Paradise Dynasty @Ion , Singapore

Normally I do Western foods, but lately I felt like some good Chinese food on a higher cost level. There are times I have been disappointed because the prices do not commensurate with the quality. Paradise Dynasty is testimony to good price and value. I would certainly bring my foreign friends, relatives, good buddies, colleagues here. Here's why:

The restaurant is easy to access as it is in an upmarket mall called Ion in the heart of Orchard Road, Singapore's shopping belt. Located on 4th level, just a few floors below the carpark levels. So no meandering to find the place.

This restaurant seems to be a popular place as there is a constant line of people waiting for their numbers to be called. So make a reservation early. The restaurant proper has an inner section which is air-conditioned with an interior beautifully designed. We were led to an exterior which seems like a temporary extension to cater to the restaurant's popularity. It is a void area of the building. Fortunately I was there for the evening thus the cool evening breeze and a cold air blower helped. In terms of ambience there was none if you sat outside.

The food more than made up for it, however. The restaurant has a colorful menu with photos of the dishes and brief description. These are the dishes we tried:

Mixed Selection of Xiao Long Bao (dumplings)
Pork Noodles
Szechuan Poached Chicken
Sweet Sour Pork
Long Beans with Minced Pork

First, Poached Szechuan Chicken came as an appetizer category and being an appetizer, it is served cold. The colour looks inviting as it was laden with thick chili bean sauce with whole roasted peanuts as a garnish. Looking at it makes your tongue expect the familiar warmth of white chicken but you get surprised when you realise later it is cold. So if you are not used to cold cooked chicken with the chili bean sauce, do not choose this. The chicken will be bland if without its dressing and peanuts. I prefer if they could do it with less oil swimming around. 

The Best Dressed Item was the Xiao Long Bao which arrived majestically in a steamed bamboo basket. The colours of the dumplings certainly put a smile on any diner's face. Different colors represent various flavors: cheese, truffle, foie gras, crab roe, original, ginseng, szechuan, garlic. We dived into one like kids trying out some new candy. We expected our mouths to be exploded with their individual unique flavours but after eating one, the rest does not seem to differ from the other. Minced meat was the main stuffing but in the end all I tasted was the pork. I guess if your tastebuds were more discerning enough and if they have not touched the Szechuan style chicken prior to eating the Xiao Long Bao, you would be able to notice the taste of garlic, foie gras, etc. The skin was soft and supple enough and not too chewy and dry. Other than the colours, it was a let down to me.

The Pork noodle soup was recommended as one of the star performers if you feel like some good soup filling your tummy. Soup base was rich and tasty with sufficient pork slices as well as seawood. I wish they were more generous with the egg because it seems like only half of an egg was given. Or maybe my egg-crazy friend ate it all. Noodles were not too soggy. Best eaten altogether with the ingredients placed on a spoon then slurp it all up into your mouth to get the full experience.

The sweet sour pork is nothing spectacular in taste but the quality of the meat is good with a nice crsipy crunch, very appropriate for the tourists and locals alike. Kids too love this dish and this is a safe choice to include in any Chinese meal.

Another dish which is common among locals is the Long bean with minced pork. The beans are nicely cooked and succulent with an even crunch. The minced pork seasoned  in their special light soy sauce gives an excellent combination with the taste of the beans. Not overly salty and a tinge of sweetness is the best balance one can achieve in cooking this dish. Defintely a must try too!

Overall the food experience was of an enjoyable standard which makes you forget that you are sitting outside on some makeshift extended area of the restaurant with the city wind blowing.  I didn't get to try the desserts because the amount of food filled my tummy already. The bill came up to SGD $70 inclusive of service charge and tax. Noodles cost $9.80, Sweet Sour Pork cost $12.00 so you get the picture of the prices.

Sik Wai Sin Eating House, Singapore

Anyone who wishes to eat real Chinese food, the kind of food we eat at our homes, nothing fancy but good down to earth food, must go to this place. If you are a non-Chinese, first time exploring Singapore and have not tasted Chinese food, this may or may not be the place to go. There is no air-con, no cushy seats, and if you are willing to have beads of perspiration trickling down your back and front, then this is the place to go. And of course, if you are willing to wait in line, without a number risking someone who came after you get a table earlier than you without your temper rising, then by all means proceed.

