i read about this place on the newspapers.
100year history.
wow.
located at a historic setting along kampong glam area. nice place to go, bring tourists from overseas. see the packed tiny streets of old singapore.
but the food ah...
many people fighting for seats.
my friend & i managed to get a seat in the air-con comfort of upstairs (crowded so must share table). waited quite a long while for order. apparently, not all staff are authorised to take order.
we ordered mutton murtabak small, chicken briyani & 2 ice teh tarik.
the food arrived quite quickly. the briyani was nice but the accompanying curry - wah, so salty! i think the curry used the cook the chicken is tastier than the accompanying curry they provided.
the mutton murtabak was a let down. so tough. it was as if it had been sitting on the counter for some time. couldn't really taste the meat / egg although the onions were sweet & gave the murtabak texture.
the teh tarik took forever to come. they mixed up our orders with the couple beside us. then later they simply never brought the drinks. then afterwards, they just brought 1 drink but there was 2 of us. then after much reminder, the 2nd drink arrived.
my friend & i didnt understand the draw of this place except that it was old & traditional. food so-so only.
price was Ok though. $9.90 for the murtabak, briyani & 2 teh tarik. can go again lah, but not purposely go there.

we wanted to go here earlier in the year when they opened but they were always full-house and we gave up.
for father's day we booked a week in advance & got a place. but they were restrictive. you can only come at 6pm or 8pm. they were running 2 sessions for dinner only. for the 6pm slot, get your butts out by 8pm (but they claim they wont chase you) & for the 8pm slot better shove the food down your throats by 10pm.
i dont really like to be restricted during eating time. but well, everyone wanted to try a new place so we went ahead with the reservations.
we ordered the father's day special with came with free white wine. the wine was sweet, not too bad.
the meal started with

appetisers - smoked salmon roll, bacon wrapped asparagus, stuffed shiitake mushroom (the portion size - measly & taste so-so only, i can buy smoked salmon from supermarket & roll myself also what...)

shark's fin soup - this was quite flavourfull & tasty, thumbs up.

asparagus stir fried with abalone - where's the abalone? real McCoy tiny bits only. the gingko nuts & abalone MUSHROOM were batter fried first - abit weird, then stir fried. generally just OK. nothing fantastic.

steamed gobo fish with soya sauce - fish quite fresh but nothing fantastic again.

red-braised pork (we ordered fried mantou ala carte for dipping) - they dishes out into separate bowls to serve us. but NO SAUCE! then order mantou for what? nothing to dip. sheesh. wasted. also the fried mantou - so giam siap, they took big mantou & cut it up into smaller portions & sell as XXX number of mantou. really cheapskate lah.

fried mee sua - i cannot tell what is actually special.

mango & pomelo dessert - creamy & nice. but again, nothing WOW.

we extra ordered fried rice for the kids. nothing great. not much ingredients in the rice though each grain was nicely coated with egg & tainted yellow. looks professional lah.

we also extra ordered Geoduck - half sashimi, half steamboat. the Geoduck clam was fresh. it was nice sweet, crunchy & succulent as sashimi, not too bad quickly dunked in the steamboat too.

the set dinner was supposed to be $288+++ but plus our additional orders, the bill came up to $600 for 7 people (6 adults & 1 kid)
kinda pricey.
they served everything very quickly. one after another before you can even swallow. perhaps speeding everything up to meet the 2nd batch of guests. not my cup of tea.
the service was relatively prompt. people hoovering you wanting to pour wine / water all the time. but not so prompt in clearing plates & difficult to request for service, cant catch their attention since they're busying on what they need to do & not on the guests.
anyway, i doubt i'll be back.
parking at the singapore flyer is a pain. eventually settled for valet parking at $8. bleh.
expensive, not so fantastic food but redeemed by seaview if you want to impress guests. but i'll go elsewhere for that price.

