Royal China

The first thing that captures your attention when you are at Royal China is that just like Canton Paradise (another dim sum place I put on the must-go list), it isn't plastered in typical hues of red. Instead, it's somewhat in the range of Tiffany blue. After a disappointing trip to The Cathay Restaurant, the dim sum here has restored my faith in, well, dim sum.

We went there on a Saturday afternoon and apparently there are two time slots that you can choose from when making reservations. We chose the later one which was at 1.15 p.m.

Here are the three dim sum items that we unanimously thought was good.

1) Baked Egg Custard Tartlet
The egg tarts (3 for $4.80) are simply mindblowing. I haven't eaten such good melt-in-your-mouth egg tarts in some time. The last time I ate such good egg tarts was at Neptune Theatre, before it closed down. I normally stop at 1 of these if it's average but I ate three of these mini delights (imagine how much butter I just consumed).

2) Baked Barbecued Pork Puff 
The Char Siew Sou ($4.80 for 3) had a flaky pastry which crumbled easily. Within it, the BBQ sauce together with the chewy pork made this a winner. Apparently they also have the famous Royal China Signature Baked Barbecued Pork Bun which is available only on Sundays and Public Holidays.

3) Custard Bun 
I do not eat custard buns but those who ate it said that it was one of the better ones around.

As for the ones that were not bad but did not deserve a spot at the die-die must eat list, here are two of them.

1) Deep fried prawn with Century Egg
This was an interesting combination of century eggs and prawns, with the prawns being very bouncy and fresh.

2) Steamed Prawn Dumplings
I would have ranked the har gow in the previous category if not for the fact that the prawns were probably mixed with some ingredient that I don't really like the taste of. Personal preference.

As for those that are not worth trying , here's it.

1) Pan-fried Carrot Cake
The Pan-fried Carrot Cake ($4.80) was very ordinary and lacking in taste.

2) Deep fried mango and prawn roll with Seaweed 
I would have preferred the roll ($5.40 for 3) to be encased in the white flaky skin instead of wonton wrappers. Somehow, the texture of the wonton wrapper is not compatible with the delicate nature of the ingredients within it.

3) Century Egg and Lean Pork Congee 
The Century Egg and Lean Pork Congee ($6.80) lacks smoothness. Also, it was a little too salty for my liking.

4) Pan-fried Red Bean Paste Pancake
The Pan-fried Red Bean Paste Pancake ($10) was nothing to rave about. It felt like like a tired dish.

Despite several minor misses, all of us walked away pleased as punch. The star attractions at this dim sum place were enough to overcome the slight hiccups. Service was nothing fantastic, in fact, it was quite difficult to get their attention. Very value for money. For that amount of food, we paid around $20 each.

Royal China
Raffles Hotel Arcade
1 Beach Road
Tel: 6338 3363 

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Eggs & Berries

Recently, my good friend since secondary school days came back from Australia and together with another close friend, we decided on Eggs & Berries. Lots of fun colours at this place which serves all-day breakfast. 

I got Eggs Benedict ($16.80) which consists of 2 poached eggs with English muffins, bacon, ham, hash brown and salad. My idea of hash brown has always been the McDonald's kind. To me, this seemed more like rosti. The shredded bits of potato were a little clumpy. The eggs were runny and done nicely. Ham was pretty ordinary although I liked the bacon because it was not too salty.

We also got the Over the Rainbow ($13.80) which consists a variety of fruits and nuts. I'm not sure why the amount of fruits look significantly downsized, as compared to this blogger's picture. I love thick waffles and this was pretty decent, with a good portion of macadamia nuts and pistachio. You could also choose from a selection of chocolate sauce, maple syrup or raspberry sauce to drizzle over this delight.

I think it used to be more value for money but the prices keep creeping up. Nonetheless, it's still a good price to pay considering that the food's decent and it's a good place to spend the afternoon at. Service is also friendly.

Eggs & Berries
Changi City Point
5 Changi Business Park Central 1
#01-37/38
Tel: 6636 4212

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The Cathay Restaurant

I never knew that The Cathay Restaurant was so popular. By 10.30 am, we were told that there was no more space on the reservation list for 12.30 p.m. 

Interesting to note that in 1940 when the restaurant first started, it served European fare.

We ordered the Preserved Egg with Lean Meat Porridge ($5). It was enough for two to share.

