Date Visited :
100310

I had a sudden craving for Japanese food, Sushi Tei didn't satisfied me so after hearing about Botan Japanese restaurant and its Bento sets, I decided to head down to Raffles Place with my friend, Rui Yang to look for it.

 AMBIENCE
This small little gem can be found next to Shin Kushiya and other sleek looking restaurants and cafe. The place feels like a cosy little Japanese inn or cafe. It features. The restaurant employed a traditional Japanese style for its interior decoration using motifs of the famed Mount Fuji, bottles of sake, Japanese ceramics and porcelain, lanterns, wooden furniture etc. Little details were given to the the placement of cutlery with nice colourful 'ribbons' to rest place our chopsticks and the bottles of conditments with motifs of sakura flowers.

The overall effect is a warm cosy atmosphere in the heart of the urban jungle. For ambience, I would award the restaurant high scores.

As it was a week day night around 8-9 plus, the restaurant was quite empty save for a couple and a group of white collars at one corner of the restaurant. I reckon that it would be more packed during lunch hours and weekends.

FOOD
The menu features a lot of bento sets, the usual Japanese items. There isn't any fanciful pictures or photos for you to take reference, just the name of the dish with a brief description of what you are ordering. It comes with Japanese translations too, which I could not read.

While Ruiyang had the Yakiniku Set (which is a Bento featuring Beef), I had the Yakizakana Set featuring Grilled Fish. Both of us didn't expect the bento to features so many other little dishes and I must say, portions wise. For $21 (GST, Svc Charge included), the bento is quite good for value.

My Yakizakana Set, features a bowl of Miso Soup, a cup of Chawanmushi, a bowl of Sashimi, a bowl of steamed rice (not a small bowl), a plate of 2 watermelon slices, a tiny bowl of salad?, a bowl of cooked food, a plate of Grilled Fish with other stuff on it, two tiny dishes of condiments including soy sauce and Japanese pickles.

The Sashimi is quite okay, it has both salmon and tuna sashimi.

There is this dish that is sweet, spicy and a little bit sour (probably due to the inclusion of lemon juice) with bits of salmon inside, I have no idea what it is but I quite enjoy the mixture of flavours. Quite refreshing.

The Chawanmushi has chunks of meat, mushrooms and Japanese fish cake inside. It tasted rather alright to me. The stock is not overwhelming, the texture of the egg is just nice for me. Sometimes the chawanmushi can be too salty but for Botan's case, its just nice.

The ceramic bowl of cooked food features some kind of fish-cake like item and an egg covered with bonito flake. This dish is quite nice, I enjoyed the egg with a bonito 'crust' the most. The sauce is abit sweet and salty.

The rice is Japanese short-grain rice, just nice for me. Quite a big portion, it was served in a lacquer bowl with cover.

The miso soup also served in a lacquer bowl with cover is generous with the tofu chunks and seaweed.

The grilled fish is delicious. I like the tiny cripsy skin. Abit difficult to eat with chopsticks though. I thought it was rather good, no fishy taste, the flesh is just nice for me.

The slice of omelette is delicious, abit sweet with a smooth, springy texture. The other items that came along with the grilled fish include carrot, sweet potato?, corn, something that resembles meat ball and japanese fish cake. The grated white radish which adds alittle spice to the dish.

2 Slices of watermelon to clear the palate.

My only complaint about the food would be that the food are slightly cold. Tastewise, I have no issues with the food.

There is an attempt to present the food nicely too, as seen in the arrangement of the sashimi and the main dish. Even the plates and bowls used makes use of a range of colours. The colourful presentation gets me excited. 

SERVICE

The waitresses were quite friendly and thumbs for taking the initiative to refill the green tea without any prompting. They were also quick to clear the plates but not before asking politely whether they could. When we asked for the bill, they are quick too. I would give Botan high scores for service attitude and efficiency. Another point to take note is that the restaurant serve warm towels before and after the meal, normally I only find this in the higher end restaurants and the waitresses would raise the those door 'curtains' for you too.

VALUE

$21 dollars for one such bento set, it is very good for value together with the Japanese street-side inn setting and friendly service. Pricewise, it is a huge contrast to Shin Kushiya next door. If you want to have something sashimi to udon within one set without burning your wallet, this is a nice place to have it. Moreover, the green tea is complimentary and free-flow.