i used to buy the tonkatsu sandwichese here often, they used to cost only $2.50 but now they've raised the price to over $3. kinda expensive for that palm-size sandwich.
they have a tea-time set of sandwiches with a drink, quite OK if you just want a light meal or sit & chat with a friend after walking around takashimaya.
the set meals are also quite yummy, in general i'm a tonkatsu fan.
but the prices are not cheap about $15-22++ per set depending on what meat you order - pork loin, prawn etc.
for this price i'd rather have the nicer ambience of Tonkichi which serves similar food. (but Tonkichi Ngee Ann City is impossible to get a space during weekend dinners - go early or Q like mad).
but if you're a sucker for waitresses dressed like french maids, here;s the place for you!

i went with a couple of jc friends, gathering since we havent met up for a long time. this place was raved about on the papers as the next best thing, jap food marche style, everything under one roof from jap-style pizza to teppanyaki to curry rice to macha crepe.
after Q-ing for sometime, finally got in, we were recommended a seating area. unfortunately beside the teppanyaki booth, so we all later came out smelling like teppanyaki.
the food is not fantastic. portion size i would say, small. i had bamboo steam rice with salmon. that silver, thin slice of salmon couldnt flavour anything. the rice was plain, tasteless. nothing great. i'll go food court anytime for that price.
my friend had some robatayaki items like - chicken wings - which he waited & waited & waited for...
i also tried the dessert - macha crepe with red bean. eew, the crepe is like those peanut crepe from hawker centre. i think maxwell hawker centre peanut pancake skin is better. for $6-7+ for that, not worth it. a cup of ice green tea (which they probably brewed in bulk) cost $2. haiyoh, if i wasn't thirsty from the food & my friend didnt stay to chat, i really would just have gone to the cold storage to buy a drink for $0.60.
i wouldnt go back here again & i havent since.

with ref to my other food reviews for tonkichi shaw & ngee ann city, i'm a fan of these fried morsels or rather chunks of crispy food.
i have not been to this branch before even though it had been at the suntec fountain terrace for some years.
i went 2 weeks ago on a weekend and surprising there were no long Qs unlike at kenny rogers or tony romas. maybe locals prefer american food? or hearty ribs & chicken?
anyway it was good comfort that it was not crowded & we didnt have to wait for tables.
the place is newly renovated & looks chic with white & black decor. for this branch, they have sashimi & other japanese foods unlike at the ngee ann city branch which is mainly just the fried items.
but since we came mainly for the fried, heart blocking items, we just ordered the usual - mixed tonkatsu (pork loin & fillet) - both of which were succulent as usual but my personal preference is the fillet since its more tender. & we also ordered the fried prawns with crab croquettes. i love those creamy lil' ball-like fried crab croquettes. truthfully not too much crabby taste but its still yummy.
the service is nothing to rave about. sully waitresses. but well, at least they clear the dishes & bring the tea right?
the tonjiru - a soup with pork & veggies (which i upgraded from the normal miso soup for $4+) is still as yummy as i remembered but abit pricey for that small portion. If only they provided seconds for free...
rice & cabbage refill is free though... go wild on carbs if you're a rice bucket.
one thing about this branch is that they have these "booths" for like more private "couple" seating.. good for first dates if your date likes fried japanese foods.

the decor, reception of the place is really WOW. feels like being transported into another world with silver / gold accents against the powder blue pillars. quite chic and literally cool..
went there with high expectations. based on the location, outlook everything seemed good. but the food i think its only so-so.
we went with our family for lunch on Mother's Day. ordered some fried prawns - fresh & crispy but nothing special. we also ordered some fried veggies (like tempura) with some sweet / sour sauce. it was too oily for my liking although the batter was crispy.
one thing i liked was the charsiewbao - the bun was soft & fluffy, the filling was a nice mix of sweet & savoury too.
the other items eg. scallop dumpling, siew mai - nothing fantastic. i didnt like the steamed porkribs - too oily, not much meat.
we also ordered sliced char siew. to me, it was the same like hawker centre char siew. nothing special. the char siew at Lei Garden is more superior.
my family members also tried the exotic items like - duck's tongue & chicken feet. they commented that the duck's tongue was good but no comments on the chicken feet.
we also ordered double boiled soup of the day - carrot / radish soup. the soup was good, flavourful & robust. but it should be expected - many ingredients used for 1 pot of soup. (ref to the pictures - they ladled out the soup ingredients for us to eat, if we wish)
the service was only average. many of the waitresses were newbies and it was difficult to get their attention for service and also they often got the requests wrong. they even brought 3 bowls of rice to our table (consecutively) even though we only ordered 1 bowl. so much for staff communication.
we also had the shark's fin soup dumpling. it wasn't good at all. the soup was bland. the dumpling skin was 'yellow' (looked like those ready-bought wanton skin). the filling was tasteless - they even had the cheek to use chopped up crabmeat stick in the filling - i would really expect MORE for such a posh place. real crabmeat pls. quite disappointed with the shark's fin soup dumpling.
we had green apple jelly dessert which had strawberry, mango, blueberry pieces plus some almond & sour plum bits sprinkled on top. it was quite refreshing. but again, no wow! factor.
we also had a basket of "peach buns" for Mother's Day. I didnt eat them though but they were cute so I attached the picture.
generally, i dont think i'll return for the food or service but.. it's a nice place to just enjoy a weekend lunch.