I always judge a dim sum restaurant based on the egg tarts. The Baked Mini Egg Tarts (3 for $3.90) were mediocre at best. The egg portion lacked flavour and the crust did not have the melt-in-your-mouth kind of consistency that good egg tarts have. 

The Baked BBQ Pork with Honey Pastry ($3.90) was pretty ordinary as well.

The Steamed Fresh Prawn Dumpling ($5.60) and the Steamed Siew Mai with Crab Roe ($5.20) were pretty decent though. The prawns for the Har Gow were succulent and the skin could hardly contain the burst of juice.

The Steamed Char Siew Rice Roll and the Steamed Prawn Rice Roll were pretty ordinary too.

The Fried Carrot with Bean Sprout and XO Chilli Sauce ($10) was recommended to us by the waitress. It was something different from what we would order from the dim sum repertoire. Spicy and flavourful, this dish was pretty good.

Service was a complete letdown. Either get a new teapot or get new waitresses who know how to handle teapots. The first time some waitress poured tea, it made the entire area around the cup wet. The next time the same waitress poured tea, somehow it went into our Fried Carrot dish. It's okay to drip tea on our table but totally not okay to accidentally pour tea into our food and not feel apologetic about it. Wrong orders were taken as well.

Average dim sum, won't be coming back again.

The Cathay Restaurant
The Cathay
2 Handy Road
#02-01
Tel: 6 732 7888 

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Table Manners

A friend gave two thumbs up to this place a couple of months ago. But because going to the extreme east and west of Singapore is a little of a chore by public transport (I coincidentally did both this week), it took me a while to drag myself to Table Manners. When we arrived at 1230 pm on a Sunday afternoon, we were the only ones inside. The crowd slowly trickled in thereafter. 

I love the furnishing and concept of this place. A clean touch but lots of quirky elements in it. The "table mat" was interesting and as part of the tips printed at the side, it states "Use your handphone at the table when you have a boring lunch partner". Other quotes are put in frames and hung on the walls.

When we were first seated, we were told by the waitress about the add-ons which included a soup, a dessert and a drink for $4.80. Later, we realised that this didn't apply during weekend lunch. But the supervisor was very gracious about it and offered to put it on the company's tab. More about the service later.

There are many methods of cooking Mushroom Soup (putting Campbell's into a pot does not count) and my favourite type is that which is thick and has lots of little mushrooms hidden within it. This was not dilute but wasn't as thick as I would like the mushroom soup to be- matter of personal preference. Other than that, the soup was filled with mushroomy goodness although it might be a little salty.

I got a Set B ($13.50) where you can choose two fibre and one protein. Other options include Set A (three fibre) ($9.50), Set C (one fibre + two protein) ($16.50) and Set D (two fibre and two protein) ($19). I opted for Herb Spiced Potato Wedges, Sauteed Mushrooms and Cajun styled Marinated Whole Chicken Leg.

The mushrooms were sauteed to perfection such that the juices were locked within the mushrooms. Unfortunately, although I took my first bite of the mushrooms when they first arrived, they were barely warm. The wedges were crispy on the outside and soft in the inside and had just the right amount of seasoning on it.

The star of this dish was the Cajun style Chicken. The Cajun Chicken I will remember for the rest of my life was this Cajun style Chicken Sandwich which was sold in a nondescript cafe in San Diego. But boy, it was one of the most delightful sandwiches I had ever eaten. After some googling, I guess I now have a very superficial understanding of what Cajun cuisine entails, but I still can't really grasp what its essence really is. In any case, this chicken was very tender and the meat shredded off easily. I'm not sure where the Cajun flavour came in but at least the sauce went well with the chicken.

The dessert of the day was Lemon Meringue. I have never been a fan of meringues because it's exceedingly sweet. Yet paired with the sourness of the lemon curd, strawberries and orange zest, I suppose this will still appeal to those with a sweet tooth as the sourness can neutralise the cloying sweetness.

As mentioned above about the mix-up, the supervisor offered to put the add-ons on the company's tab. We didn't want to take advantage of this mix-up and offered to pay the original price of the add-ons but the supervisor was very kind about it and insisted that we should not pay for the add-ons. The waitress who was confused about the add-ons also remained chirpy throughout  Only glitch in the service was that the waitress serving us didn't seem to have the same enthusiasm as the other girl who had made a mistake.