Overall, I would highly recommend this place for after-work, a mini gathering, lunch and dinner because it is really good for value, with affordable Japanese food, generous portion, friendly service and a nice atmosphere to enjoy. I hope the Botan Restaurant would keep it that way if not improve further.

This restaurant has two entrances, one via the main building lobby and the other via a small stairway hidden at one corner where it is being lit by candles and small ornaments adorn the sides of the stairs. Quite a nice setting. The restaurant has some sofa seats and utilizes a rustic approach towards their interior design. Wooden chairs and tables, wooden screens. Colourful lanterns, it creates a soothing yet cheerful and romantic atmosphere.

The occassion for today is a gathering of friends. A nice place to have gathering because it cater to muslim friends as well with their Halal certification and the ambience is rather nice. However, it is not advisable to hold a gathering for more than 25 people, it creates an awkward seating arrangement.

The waiters and waitresses are rather friendly although I hope they would be more attentive and take the initiative to serve water and refill water without prompting. As we were celebrating a birthday, they offer to light the candles and even provide the candles normally we have to provide ourselves.

As I had a heavy lunch earlier at Amirah's Grill, I decided to share a Chef Plate ($17.50) with my friend who also had lunch with me earlier. The Chef Plate was recommended by the waiter as one of the most popular dishes in the restaurant. It is a combination plate of Doner kebap, Izgara Kofte and a skewer of Shish Kebap served with some bread and a salsa like mixture (the salad) on a onion 'flower'. The meats are rather nice although it is abit on the drier side. I like the mixture of the salad, bread and the various kinds of kebap that you can choose to consume with. The Izgara kofte (grilled flat meatball) is rather tantalizing, it has a nice blend of spice and lean, juicy meat. The Shish kebap is abit dry (grilled cubed meat). The Doner Kebap is quite okay.

My friends had other dishes. The most prominent one is the Adana Kebap ($14.80) which is being served with a sword-like skewer. High points for presentation. White he gave it a 4/5, he described it as tasting like an otah.

Another had Chicken Baked Rice for $13.50. The chicken here is very fragrant and flavourful. The rice isn't that great though. My friend prefers to have more cheese on this dish. It scored 4/5 for him.

Shish Kebap (Lamb) is described has being tender but my friend felt that the food portion is alittle small for the price of $14.50. It scored 3/5.

The Sofra Kebap ($15.50) scored 3.5/5.

Shish Kebap (Beef) - $14.80 scored 3/5, its weak points being small quantity and the meat hardens quickly when it starts to cool down.

Along with the food items. I also had the Turkish Iced Apple Tea which tasted like Lipton Iced Apple Tea or something. It is rather ordinary. It cost about $2.80

Overall, I found the food acceptable but not awesome quality. The ambience is quite good with its quaint interior and the view outside is nice, you get to see the traffic along Beach Road, quite a nice view at night. The service is okay too and they surprised me with their offering of sweets and scented liquid/ sanitizer when we made our leave.

Date: 060310
Address: 142 Arab Street

After a leg-breaking cake-finding attempt for a 4 persons' birthday one of whom I specially got a cake from Food for Thought (he didn't quite appreciate all that effort though, a lesson learnt.) It is time for lunch at Amirah's Grill. Take note it is Amirah's Grill, not Halal Amirah or Amirahli's Grill.

SERVICE
The waitresses and manager were very friendly and polite, they had reserved a nice corner for the 20+ of us on the second floor of their Arab Street outlet next to Golden Landmark Tower. They prepared the place nicely with the cutlery. They took the initiative to clear the plates etc although I hope they took the initiatve to re-fill the water and offer water when the guests arrived earlier but the staff were busy with the growing crowd. Nonetheless, the staff attitude is quite positive.

To find the Grill, In the waitress' words. "Go to the Golden Landmark's Taxi Stand and look for the Grill and you will find it."

AMBIENCE
The area we got is a nice cosy corner with air conditioned environment. The floor is covered with intricately weaved Middle Eastern carpets. Curtains donned the pillars which you could loosen it to give yourself some privacy. The walls were decorated with paintings depicting Mediterranean and Middle Eastern scenes such as the Holy Kabaa in Mecca. There is even a DVD player with flat-screen TV which you could use without any surcharge.

FOOD
Each of us got the $25 Special Meal Set which covers everything on the menu except for certain dessert items and one main course item which is the King Butter Prawns. Along with it are soup (2 choices : Chicken or Mushroom), Pita and Garlic Bread, Dips (2 kinds, Lebanese Hummus and Moutabel), choice of Main Course, Dessert ( Ice Cream, Basbousa and French Caramel Pudding) and a drink of your choice.

