49 Seats (Orchard Central)

The first time I visited the branch at Kreta Ayer, it was full and didn't accept any walk-ins. The second time I visited that branch again, I realised it was not opened for lunch. Finally, when I visited the branch at Orchard Central, we managed to get a seat! 

We went ahead with the popular Tom Yum Seafood Pasta ($14.90).  There was once I ran out of ingredients and all I had was Tom Yum paste, linguine and prawns and I must say, the combination of these ingredients is really a match in heaven.

Creamy and mildly spicy, this Tom Yum Seafood Pasta came with fresh prawns, clams and a mussel. My only gripe was that I found the sauce a little too salty. Bite into the chilli seeds and that might make you scramble for water.

It was packed at 8 pm on a Friday night but the turnover of customers was fast.

49 Seats
Orchard Central
181 Orchard Road
#08-08
Singapore 238896 

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Noodle Place Restaurant

On a Friday night, Noodle Place Restaurant was packed. 

I can never resist Shrimp Wanton Noodle Soup ($8). The noodles were reminiscent of those at Mak's Noodles in Hong Kong (which I really like despite the puny portion)- Thin, eggy and springy. Only later did I found out that the executive chef was a former chef at Mak's. Prawn dumplings weren't exactly super fresh but good enough.

I actually preferred the Noodle Place Special Congee ($12.50) over the noodles, which was basically a bowl of smooth congee with a lot of ingredients- duck, cuttlefish, jellyfish, pig's liver, minced pork ball, and prawn etc. It's the kind of congee where you get some ingredient on your spoon with every scoop. Get this if you are feeling hungry.

The Roast Duck ($15) was tender and executed well.

Value for money, although service may be unable to keep up with the crowd.

Noodle Place Restaurant
277 Orchard Road
#01-17
Orchard Gateway
Tel No: 6733 3171 

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Spices Cafe

For the record, I love crabs. Having a meal at Long Beach or Jumbo is always a treat and I get my hands dirty on those ridiculously fresh, big and juicy crabs. 

Known as Harvest of the Sea Buffet Dinner ($54++), I left work earlier than usual in anticipation of a good meal. 

This is one of the few rare buffet places that is not filled to maximum capacity. 

You get to choose from five kinds of crabs and they will deliver it to your table- you can order all five kinds as many times as you want. Choices of crab include Thai Curry with Basil Leaves Crab, Chili Crab, Black Pepper Crab, Butter & White Pepper Crab and Salted Egg Crab.

We ordered all five to share and my mum really liked the Salted Egg Crab. I found most of the crab choices to be very average. I prefer the versions at the East Coast seafood restaurants anytime over these crabs. Nonetheless, it was quite interesting trying new flavours for the first time- particularly impressionable was the Thai Curry with Basil Leaves Crab.

In general, the crabs didn't taste particularly fresh but nor were they unfresh. It was just that the meat lacked the chewiness and juiciness.

Each person also gets to choose from either a serving of baked half lobster gratinated with cheese or a serving of braised baby abalone with broccoli and mushroom. Unless you love abalones so much, I'm telling you- get the lobster. The lobster was delicious- all that warm melted gooey cheese with the springy lobster meat will make you forget about how your cholesterol is going to rise after this meal.

They also had a section with the seafood laid out on ice. I only tried the scallops here and I have to say that the scallop was pretty bad. It tasted exactly like how scallops would taste like if they were just taken out from the freezer. The scallops were small and dry.

They had a section where the chefs would cook laksa, herbal prawn soup etc.

I tried the Laksa which was pretty good.

The warm food section also had a lot of seafood dishes- Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab, Oats Prawns, Scallops and Broccoli etc. The soft shell crab was very crispy- unfortunately something was missing- the kick of crunching some shells was non-existent. It just felt like limp crab meat hidden below some deep fried goodness.

There was also a salad section. One of the dishes I tried (not in the photograph) was the Chicken Salad with Mango. I couldn't taste or see the mango which was a real pity because it sounded like a good combination.

Thank goodness desserts were fairly decent. I tried the Chocolate Cake and the Lemon Tart. The Chocolate Cake was made of bitter chocolate and didn't have the cheap chocolate cream taste in it. The lemon tart was also refreshing and not sickeningly sweet.

Food here is average, I wouldn't come here to satisfy my seafood craving. Friendly service.

Spices Cafe
Concorde Hotel
100 Orchard Road
Tel: 6 739 8370 

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Kim Dae Mun

Tired of eating at Plaza Singapura, I googled for food around the area. We ended up at Kim Dae Mun, located in the food court of Concorde Hotel. When we reached around 610pm, we were the first in the queue. By the time we finished at around 645pm, there was already a queue formed. The good thing about the food court in the evening is that it's very easy to find a seat. 

To view the variety of dishes, please click on the photos above and below to view their enlarged forms. 

I ordered the Spicy Shredded Chicken Set ($6.50). You could choose a side dish (kimchi, anchovies or cucumbers). I got the anchovies. There is a very generous portion of chicken on the hotplate and they make it an effort to inform you that they use water and not oil on the hotplate. The chicken is very tender. Below that mountain of chicken is some veggies to soothe your guilt of eating so much meat. I like the sweet and mildy spicy sauce and it goes great with rice. The anchovies were also very appetising. 

Yes, the food here is not bad. But I have tasted similar Korean food at some food places at similar prices. But if you are in the area and craving budget Korean food, you can drop by!

Kim Dae Mun Korean Cuisine

Concorde Hotel 
100 Orchard Road
Food Court at Level 1

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The Handburger (313 Somerset)

We bought a Groupon ($15 for $30) and decided to check out the queue at The Handburger at 6 pm. When we came out at 7pm, the queue was snaking round the corner- tip: Come early. 

Interesting menu where you could flip and zoom in to the one that you are craving for- although in all likelihood you will flip through every page anyway.

I had a Duck Confit burger ($16.80) while my friend had a Stuffed Portabello Burger ($14.80). Both came with either mushroom soup/salad/fries.

The mushroom soup is not campbell mushroom soup which many people despise (but I like it anyway). This is Real Mushroom Soup. It's not exactly runny but it would have been better if it were less dilute. A rather big bowl of soup and delicious!

After my run with duck confit at Saveur recently, I thought it would be cool to try it burger-form. Well, the skin was not as crispy as I would have liked it to be. The meat was also not as easily shredded. But I still find it a decent choice: Not wonderful, but acceptable.

This is a great option for vegetarians/people who are counting their calories. A portabello mushroom stuffed with spinach (for all popeyes wannabes), walnuts, parmesan cheese and beancurd. Feels healthy, tastes good. My only gripe (which my friend didn't agree with) was that the stuffing was too mushy.

Atmosphere was lively and noisy and good for big groups although you would probably have to wait for some time before getting in.

After using the Groupon voucher, we paid $7+ more. Worth it. A nice spin from the usual deep fried chicken burgers and a wide variety of choices as well.  We didn't try the milkshake but heard it was nice. For those who don't like sharing with tables with others, this is not the place for you. They dump you at any available space so you have to share tables!

The Handburger (313 Somerset) 

313 @ Somerset
313 Orchard Road
#B2-17/18/19
Tel No: +65 6509 6214

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