That said, if I were in the area again, I would drop by again. It's not that the food is superb- it's decent. It's just the combination of the vibe, the music, the furniture, the decent food, the friendly service and the overall concept that makes me want to visit this place again.

Table Manners
Changi City Point (opposite Expo)
5 Changi Business Park Central 1
#01-69
Tel No: 6 604 7669 

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Wreck-It Ralph

I have a lot of movies I want to catch up on but for today, I stuck to Wreck-It Ralph. It's always a little awkward when you are the only adult surrounded by other adults who are accompanying their little children. It's as though the rating of this movie says "Children only, adults allowed only if accompanied by children."

An extremely short summary first. It's about Wreck-It Ralph who plays the villian in an arcade game but who really wants to be a good guy. To read more about the plot, please click here. 

Here's the trailer.

The movie was admittedly slow going at the beginning but gained pace towards the middle. Unlike the usual Disney princess productions that we are used to, here's one exploring a pretty innovative theme- life of video game characters. However, the underlying themes remain largely the same, about finding true friends in adversity, self-discovery etc. Another really captivating aspect of this film was the burst of colours, especially in the game Sugar Rush. It might also make some adult viewers feel nostalgic about the arcade games they used to play decades ago!

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Ramen Keisuke Tori King

I went to Tonkotsu King more than a year ago. Seeing how many reviews there were about the new Tori King selling ramen with chicken thigh in chicken broth, I decided to hop by. This is the third restaurant by Keisuke Takeda in Singapore. 

We didn't take very long to get in, but that was probably because we were kiasu and went rather early.

Interesting Japanese posters and newspaper articles around the restaurant. I liked the beansprouts because they did not taste raw and were rather appetising. As for the spicy sauce which was apparently "very hot", it barely made the mark of being spicy in the first place.

I had the Tori King Ramen with Flavoured Egg ($13.90). It was a large piece of chicken thigh with meat that shredded off easily. The thigh is simmered in soy sauce overnight for the flavour. Once again, the stock was too salty for me, just like the one at Tonkotsu King. The flavoured egg was made to perfection, with it being half runny yet staying mostly intact.

It makes a lot of sense for you to write your name on the slips of paper given so that your orders would not be mixed up. Servers were friendly. Overall, I liked the ramen minus the stock which was too salty for me. Might not have queued up for it if the queues were long!

Ramen Keisuke Tori King 
100 AM
100 Tras Street
#03-15

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Tiong Bahru Bakery (Raffles City)

Every time I go out with this particular friend of mine, I think of how lucky I am to have known her. It's been exactly a decade since we knew each other! Another mutual close friend of ours is coming back from Australia next month after a few years of not being back in Singapore and I can't wait for our meetup. 

We went to Tiong Bahru Bakery at the Raffles City outlet which is strangely not as crowded as the Tiong Bahru one. This is probably due to the large seating capacity at this branch. 

I always get slightly stressed whenever I have to stand at the counter to order because I'm always paranoid that I will hold the queue up behind me. And this is precisely such a place. 

I decided to go with the Ham and Mozzarella Focaccia ($8). I kind of overestimated my appetite and thought one would not be enough. But this was absolutely filling for me. This focaccia was chewy and dense, unlike the one at Paris Baguette. The focaccia at Paris Baguette was one of the worst I had ever eaten. I like how the focaccia here has a mild herb taste. The first half of the meal was good but I got incredibly tired of eating it midway, perhaps because of the combined saltiness of the ham and the mozzarella cheese. 

Being the gullible patrons we were, we readily agreed to have the Kouign Aman ($3.50) when the girl at the counter recommended it to us, saying it was "freshly out of the oven". At first glance, I actually saw the words "Kofi Annan" instead. My eyesight, my eyesight. After some googling, I realise that it is of French origin and is pronounced as "queen a-mahn".

I was too full to truly enjoy this pastry which is made of salted butter and caramel. It had a flaky and crispy exterior and the caramel was a little sweet but still acceptable.

Food was decent although slightly overpriced. Nonetheless, we had a good time chilling the afternoon away.

Tiong Bahru Bakery (Raffles City)
Raffles City Shopping Centre
252 North Bridge Road
#B1-11/12
Tel: 6333 4160 

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The Square (Novotel) (Bangkok)

It's quite amazing what a few hours of non-stop shopping can do to you. That was precisely what happened and being so lazy, we decided to dine in our hotel. Of all the meals we had, this had the best ambience and the worst food. The restaurant was empty throughout our dinner and this is probably indicative of the quality of the food. 