Generally, most of us felt that the food were rather okay, average to slightly above average. Portions wise, it scored high points among all of us. The appetizers alone were very filling.

My choices:
I had the Hibiscus Juice, this sweet beverage has abit of rosy and blackcurrant taste. At the first sip, you might mistaken it for Ribena juice but further sips revealed that it is slightly different. However, I found the drink too. I was unable to finish drinking it. Nonetheless, the drink is quite refreshing due to the mint leaves added into it.

The Soup I chosed was the Mushroom Soup. Despite its inconsistent texture, the taste was rather okay and it the mushroom bits were rather big. If I would to give a score, 3/5.

The Pita Bread, hmmmmm I can't help savouring this bread especially when its warm. It has abit of crunch and it is very fragrant. The bits of herbs on it adds a little bit of lemony, herbal taste to this bread. Together with the Lebanese Hummus (bottom left), it is a savoury dish altogether. The Moutabel (beneath mushroom soup) gives a slightly sour taste. Both of the dips are rather interesting, I enjoyed the Lebanese Hummus more, which is more refreshing.

My choice of main course was the Turkish Mixed Tenderloin Kebab (19.90, underneath hummus) with Fragrant Rice. I found the rice rather average, nothing special about it. The meats are quite well-marinated although the chicken could afford to be more flavourful. I enjoyed the grilled kofta or minced lamb roll, the soft, and smooth texture of the lamb roll with a nice blend of herbs and spices. The beef is quite okay. I did not have a teeth-beef struggle, that means its just nice.

Just as most of us were overwhelmed by the amount of food we had already consumed(a few are going into slumber due to the comfort provided by the cushions around the seats), we just remembered that there is desserts. I had a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream, something nice for a hot weather and a spice-intensive meal. Together with the French Caramel Pudding, it is rather nice too.

The French Caramel Pudding is not the light, jelly like ones you had outside. It has more of a Nonya Kueh texture and richness. goes very well with vanilla ice cream though. I think maybe it is an Egyptian rendition of the caramel pudding rather than the actual French Caramel Pudding, afterall Amirah Grill is an Egyptian restaurant. What's with the link between French and Egyptian? Suez Canal was designed by a French engineer, Ferdinand de Lesseps, that is one link for you.

I think the $25 set is really great for its value and the management did not give us a service charge for the sets, surcharge for the reservation. This deserves a big thumbs up for the value. The portions are generous too.

OVERALL : 7.5/10 , but i can't put 7.5.
While Amirah's Grill might not serve the best of food, it has great value to offer for sure and the ambience on the 2nd floor is great, I enjoyed the warm cosy atmosphere the place has to offer. It is also good place to stop by and enjoy a drink or snack with a few friends. This is also good place to organize a gathering of about 15-20 people because the food is Halal and the ambience is great.

Having been to Mayim in West Mall before, I wanted to try Mayim again, this time nearer at Northpoint (Yishun). My sister and brother-in-law told me that it was quite good, like the one in West Mall too.

Therefore, a group of guys including me who likes food decide to have our first food gathering at Mayim.

This branch is considerably bigger and more spacious than the one in West Mall. The decor evokes abit of ancient China with its quaint looking cups and plates (at least two kinds of designs for each table) and central lighting filled with ceiling lights that looked like large lanterns. The style employed here seemed to be Contemporary Asian.

The place is very noisy like a bustling Chinese restaurant. So it is not a nice place to relax, considering that fact that a queue is waiting outside as well for the tables, you will feel guility for spending too much time inside.

The other members will be posting their individual reviews.There I shall cover the stuff I ate only.

I had the French Long Beans with Minced Pork, Dried Shrimps and Preserved Vegetables ($7.00). I find it rather okay. Crunchy and just nice, somewhat as good as the one I had in West Mall. Except this time round, it seemed to be alittle bit more salty.

Antoher appetizer we ordered was the Shanghai Xiaolongbao. My sister and brother-in-law had told me that their xiaolongbao was quite good compared to Dintaifung, so we decided to give it a try. Going at 3 pcs for $2, it is considerably cheap. The presentation wasn't good, it came in an aluminium foil like a tart, flipping it over reveals the dent it got from being in the foil for perhaps too long raising suspicions that it could be pre-made. The pastry is very soft and tears very easily. The filling however is generous with soup and meat. Quite tasty. This dish is recommended for its value.