we went to eat this last sunday.
around 9+pm.
ordered the seafood set $20-over++. came with prawns, cuttlefish, bamoboo clam (1 only), veggies, miso soup & salad.
we added $2.50+ for the garlic rice and also $3.99+ for the shimeji mushrooms.
the food is cooked very very slowly.
1st up was the salad & soup.
then wait....
the chef cooks the items in mass bulk - i.e wait for other customers who want the same thing, to cook together.
4-5 ppl portions of garlic fried rice. (alot of garlic though, my BF loved it..) quite a sizeable bowl of fried rice.
the veggies were ok - mix of some dou-miao,beansprout & sliced shiitake mushrooms. alots of garlic.
bamboo clam was kinda chewy. the prawns abit mushy, not very fresh. the cuttlefish was nice a crunchy though.
it was so slow...
we were bored watching the chef cook...
i dont know if its supposed to be this way but slow....
we even wanted to cancel the mushroom order. but as were chatted amongst ourselves toying with the idea of cancelling, he started to produce food faster - sheesh.. then no chance to cancel liao...
the food basically everything tasted the same - since the same seasoning used i.e garlic, pepper, soy sauce, butter.
not so good on a romantic date since you come out oily and smelling like teppanyaki.
if you have HSBC card, you can try the current 1 for 1 offer. 2 type of set menu $28++ & $36++ if i'm not mistaken.
i dont think i'd be going back anytime soon though.
pls dont go when you are starving.. have to wait & wait..

i went with my boyfriend to this place recently, i had been dying to try it since it was featured on a mandarin variety show.
they had recommended the xiaolongbao shot (xiaolongbao served in a shotglass with some broth in the bottom of the glass) and the "chinese breadstick" which was essentially a pohpiah skin with some fishpaste filling inside, cigarette rolled and deepfried.
we went about 7pm and had abit of a hard time finding it.
actually its just to the left side of the drive in entrance to goodwood park hotel. we didnt see any signages and walked aimlessly around the hotel for awhile (benefit of doubt - we could have missed the signs though...)
when we got to the entrance, it was nicely zen-type of decor. the staff were friendly and greeted us. but well, they were kinda free too since we were the ONLY guests in the place on a sunday dinner time.
the walls of the restaurant was decked with dimsum bamoboo steamers. interesting decor to tie in the name. essentially i guess they are serving only finger foods, their main thing is the drinks - sake cocktails. they also have sashimi (prepared to fork out $30 onwards), only 2 types of udon ($12-19) and only 1 page selection of dim sum.
i only wanted to taste the dim sum so we gave the sashimi / udon a miss.
you could get the dim sum in 3 pieces - $7.95++ eg. hargao bunny (shrimp dumpling shaped in a rabbit), shumai, chicken feet with XO sauce, gyoza etc. or in a dimsum platter. you can choose any 4 items from the dimsum selection for $7.95++. we went to for the platter and chose the xiaolong bao shooter, hargao bunny, shumai, gyoza, scallop/abalone dumpling & charsiew pastry sharing between 2 of us.
we also had the chinese breadstick as a starter.
quite disappointed with the portion size. although they maybe fingerfood style but the sticks could have been longer. they were about only 7-8cm long and only 5-6sticks per plate. for around $6.95++. expensive for fried pohpiah skins.
the dim sum platter came - the hargao bunny was complete with red eyes and bunny ears (cute) but the taste was just normal hargao. the xiaolongbao shooter was 1stly lukewarm only, the broth was not particularly flavourful - chicken stock taste. i'd rather go to dintaifung for xiaolongbao and give this a miss. the other dumplings were not memorable either.
we were served wasabi potato chips as a before meal snack - they were nice, crispy and packed the punch of wasabi.
we also ordered oolong tea ($9++) served in a sexy looking glass teapot but the tea wasn't especially fragrant or flavourful.
we left the place hungry and unsatisfied.
the service was pretty OK but remember the place was empty. the staff did seem abit disappointed when we declined ordering the expensive sashimi.
i wouldnt' go back again. unless they increase the portion sizes & reduce the prices.
there are many other better dim sum places... cool / interesting concept but i think it's not really taking off.