We opted for the Thai Set Menu which was 450++ Baht for 2 people. You had a choice of starters, soup, main course and a dessert. 

We chose the Grilled Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce and the Deep Fried Vegetables Spring Roll. All the dishes are for two to share. The satay was less flavourful than those we are used to although it's tender. The spring roll tastes rather standard.

This Tom Yum Goong was an absolute disappointment. Couldn't imagine a Thai restaurant not doing this right since it's such a popular dish. It was so salty that I didn't finish the soup.

The Sweet & Sour Fish went perfectly well with the Jasmine Rice. I think it's fascinating how different cuisines have their special brand of rice. India and basmati rice, Japan and their short grain, sticky rice, Thailand and their fragrant Jasmine rice etc.

The Sauteed Mixed Vegetables with Oyster Sauce was a very meh dish and not worth a mention.

The Steamed Sea Bass with Lemon & Chilli Sauce was small in portion. Nonetheless, the fish meat was very smooth and was accompanied by a sour, sweet and slightly spicy sauce. Isn't that always the best combination for an appetising sauce?

We ate Mango Sticky Rice all three days we spent at Bangkok. It's not possible to get this dish wrong.

The food took quite long to be served. Servers were friendly. Food was so-so. Do yourself a favour by dragging yourself out to eat instead of staying in the hotel!

The Square
Hotel Novotel Bangkok Platinum
220 Petchaburi Road
Ratchatevee
Bangkok
Thailand 

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Nam Sing (Bangkok)

After dinner at T&K Seafood, we made our way to the nearby Nam Sing. It's apparently famous for bird's nest and sharks' fin. 

The restaurant was really empty at dinner time although not too far away, diners had to beat throngs of people to get a seat at the seafood restaurants.

While deciding which bird's nest to get, we were served complimentary chrysanthemum tea.

We decided to get White Bird's Nest (Third Class) (300 Baht). While I'm not sure how to differentiate different classes of bird's nest, I probably wasted half the bowl because there were lots of little feathers floating around. Not sure if it's the same for the first class bird's nest. Taste wise was okay as it was not too sweet. I especially liked the dried longans- we bought back a few packets of them. Make a trip to 合记林真香 if you want to get some!

Nam Sing Bird's Nest Shark Fin Restaurant
39-47 Soi Texas
Phadung Dao Road
Yaowaraj, Bangkok
Thailand 

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Platinum Mall Food Court (Bangkok)

Thanks to Daniel's Food Diary and Memoirs of Food, it made it easier to decide what food to try at the Platinum Mall Food Court. We had three meals at the food court and all three times, it was very crowded. 

A few of us ordered the Rice with Stewed Pork Limb (40 Baht). I didn't have it because I wasn't in a mood for rice. But those who had it said that it was not bad but not that filling.

This stall had the longest queue and it isn't surprising given that it housed many popular dishes.

We ordered a Fried Oyster (75 Baht) and it was good! Crispy sides with lots of fresh oysters.

From this stall, I also ordered a Seafood Pad Thai (75 Baht). It's sweeter than the Singapore versions I have tried so far and you could decide how much spring onion, chilli, sugar and ground peanut you wanted.

Before leaving Bangkok, I decided to try the Glass Noodles version instead. However, the prawns weren't as fresh as the first time I tried the Pad Thai.

We had Mango Sticky Rice (80 Baht) all three times we went to Platinum Mall Food Court. How can you not get it when the mango is so incredibly sweet? Granted, one of the days it wasn't as sweet but that is not a good reason to give this dessert a miss. 

We tried to hunt for a stall that sold Tom Yam but the only stall that sold it was selling it at a higher price tag compared to many other food items. We decided to go to the noodle stall and got a bowl of Fishball Noodles with Tom Yam instead. The dish was so-so although there were plenty of ingredients.

Another dessert that we liked was the Crepe with Ice Cream. If you are craving for some kind of dessert, you may want to consider this! The chocolate ice cream was surprisingly of a considerably good quality.

Platinum Fashion Mall Food Court
222 (Pratunum) Petchaburi Road
Ratchathevee, Bangkok
6th Floor
Thailand

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