Next I ordered my favourite noodle, the Zhajiang Mian :  Dry "la mian" served with minced pork ($6.30). The noodles is still smooth and it doesn't stick to the teeth. The taste was alright, quite sweet and it is delicious. Comparing with my previous visit. The la mian has uneven cuts and the sauce is slightly thicker, a little bit more oily. However, tastewise and especially for its value. Thumbs up. I still enjoy the Zhajiang Mian here more than than the one I had in Din Tai Fung (Bishan) because of the noodles' texture.

Chilled Mango Pudding was our dessert of the day and it is also the winner of the day. The pudding is not jelly-like, it is quite rich, not too sour or sweet, it was just right. The chunks of mango at the bottom is a real delight. I enjoyed this dessert very much. A point to take note is the milk that was served along with it, it was a very strange or raw taste to it which we described it as "niu" or cowy. We decided to have our dessert without it.

The service is average. The staff are clearly very busy and they looked kind of stressed. There isn't much service here. The teapots we had were being replenished without prompting, that is something good. However, our table did not have a tray of condiments which he had to request for it twice because it was taken away shortly after we requested for it (for the vinegar to go with the Xiaolongbao). Maybe there is not enough xiaolongbaos? The attitude of the service goes from slightly cold to slightly friendly.

Value wise, this place is good because of its value. However do take note that besides charging the GST and Service Charge, this restaurant also charges $1.50 for every wet towel on the table (not uncommon, even some HDB Tze Char also does that). Most of the food items are cheap, so it is still worth trying out the many other dishes they have, they simply have too many choices to pick from.

Overall, I personally felt that this time round, my experience wasn't as positive was the one I had at West Mall. Despite so, the food is still alright for me, some hits and misses. Must try the chilled mango pudding and french beans if you have the chance. The place is a great for value outlet where you can try all kinds of Chinese food and a quite few exotic ones too. Therefore, if you are around Yishun do go down and try out the food, it is affordable as well.

The food gathering is by a group called The Moose.

I have heard about Re!Fill Restaurant before. Today, I got the chance to dine at that restaurant because we wanted to celebrate my brother-in-law's, our maid and my birthdays (2 28ths and a 29th Feb)

The hotel is free from the busy crowds of People's Park and Chinatown because it is tucked away at Pearl's Hill. The place used to be a primary school. When we arrived, the restaurant is empty, there were nobody around despite the ratings we saw at HGW. The place is furnished in a Old School Retro Style, with disco lights, pop corn machine, plastic disc curtains etc. The whole environment sure gives you a retro feel to it.

The menu is designed that way to with Austin Power influenced fonts and colourful retro colours.

Now for the food, the being a crowd, we got a order quite a few dishes.

First up is the Caesar Salad with Smoked Salmon ($10.80): This dish was quite okay, the veggies were fresh, the overall taste is sweet but alittle bit salty due to the bacon bits. The dressing is abit too much though.

Crab Meat Fried Rice with Salted Fish ($9.80): This fried rice did quite well because it was fragrant and not too oily. We enjoyed this dish. The portion is very big too. The one serving we had was enough for at least 2-3 people.

The Soup of the Day ($5.80) was Mushroom Soup: This soup didn't do well for me, I had better mushroom soups before. The taste of the mushroom isn't rich enough, the stock seemed to overwhelm it.

Grilled Boneless Chicken Forestiere ($11.80): My mum felt that the chicken doesn't get enough flavour from the marinade.

Pan Seared Sea Bass Fontina ($15.80): This dish is a clear miss for that day. The sea bass is too hard and dry. The sauce doesn't go well with the dish too. My sister and I did not enjoy this dish at all.

Fish and Chips ($11.80): My choice, a classic dish. The fish and chips came with generous amount of tartare sauce. I personally find the batter too hard. The fish however was alright. The fries are average. This dish could have done much more better if the batter is less tough

Zing Chicken Wings ($4.80) Small : The chicken wings are average. A bit spicy, while my Mum like it, it tasted normal to me. The meat is tender though.

Atlantic Seafood Platter ($14.80) : Served with Garlic Rice, my brother-in-law enjoyed this dish. He likes the marinated squid alot.