The trip there was meant to be a birthday treat to my buddy. She was game enough to wait for a good half hour in line. Old lady showed us to the table at the far end of the shophouse ground floor unit where the eating hall is. Away from the direction of all wall mounted fans. There is no menu. This is good old fashioned Chinese style ordering. You just have to look around at what the others are eating and you can just point to the dishes at the other tables.

These are mainly what they serve:
Watercress Soup
Steamed Fish Head in Soy Bean Paste
Stir Fry Kale
Soy Beancurd Cake (Semi Hard Tofu) with Prawns
Sweet Sour Pork Cubes
Salted Fish with Minced Pork

As there was just the both of us, we are restricted by our choices. If we had a bigger group, we could easily try out all of them.

The steamed fish head (half a head actually) was nicely steamed without a trace of muddy smell. Fermented bean paste mixture is then poured over with spring onions and chili slices for color presentation. I would have preferred the fish meat to be seasoned then steamed but I guess they believe in healthy style of cooking and not interfere with the topping. The paste is not overpowering with cubes of fried pork lard give the whole dish a different effect. When you crunch the fried pork lard in your mouth with a mouthful of fish meat and bean paste, everything comes together so beautifully.

 This dish was a bit too much for the both of us too but we nevertheless devoured all of it. The bean curd cubes were fried with the inside remaining soft, outside a layer of "skin". Prawns are relatively big and succulent but did not have a sweetness to them as some other restaurants do. I believe oyster sauce was the main sauce cooked with beaten egg garnished with spring onions.  This is the kind of food that granny cooks for homecoming. This is comfort food. This is best eaten immediately dished out of the wok and taste better in winter time.

The best performer to me, is this simple green. Lots of pork lard is probably used which gives it its shine and taste. The stems are soft because I think they parboiled it. I could eat the whole dish. Dollops of oyster sauce poured onto stems and leaves and when you bite into a piece which comes with the leaves and the stem, you taste the goodness of the vegetable nicely blended with the oils, sauce and its moisture. If you have a knife to cut the long pieces or a pair of scissors to cut before you eat then good for you. Otherwise, eat them leaves first. There is no other glamourous way to eat them unless you have a pair of scissors with you.






This is not the place where you can pair it with wine. You pair it with Chinese tea. And don't expect a receipt. There is no fancy cash tills and a pretty receptionist at the counter. Just an old couple at "front desk" where the old lady remembers what you ordered earlier and recites out what you ordered. She announces the figure that you have to pay. Ours with two small bowls of rice came up to SGD50. :)
We were overall satisfied with the food as we had no expectations. I will definitely include my folks in the next outing!

Sik Wai Sin Eating House
287 Geylang Road
Singapore

Boston Seafood Shack

Boston Seafood Shack is in No.1 Vista Exchange Green, #01-16, Singapore, inside this newly built building called the The Star Vista . The restaurant is very inviting with its paraphernalia of decorations of life savers and lobsters and other sea creatures plus nettings with a red and white colour theme. This place has seatings outside as well as inside the unit.

A waiter greeted me with the menu outside the restaurant, probably stationed there to invite shoppers in. I was rather disappointed that it only had 2 pages and not a very long menu. When I entered, I was more surprised to see a counter on one side where you are supposed to place your order. It gave me the impression of a fast food joint masquerading as a restaurant with semi-restaurant prices. Perhaps the rental for this space is high??

Nevertheless I braved on not wanting to disappoint my companions who gamely expected the best. We ordered the Grilled Salmon Burger, Chicken Teriyaki Burger and Atlantic Cod Pasta.

The Teriyaki Chicken Burger was large enough by Asian standards with its generous letttuce and tomato slices. Bountiful sesame seeds on top the burger which is not too thick. The chicken tasted somewhat bland and slightly dry. The sauce just managed to seep thru the skin of the chicken to remind you that it is teriyaki sauce.

The Grilled Salmon Burger was nothing a fifteen year old boy could not fit in his tummy in 13 mins. Salmon was a tad dry but had good taste of teriyaki sauce and sufficiently moist for its entirety. The burger itself was smaller in size than the one that came with the Teriyaki Chicken. We had to order a basket of fries as a side and it came in a tiny basket which I felt is not worth its price.