quite a nice place for a rowdy gathering of office colleagues for lunch.
their set lunch menu is quite comprehensive, from the daily special eg. fish & chips or chicken cutlet (depending on what's on the special) you also have a choice of pork chops, bratwurst, sandwich etc.
the sets range from $13++ to $15++, comes with soup & bread/butter, main course & soft drink / coffee / tea.
i usually go with the pork chops $15++. there are two piece of about 1.5cm thick chops, they are well-seasoned & grilled. you can choose french fries or mash potatoes. it also comes with some boiled veggies - sometimes brussel sprouts / carrots / even 1 time - kai lan... i quite enjoy the mash. it's not too thick or creamy but still flavourful. one thing that kinda bugs me is that the sauce is ORANGE. i still havent figured out why. i dont taste any tomato in it though.
the soup of the day varies - from minestrone soup (ORANGE) to seafood mix soup (with some bits of small shrimp, clams etc but also ORANGE).
the portions are good and really fills me up. many of my colleagues cant even finish the food.
they also serve german beer.
try it for set lunches. not bad, a good change from hawker food at Maxwell or Tanjong Pagar market..

i've been here for lunch on 3-4 occasions.
first few times i just had the conveyor belt sushi items. normal average tasting food.
most of the time when i ordered the chawanmushi - it came luke warm. i prefer mine piping hot. so that's a minus for me.
but the agedashi fried tofu was hot & crispy. i also like the fried salmon pieces.
they also have a teppanyaki section in this restaurant, so you can have both sushi & teppanyaki items.
but if you ask for their cooked food, pls be prepared to wait a long long time.
once my colleague ordered teriyaki-don. it took so long to come that in the end, she requested for takeaway as there was insufficient time to eat it there and rush back to office.
it happened to me too when i ordered the teppanyaki set lunch. they had a few choices ie chicken set lunch, beef set lunch or seafood set lunch. prices range $10.90++ to $12.90++. i chose the seafood one which was to come with half-shell scallop & prawn, salmon, veggies, miso soup, salad & rice. seemed like a good deal.
i waited patiently for some 20min before alerting the staff that i had not been served my meal.
she went to check. 5min later returned with a plate of garlic / soy sauce teppanyaki fried style veggies (bean sprout & some dou-miao) with miso soup & rice. the veggies & rice were COLD. probably left on the counter and forgotten. later another staff came with a plate of 2 slices of cuttlefish & 2 piece of prawn. i informed her that the menu stated "half-shell scallop). she went to check, returned and said they didnt have scallop today and it was substituted with cuttlefish. shouldn't they inform the customer when order was taken? as i was rushing for time, i just accepted it.
after i finished all these items, the grilled salmon arrived. the timing of the food service is terrible.
as my lunch hour was almost up, i rushed to swallow my food and asked for the bill but i was directly to Q at the counter, which wasted more time.
after that incident, i have not been back since. i did write a complaint to the management but all they brushed over was that it was lunch hour and the kitchen was busy.
well, i would say, if you want to go, just eat the ready prepared sushi items. lest you end up waiting a long time for other cooked foods...especially during lunch hour on weekdays...