The service staff were polite and very friendly when we first came. They were quick to come our serve us water and even offered to add one more table for us so that we felt more comfortable. The service is the plus point for this place.

Value wise, the portions for the Crabmeat Fried Rice is really good for its value. The Fish and Chips is generous too. However, quality could be better though. For the items, some are slightly overpriced some are relatively cheaper than the higher-end restaurants.

Overall, if you want somewhere quite to relax or eat with a small group of friends maybe Re!Fill is for you because they also serve a variety of drinks including cocktails. However if you want to look for superb Western meals, then this is not the place to go unless you are on a budget.

After a few months of nagging by our dear friend, I finally decided to go with his wishes to eat at Sushi Tei where he claimed the Udon were not bad. This was my first time visiting Sushi Tei and it is within one of my higher priced Japanese dining venues.

Sushi Tei adopts an Contemporary Asian decor, with Zen like Japanese influenced hanging lights. Dark wooden textured furniture and comfortable cushioned seats. The place seems to give a relaxed, Japanese atmosphere to go with your Japanese food. The place can be somewhat noisy when it becomes more packed and defnitely more cramped as well.

I had a Marinated Baby Octopus Dish with Seasame Seeds ($4.50) which was quite okay, I like how it was nicely marinated with the sauce. In other places, they were too heavy on the sauce and it makes the dish abit too sweet and salty to savour. The taste was just nice, not too heavy.

Agedashi Tofu was my 2nd appetizer. The tofu is abit light, slightly on the salty side with the accompanying sauce and the tofu is quite soft unlike the gelatinous ones you have at Sakae Sushi which comes with a sweeter and thicker sauce.

Nabeyaki Udon ($11) was my main course. Quite okay. The tempura is sadly soaked in the soup when I ate it hence it is no longer crispy. It should have been served separately. However, I must point out that the prawn is rather fresh. The soup is quite rich in flavour and the noodles are okay to me, I find the dish alright if not above average as this is my first time having Udon.

My friends had other dishes too, the Spicy Miso Ramen, Udon with Tempura and a Sho Ramen (which was a wrong order, supposed to be Beef Ramen.)

Generally, I found the food here quite alright. It has a wide variety of Japanese food here together with a nice menu full of pictures and a brief introduction to the various courses of Japanese cuisine such as Sashimi, Sushi, Noodle, Sumiyaki etc.

Despite being left with many more dishes to try, from the dishes that I have tried here today, my impression is quite positive. The dishes seemed to be quite decent and there is simply too many to choose, you would be spoilt for choice.

The prices here are relatively steep $14 for 3pcs of 3 different kinds of Sashimi and $7 dollars for a 5pc Salmon Sashimi, $11 for Teriyaki Salmon. There seemed to be only ala carte meals here with a lunch promotion going on. If you want to try a variety of Japanese dishes at one good of a decent standard, you might want to try Hibiki at Cuppage Terrace instead. Sushi Tei is for people who wants a specific part of the Japanese Cuisine or with bigger budgets to spare for a meal. The quality seem to be worth the money though portions might be abit little for the big eaters.

Their plus point here would be their service, something that is worth paying for. The staff were patient and efficient. They are always on standby, each being designated an area to take care. Despite the increasing crowd. The waitress was quick to clear the used plates and re-fill our glasses of water.

Overall, this is a decent place to get Japanese food, but prepare to pay abit more for that quality.

Date Visited : 140110/ Edited 220210 after some thoughts.

AMBIENCE :
Decorated like a diner. Has abit of retro plus contemporary themes. The outlet replaces the Wan Chai cafe. It is located outside several shops on the second floor. There is not much of an ambience to comment about since it is without a enclosed space itself but rather an open-air outlet at a corner of the shopping mall.

FOOD:
HALAL : YES

The menu don't seem to have pasta in it. Some of food items got funny names like TiraMadsu. Apparently, it features Aussie Cuisine.

1. Grilled Fish with Cream Sauce - $8.90:
Served with Mashed Potato and Apple Peach Salad

Firstly, the Apple Peach salad. The veg is not fresh, a bit limpy upon biting them and it seem to use those normal lettuce.

Next, the mashed potato. It tasted factory made. Starchy and powdery texture reminds me of those instant mashed potatoes. The sauce is so-so. Normal brown sauce with black pepper.