 

 

Next was the Atlantic Cod Pasta. There was nothing Atlantic about it. It came with a light creamy sauce that was not too overpowering in its richness so those who are slightly lactose intolerant might be able to take it. I wish the cod came without the skin because it left black little pieces in the pasta that did not look too appetising. But this is my personal preference. My other peeve was it came served in a waxed paper base in a plate but because the pasta had sauce, we ended up eating bits of paper. Not good.

Overall, I will not go back again unless I am feeling rich, lack of time and need a quick bite and not fussy over eating bits of paper.



 

Vineyard@Hort Park Singapore

Part 1

Vineyard at Hort Park is located in a park in 33 Hyderabad Road #02-02 Hort Park, Singapore. Tried there with my two kids after a long hike today (17 October 2012). The restaurant was not too crowded but had some customers there from work and a group of Japanese mummies.

The setting inside is dark wood so if you are lunching in the restaurant, you will feel like the whole place is dim. If the weather is not too humid, and you enjoy the outdoors, there is a verandah which you can lunch in. I opted for Ginger Ale and Lime juice each costing SGD $6 sitting inside only because it was going to pour and we had spent two hours in the hot sun hiking earlier.

Here's what I ordered with the kids:        
Kids Fish and Chips
French Onion Soup
Classic Caesar Salad



The Kids' Fish and Chips were delicious. Its batter for the fish were done not too oily and thick. It was not as light as if you were eating tempura version either. The chips were probably from the frozen kind so nothing special about that. The portion was suitable for a five-year  to a ten-year-old boy. Tartar sauce was the accompaniment.

 

 



The French Onion soup was a light broth with lots of onions and did not taste too salty like in some other establishments. There is no layer of mozarella or cheddar on top of the soup nor a baked crust. Instead Comte cheese sits on two slices of oven toasted bread and served with the soup on a wooden board. A nice touch.

 



Caesar salad had the fresh romaine lettuce with segments of double boiled eggs, tomatoes, croutons and fried bits of bacon drenched in ranch dressing. Wish they hold back the dressing a little bit because it tend to be soggy from too much dressing at the bottom of the bowl.

It was a pleasant lunch experience which cost me abt $GD $70 inclusive of tax and service charge of 10%. Expensive for lunch with two kids if you know what I mean. Thank god the kids did justice to the fish and chips. :)

Stay tune for a dinner round....





Map from Google

Ricciotti

My food buddy wanted to check out this newly built structure which is called Star Vista next to Buona Vista MRT station, Singapore. It is on this newly constructed road called 1 Vista Exchange Green. We scoured the unusual open corridors of the Mall and wondered how the Mall is going to withstand the rain. The shop frontages will be wet! This will affect customers of Ricciotti too , as we chose to sit inside the restaurant that approximately holds 30 pax and more outside.  They have their earlier setups in Riverwalk and China Square, and Star Vista is the one that includes Grills. It is one of the Garibaldi Group of Restaurants ( I got these info from the websites after I got home).

Anyways, we got in without having any prior knowledge of who they were and whether there were sister restaurants elsewhere in Singapore. We ordered the pizza, mussell and crabmeat spaghetti. I did not take down the names of the dishes but the ones we ate were the "Signature Dishes".

The pizza crust was nice and chewy if you like it that way. Not too thick and not too thin. It had bacon, mushroom and the standard cheese and tomato base with an egg left runny in the middle. The texture overall is good but a tad too salty for me.

The orange colour of the spaghetti dish was a bit off-putting. It looks too artificially coloured and it is not because the crab meat was orange. It had a thick creamy base but not of the carbonara sort although it had egg mixed into it. The consistency grew thicker when left on plate a little longer.

The service was great and swift enough. The noise level inside was too loud for comfort if there happens to be a big group of friends enjoying themselves. Perhaps they can cushion the noise bouncing off the cement screet floors with some cushioned chairs??  Price was acceptable for its type of menu but can do better with the quality. I did have the Mussells in White wine and I was told they were Belgium Mussells. Well the mussells were tender and and not chewy, cooked just right. They could do with one more tablespoon of white wine in the broth if you asked me :) Sorry no pics, because I was too hungry and walloped them before I realised it.

I wrote this review not knowing it was their third and I had never patronised the other two. The dinner was paid out of our own pockets and no one sponsored me to write this review neither am I acquainted with any of the owners and staff of this outfit.

