▪ - ~The long overdue Reviews~ - ▪

Dim Sake Bar

Service: Average

Why: Yes, there should be a dress code when you step into a hotel, but seriously, do tourists really care that they are dressed in flip-flops and Sunday hats? We stood at the counter unattended for about 10 minutes, when there was no queue, lots of space, and waitresses shuffling around just within view of the counter.

When seated, the head waitress seemed friendly, but a little on the particular side, probably because she was eyeing my flip-flops with a somewhat irritated look. She gave us the menu, 2 rectangular boards that were simplistic and with minimal decorations.
Proceeded to give us a breakdown on what was good there etc, but excused herself when Dr. Tony Tan’s table called her. Of course, we let her go…

We ordered Unagi sushi, their signature Xiao Long Bao Shooters (cheaters! More like it), the staples of dim sum; the Har Kau and the Siew Mai, Bread sticks, century egg and minced pork congee, and for drinks the D.S Brew (I’d think it’s the Dim Sake Brew) and an Iced Lemon Tea (nice, we get to pour the syrup ourselves. It was served in a nice tall glass)

Food took quite some time to arrive.

Food: Above Average

Why: The Unagi is slightly different from what you get at regular Japanese Restaurants. It was the more Bbq-ed kind that was slightly crisp at the edges and most of the taste came from the sweet Japanese sauce.

The Congee was the thick type, a little too curdy for my liking but the rice was flavourful and the stock used to broil the congee was really tasty. The portion was pretty reasonable, rather than those HUGE portions you usually get outside (and you get really bloated from those) unless of course you’re those greedy types that can’t get enough of the tasty congee at Bedok 85 Chai Chee Porridge.

The D.S brew was a unique mish mash of tastes, but rather normal. It reminded me of the lychee martini I used to have at balaclava which was just rather so-so.

The Har Kau skin was the First Major failure of the lot. Usually, Har Kau has very smooth, translucent skin which allows you to see the nice orange hue of the prawn inside. This serving of 3 small dainty looking balls of Har Kau, looked cute yes, but rather miserable. Rather than catching a glimpse of the nice orange hue, what you got was the thick, floury face of the skin. Taste wise, it was just like regular Har Kau’s you get, nothing special.

The Crisp bread stick was fantastic though. The Stick reminded me of those fried popiahs but with a twist. It was similar to the skinny versions you get at wedding dinner cold dishes, but not served with mayonnaise. Instead, you got a nice sambal chilli, one of the good ones, to dip with your sticks. Not very oily in fact and it was still crispy even when cold.

The Xiao Long Bao Shooter was not a let-down. Though it did seem like they were cheating as the shot glasses just soaked the delicious sauce inside if you actually poked the little dumpling by accident. When served though, the dumpling was already swimming in the stock. The meat was as good as Imperial Treasure’s I must say.

The Siew Mai was ordinary, but a healthy choice. It was not oily and the meat was lean and tender.

This is a place not for the famished.

Décor: Unique Chino-Japanese

Stone Counters, a long bar counter typical of Japanese eateries, Stainless steel backdrop with real steamers as motifs. Simple but a tad stiff.

Should we go there for a food tasting session?

Yes. I think I was rather strict on them. We need more tasters to determine whether it’s really good. The features on TV made them out to be real good, although I beg to differ…

Place: Goodwood Park Hotel
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Fin Seafood Cafe by Blue lobster

I’ve been eating there since I first found it a few years ago. It underwent a few minor changes, but the food still maintains it’s pretty good standards.
Remember the menu is an Orange rectangular 2 fold and has a good offering of various Seafood goodies.
One interesting thing I’ve tried would be the Squid ink Linguine which looked as interesting as it tasted. The pasta really came out kinda inky…This was the first place I fell in love with oysters really. They have this weekday deal for $1 oysters. Fresh ones … My first taste was love. Really dig their seafood basket as well. Very affordable for an assortment of seafood. My only qualm was that they reduced the quantity. It used to be more. I also preferred their offering of Flavoured sodas when it was served in the large soda glass rather than the current one they are serving it in now.
The only spoiler to their offering is the add-on salad which is a miserable pose of rucola and a few pieces of watery tomatoes with a snitch of dressing (the oiled vinagrette type).
Yet, it’s still worth the try for the rest of the food.
Place: Marina Square

Pictures? Wait til I have the time to load them.

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La Nonna


Was actually trudging along Holland V as always when I chanced upon the recently opened La Nonna. Decided that we'd have dinner there that day. My darling and I always hang around at Holland V giving that we just live a stone's throw away. And on the way getting our darling kitty's supplies, I just had to have pizza that day and La Nonna seemed the perfect choice.

Senso Holdings, who own and manage Senso Ristorante & Bar, W Wine Bar and Spizza have launched another restaurant called La Nonna. La Nonna is Italian for 'grandmother' depicting a home-styled selection of Italian dishes, almost as good as grandma's own cooking... So says Senso Holdings who have an outlet at Changi Airport Terminal 3 Transit, Senso Ristorante. Haven't had a chance to try their food though, would be definately an interesting gastronomical foray.

Back to La Nonna. We were served the starters of their baked bread with the olive oil dressing. Really interesting for a starter and very light and refreshing as well. Pity there wasn't enough of the dressing to go around us both.We were simple that day, just ordering a Ham and Rucola pizza that was one word: Good. A tad salty but the whole pizza just mixed well with the rucola salad. Don't just eat the rucola on it's own or the ham on it's own as it was really bitter and salty respectively. The bitter aftertaste of the rucola is supposed to compliment the saltiness of the chicken ham. The taste sorta grows on you as you go down the slices. The crispy thin crust pizza base was biscuity with parmesan served in large crudely grated pieces. Did have the "grandmotherly" feel but with the atmosphere at Holland V and the friendly waiters there, I'd think that feeling was lost.

A pretty good place for chilling out and just people watching as Holland V always is. But just remember don't sit right next to the DB box as it blocks all the view. I was actually left alone for about 15 minutes when my boy went to meet someone for awhile, but it was still comfortable. Not like those places where you sit alone for a meal and people stare at you indiscreetly like as though you're some wierdo. The waiters were friendly and helpful and the menu was for me, uniquely simple. Loved the notepad effects.

Woulda wished I'd tried their house wines.
When's the next trip there?

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Now back to other matters...

Mandy arh. Where are you.. Your neighbour owes us money still!

Cath... Really miss you too. when can we go out for a date! hahah!

Whoever actually reads my blog though... I've been so busy that even a bee won't win me. Haha...

Diary of the Lost Guardian.[12:28 pm]

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