The fish doesn't taste fresh, the fish isn't firm enough in my opinion, breaks into flakes quite easily that I have to scoop them up. The accompanying cream sauce reminds me of something I had before. Then I finally remembered what the taste was. There was a hint of cheese in the sauce, but not cheese like parmesan etc but rather processed cheese. It tasted a little salty and rather ordinary, there isn't any depth in this dish. 8.90 SGD is too much for this dish. You can get better ones, much more better ones in Manhattan Fish Market downstairs or a hawker centre.

Since it is only one dish, I shan't give a food rating. There are many other things to try such as the cakes, the lamb etc.

SERVICE :
So-so. The service is average. They are quite friendly.

VALUE:
GST: YES  SVC CHARGE: No Service Charge (Ref to MADJack Website)
After reflecting abit on the price again, the prices are average if not abit lower for its items on the menu such as $13-$15 plus for a Rib-Eye steak or Fish and Chips. However, I think for the quality, such as the dish I had, I had better else where and in fact at lower prices. For an establishment that claimed they 5-STAR Quality Ingredients and Freshly Cooked Food, the food has not met its sale value.

OVERALL :
Sadly, MadJack Cafe, has disappointed me for this particular meal, but take note that it is only one dish, maybe I have yet to try their best stuff. I don't think I want to return to this place again, the first impression had been a very poor one.

I am skeptical to try out Spizza after reading a not so nice review about their delivery but my friend kept insisting that it was good. So I decided to tag along to try it out at their Balmoral Branch.

First of all, I kind of like the interior of this nice cosy restaurant tucked away at the corner of Balmoral Plaza. It has a warm cosy feeling with a touch of modernism when you see those illuminated, wall-mounted pictures of an Italian flag, wine glasses and the simple woodern furniture, tables with white marble-textured tops with nicely arrange cutlery and plates with red 'triangles' on it. They also offer an alfresco area where you can dine and watch the traffic. It seems to be a nice place to hang out after work or chill out at night.

It is possible to see the staff prepare our pizzas at the counter area and the most amusing thing is their fire oven. 

We had the promotion pizza, the Passion Pizza for Valentines' Day because there was a couple with us.

The Passion Pizza was topped with Truffle Ricotta, Baby Spinach and Oxheart Tomatoes

What I like about this pizza is the simplicity, it lets to savour and appreciate the fragrance and crispiness of the pizza's crust which is rather thin. However, I did not like how the ricotta goes with the pizza, the combination is awkward and it leaves a rather unpleasant after taste for me.

Franca Pizza : Tomato, Mozzarella, Porcini Mushrooms, Pancetta Bacon

A pizza with a tomato-cheese base. The Porcini Mushrooms are real juicy. The Pancetta Bacon is rather salty, I think most bacons tasted a little salty. I prefer this over the Passion Pizza, because this combination seems to work better, the sweet, cheesy base with the juicy mushrooms and tasty bacon.

Lasagna : Traditional Beef Lasagna

This dish is generous with the minced beef. My friend find the beef flavour overwhelming while I find it okay. This dish is alright nothing to rave about.

Ravioli : Ravioli Filled with Ricotta and Spinach in Tomato Sauce

I kind of enjoyed this pasta. The sauce is quite tasty and the ravioli is nice.

The service is commendable. The service staff were very friendly and they top up our water without any prompting from us. We also got a cake and they don't mind keeping it in their fridge for us while we have our meal upon request.

The price is a bit steep here, but for gourmet pizzas, it is not surprising. Some other pizzas us stuff like black truffle sauce, more expensive cheese and meats.

Overall, this is a nice place for friends/ family to gather and have a nice pizza meal (you would be spoilt for choice, so many different kinds of pizzas) complimented by the warm cosy atmosphere that Spizza @ Balmoral has to offer. However, be prepared to pay a little more for it.

Came here for dessert because my friend and I had a craving for something cold and sweet. The place also offer other items besides shaved ice. Normal Shopping Mall environment nothing pleasant or unpleasant about it. But not a place you would like to sit and relax since it is so noisy.

We had the Mango Shave Ice with Sherbet (Reg. Size $8.50)

The ice lacks any milk flavour. They could be more generous with the mango. The sherbet is normal. The dish failed to bring back any Taiwan memories. It tasted more like Ice with Mango. I would give this dish a rating of about 2/5 for the quality. Because it was being shared by 5 persons, the portion seemed small for us but for one person it is sufficient if not overwhelming. However, the price tag is abit steep for this one, $8.90 for a Mango 'Ice Kachang' is little bit steep.