Osteria Mozza, Singapore

This restaurant is best for serious food fanatics who appreciate food and do not mind paying for it.  I have been there twice in two years and so far has not disappointed me.  The recent trip being on 26 th July 2012. I understood from the waitress the menu changes everyday. We went straight for the Chef Tasting Menu which will give us both the selections as the Chef Tasting Menu required the participation of the entire table. 
The Antipasta:
1) Red Endive, Fennel & Parmagianno with Anchovy dressing was by far the best starter to tingle your taste buds. The sourness complimented the Parmagianno so well with the endive, stirring any appetite if you had none to begin with.
2) Grilled Sardines with Peperonata was muted but outstanding in its simplicity and freshness from the sardines. Real sardines!

From the Mozzarella Bar : 1) Caprese with bufala mozzarella, cherry tomatoes & basil gave a fresh start to your taste buds. The bufala alone was naturally tasteless but well combined with the sweetness of the tomatoes, the basil lightly giving the dish a minty taste but not overpowering. 2) Burricotta with braised artichokes, pines nuts,currants & mint pesto - this was when i felt the chef was teasing us. He cleverly combined your partner's dish which was plain and light with this more explosive of melodic tastes in the second. The Burricotta with its innocent plainness supported the artichoke which in turn held the pine nuts so fragrantly roasted to exude a nutty aroma but not burnt, blending so well into the sweetness of the currants and the mint pesto.. It was out of this world! The whole dish was sprinkled with some crispy fine looking sandy texture of something that resembles bread crumbs and fried flour which completed the whole orchestra of tastes.
Primi:
1) Farfelle with chanterelle, English peas and walnuts - the sauce was lightly done with some beautiful butter I believe. Not a cream based dish but butter based I think. Farfelle was done el dente. I feel the peas were not needed but just there for the colour. Walnuts I hardly noticed but I guess it was meant to be. Lovely! 
2) Pici with Duck Ragu - my partner had that and he loved the way the duck meat was cooked till so soft and moist and the best part was, it was all stewed till so shredded and soft with no hint of its gaminess. I am guessing a good portion of some really good red wine went into the stew witha whole lot of spices and herbs which made the dish taste so full-bodied.

Secondi :
1) Grilled Iberico Pork Chop with cranberry  bean cooked in soffritto came out a bit too sourish but the pork was of its finest quality, cooked to pink, the outer part with a generous crust of black pepper and other spices bordering on salty.
2) Pan Roasted Sea Trout with Umbrian lentils and red cabbage sottocetto was somewhat muted. The beans and the trout did not do much for each other but each needing the other to hold the dish as complete.

Dolci: the Starwberry Sorbetto with prosecco gelatine was a nice touch to clean the palette. But having already tasted so much vinegar based sauces in the pork dish and the Endive in the beginning, I did not need another sourish Sorbetto to do the job. This was followed by two desserts :
1) Berry Crespelle with spiced almonds and vanilla gelato looked like a dish you would serve during Halloween parties, Thanksgiving and Christmas with the medley of red and white from the berries and vanilla. This is for the person who opts for the safer dessert, tried and tested.

For the more adventurous and risk taker, being me, I was blown out of my seat with this unique dish - 2)Rosemary Olive Oil Cakes with olive oil gelato & rosemary brittle. When the dish arrived, I saw no cakes. The first thing that caught my eyes was a transparent brittle long and curvy, resting at the side of the gelato. The brittle had a very light hint of rosemary so light you would not have noticed it, thinking it was the role of the sugar that did it. Tiny drops of olive oil scattered round the dish but it did well not to overpower the main player - the gelato. The gelato was white, which made me think it was vanilla. The moment the gelato touched my tongue, I was so pleasantly surprised by its taste. What did it taste like? Well, go there and find out. It was certainly  the finest display of skill anyone can do to make the diner go through so many experiences in one sitting. If you were grumpy in the beginning, this dessert can break a smile in you. You would never think the chef/pastry chef would use this one ingredient that would get you out of the seat.

Compliments to the Executive Chef David Almany, Pastry Chef Ariana Flores and their team. My partner and I paid for our meals at SGG 128++ per person without any wine pairing. At no time were we invited by the restaurant to write this review. I write this because I love food, good food and will share if I come across any like this worth paying for.