fresh also.

An interesting selection of salads- curry chicken salad, squid salad etc. There was also a Peranakan section which had my favourite kueh pie tee. Chinese food was pretty ordinary. Soup (Seafood chowder) was far too salty.

The only thing that everybody remembers about this place is the durian. How often is it do you get to eat durians without your hands smelling like durians? This was addictive.

Keep a lookout for the replenishment of desserts because after this batch ran out, they changed it completely to kueh lapis and mini tarts. The Chocolate Ganache was so-so, the kueh lapis were okay, mini tarts looked like supermarket pre-made plus the kueh lapis was slightly cold and slightly warm at some parts- totally gives away that these didn't come out fresh from the oven.

A pretty good selection of kueh as well. There was a crepe station where you get to get your crepes freshly made and they will scoop whichever flavour ice cream you would like. Queue can get pretty long, so, if you want just the ice cream, too bad you still have to queue. The chocolate ice cream is rich and sufficiently bitter!

All in all, the food wasn't particular impressive but not so bad that it would enter my won't-eat-again-list. What this place sorely lacks though is good service- plates being stacked up at our tables, not getting our cups of water, water not getting refilled etc. Although they tried to spread the stations out, there was still bottlenecks and overcrowding. For $48, I think I can get a better stretch for the buck somewhere else.

Ellenborough Market Cafe 
Swissotel Merchant Court
20 Merchant Road
Tel No.: 6 239 1848

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Tonny Restaurant

Ever since I read Straits Times food reviewer, Tan Hsueh Yun's review on Tonny Restaurant, I knew I had to come here. I find it slightly amusing that this place is draped in red at every corner. Well, I guess that's how traditional Chinese restaurants typically look like. 

Photos of the chef with celebrities are plastered on the glass panels of the restaurant. This chef is a bit of a big shot- Renowned chef from Hong Kong who frequently appears on Channel 8 programmes. 

This is the famous Crispy Yam with Truffle Oil ($12). This starter consists of very thin strips of deep fried yam, coupled with a light drizzle of truffle oil. This made a perfect starter- not oily and appetising.

Another famous dish- Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon ($9 per pax). At this point, I was already starting to get pretty impressed with the way ingredients come together. Here, we have some lobster puree cooked with egg white. This might be enough for two to share. The egg white consistency together with the crispy shell made a perfect combination. Plus the garnish on top the lobster puree added more flavour to this already impressive dish.

The Pan-Fried Cod Fish Filled with Soya Sauce ($33) was absolutely delightful. Fresh fish with a flavourful sauce which was not too thick or salty. I'm starting to wonder, whoever's cooking these dishes has been blessed with lots of culinary talent.

I was enjoying all the food in between that I didn't even bother capturing the photos of the dishes. What happened in between- we had Crab Congee ($36- this depends on the amount of crab you want in the porridge) and Beans with Dried Shrimps ($14). 

The crab congee wasn't as impressive as I thought it would be. Anyhow, it had the interesting addition of green beans. The Beans were crunchy and the dried shrimps were deep fried and aromatic. 

Lastly, we had some noodles ($14) to round off the dinner. This had salted egg yolk in it, which made the texture of the noodles slightly different than what we are accustomed to. 

In all, this meal for 6 people cost $200. Worth every cent to try good and innovative dishes. Ambience nothing to rave about but service was pretty decent as well. Recommended!

Tonny Restaurant 
325 Joo Chiat Road
Tel No.: 6 348 9298

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Cafe Brio's

It's a known fact that I love eating buffets. The more I eat, the clearer I am of which buffets really stand out and which are those that should never be visited. Cafe Brio's was average at best. 

They had quite a bit of local food. This was the nasi lemak station. I took a bit of rice try to test if it's good, didn't waste my calories on the deep fried items. The rice was a little dry and not fragrant enough.

They also had a laksa station situated outside- that was good. Slurp worthy laksa soup and a small enough portion not to overeat!

They also had chilli crabs which is not often seen at lunch buffets, unless you go for a crab buffet. As with all chilli crabs, the crux of it lies in the sauce. This, unfortunately, didn't make the cut. The crabs were pretty fresh though.

There were also other deep fried items such as You Tiao Squid. I think they failed to put the typically served mayo next to it.

I promise you will regret if you tried the fish and chips. No matter how alluring they may look, these fish and chips were pretty horrible. The fish didn't taste fresh.

Make your own kueh pie tees- these were pretty good!

These prawns were so fresh, people just kept coming back for more. Juicy and succulent, I think this was my favourite dish of the buffet.

The Japanese sushi tastes as sad as they look.

Desserts were a complete letdown. It was sorely lacking in variety. There weren't many fancy-schmancy cakes around here. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw cupcakes- they looked like what primary school students would make out of a pre-mix. Needless to say, I didn't try them. The kuehs were decent and the durian thingy was quite good- they didn't get refilled as quickly as they got taken though.

I'm quite sure I wouldn't return here again with the $42++ price tag for lunch on weekends. For $10 more, I definitely can get something much better. That said, service was good and plates were cleared from the tables quickly.

Cafe Brio's
Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel
392 Havelock Road
Singapore
Tel No.: 6 233 1100

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Pizzeria Mozza

The last time we went to Pizzeria Mozza, we couldn't get in without a reservation. So, this time we decided to be smart about it and make a reservation a day before hand. 

We shared a Pizza with White Anchovy, Tomato & Fresh Red Chiles ($28).  I found this one of the best pizza crusts I have eaten- thin but fluffy at the same time. However, I didn't really enjoy this pizza because of the white anchovy. I don't know what I was thinking when I placed the order. But the anchovies were really salty and were a little slimy. It might be enough for two girls with small appetites, but definitely not for two who eat a lot!

This Banana gelato pie with hot fudge and candied hazelnuts ($19) was real dazzling. This is the first time I've eaten such a dessert- the banana ice cream was not too sweet, and the pie crust was addictive. Everything about this dessert was just so sinful.

Really liked the dessert, price was a little steep though. If I ever go there again, I would try a different pizza!

Pizzeria Mozza
Marina Bay Sands
10 Bayfront Avenue
#B1-42/46
Tel No: 6 688 8868

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Trattoria Canzona (Zadar)

After dumping our bags at the hostel, we decided to get some good food in town at Trattoria Canzona. Everything about Zadar is so chill- people eating lunch at 3 p.m. and watching the world go by... 

... and cats basking in the afternoon sun!

I think the pictures can speak for how good the pizzas were. Look at the generous amount of ingredients they have! And by the way, these pizzas were huge. 

The Pizza Capriciosa (45 kunas). 

Frutti Di Mare (55 kunas) with lots of fresh small prawns and mussels- not near the Adriatic sea for nothing!

Trattoria Canzona
Stomorica 10,
2300 Zadar 

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