Since we only tried one dish, it wouldn't be fair to give a food rating to the whole place.

The service was okay, they responded cleared our plates once we finished and were quite friendly.

Eighteen Chefs has a noble cause besides making food for us. They have a mission to inspire troubled youths and people with conviction backgrounds to find alternative positive ways to reintegrate back into the society. This is being done by providing a platform for them to realize their talents in the Food and Beverage industry.

Yesterday, I had the chance to go down to Eighteen Chefs at Yishun for a Company Cohesion. I have heard of Eighteen Chefs before and I finally got the opportunity to try it.

The interior of the Yishun branch looks similar to the fastfood outlets like MacDonalds and Burger King. It has a dispenser station for ketchup, mayonnaise and also a cambro of ice water for everyone. The atmosphere is casual and bright colours were adopted for the décor of the place. The whole place carries a youthful atmosphere.

On to their menu, what is special is their “Be your Chef” where you get to make your own pasta, cheese-baked rice or cheese-baked pasta. There are 4 steps. The base as mentioned earlier, the sauce (about 8 of them ranging from Black Pepper to Japanese Curry), main ingredients like Salmon, Chicken Sausage and top ups (from the main ingredients). So customers can have their go at making their dream pastas. The only limitation is the quality of the sauce and ingredients.

Besides that, the menu which I must mention is also colourfully decorated has normal items like salads, “Munchies” which are side dishes featuring French Fries, Deep Fried Chicken Wings, “Bread Bonanza” featuring sandwiches and toasts, “Pasta Parade”, classic combinations of pasta like Aglio Olio and an array of drinks.

The price range is from $4 to about $20 max. There is also the Chef’s Special Menu which most of us tried.

Since we come as a company, we had the opportunity to try quite a few dishes on the menu especially the Chef Special:

The fried chicken wings are alright. It was quite tasty and crispy. The meat has been cooked satisfactory. For its cost, we are served about 3-5 pieces.

2. Bolognaise Cheese Fries ($4.90)

The Bolognaise Cheese Fries didn’t do well. The fries are too soggy and there isn’t much cheese in it. It felt more like fries with Pasta Sauce.

The snack platter was ordered so we get to try most of their Munchies like their calamari, onion rings etc. The fries could afford to have more flavour. The Calamari wasn’t impressive, the batter was oily and thin it was quite limp. It doesn’t give the crunch. The Onion rings are too moist. The Chicken and fish nuggets are normal. Although one of colleague complained that the chicken nuggets are over cooked.

The salad featuring pan-grilled succulent prawns, pine nuts and young Mesclun leaves combined with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette dressing, black pepper and sea salt, wasn’t well-liked by most of us. We felt that the olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette has overpowered the rest of the ingredients. The presentation wasn’t good too. The prawns aren’t fresh and I am unable to taste the pine nuts.

This is not a good combination. Their Japanese Curry isn’t good, lacks the fragrance and spice. It was too sweet as a curry.

For this dish, the chicken is cooked satisfactory, but it is separated from the teriyaki sauce. Hence, without the Teriyaki sauce, the chicken chop remains as a chicken chop by itself. The Teriyaki sauce has a taste closer to Oyster sauce, and the texture is too lumpy. The accompanying apple potato salad is a bit sour due to the fact that they use green apples, nothing fantastic or bad about it.

This was my main course. I felt that it was quite okay. The salmon was nicely grilled, with a squeeze of lemon provided. It adds a refreshing taste to the salmon along with the orange butter sauce. I quite enjoyed the salmon dish.

The garlic bread and the soup of the day (Chicken Soup) aren’t great. The soup is abit thick and starchy while the bread is too soft.

End of the meal, only the Pan-Grilled Salmon and the Fried Chicken Wings fared well. One thing to take note is that this place is certified Halal.

The service is okay. The management was nice enough to entertain to our requests such as providing warm water and attend to our questions. They seemed rather friendly too and took the initiative to clear the plates.

Overall, this outlet in Yishun seems to cater more for the students and teenagers, judging from its design, promotions and the presence of many teenagers and youths patronizing the place. Eighteen Chefs (Yishun) is more like a fast-food outlet than a restaurant. The place is quite affordable. If you want a place just for a drink, to chat, or do homework or study like in MacDonalds, then maybe this place is for you. But you are looking for good food, quality food, a restaurant-like setting then you should leave this place out of the list.