Doutor - Good for a Quick Chill Out

Closed

I guess the location in the Marina Financial Bay Centre makes this an ideal place to chill out during breaks and after work. The place looks chic and modern, so definitely conducive for that.

The tea is very potent in taste, great for those who like strong tea. The cakes are pretty nice. The mille crepe is layered with light cream and mildly sweet paper-thin crepes, which makes for a good dessert. Kind of amazed that the layers of dough can be used to create such light dessert, without inducing the full feeling. Though I will not specially go down for this cake since it did not hit the "wow" note in me. The green tea cake is decent with a layer of nice, slightly bitter layer of matcha powder on top and red bean with cream sandwiched between the soft sponges. But somehow, the combination does not hold up together to create an awesome taste that is striking and memorable. Well, mille crepe does better to leave an impression in my mind.

Service is a mix of decent and cluelessness. No major misgiving though.

Don't mind getting the mille crepe if happened to be in the vicinity since I appreciate the unique texture and taste due to layers of dough instead of the usual sponge cake.

My Thoughts: Not Bad

Note: This cafe is no longer in operation.

Paradise Pavilion - Became one of my Favourite Chinese Restaurants

Closed

When one is paying a premium for a meal, the three elements of food, service and ambience must be good, or else the whole experience is ruined. My visits to Paradise Paradise proved this point and had progressed from not impressed to excellent. In fact, now, this restaurant is one of my favourite Chinese restaurants.

On my 1st visit, I was so affected by bad layout (patrons do not have the space to stand around at the reception since that area is so small and cramped), leaving me being tired and drenched slightly due to the rain that I struck this place straight away off my list.

However, a treat brought me back to this place, and with the restaurant being far less crowded on a weekday night, the whole dining experience was far better. No standing around to wait for a table, I was able to settle down comfortably into the plush chair and admired the beautiful lamps and exquisite cutlery. A seat near the window provides a beautiful view of the Marina Bay.

What I like about this place is the very creative take on the Chinese dim sum and dishes, pleasantly surprised me with their new and great tastes. The Peking Duck was beautifully done, being served in 3 different potions to be eaten in different ways. I find that the noodle with scallop to be nice but not exceptional. Truffle Chicken Pie is a beautiful dim sum with woody aroma of truffle imbued into the tasty pie, and the shell of the pie is soft, buttery and crumbly. Best chicken pie I ever have. The siew mai here is one of the best I have since it is very succulent due to fresh ingredients were used and the skin did not have that typical frozen taste present in most siew mai. The xo carrot cake is not only tasty with light hints of spiciness, the very thin crust coated around each big cube lends a new dimension to the texture. The scallop pastry hits all the right notes with fresh scallop, flaky pastry and a mix of sweet and savoury sauce.

The service is quite okay only at first, but improves a lot with time. Now the standard is definitely better than a lot of the Chinese restaurants. Prompt in refilling of tea and friendly, professional service.

Look forward to going back again if want to splurge on fine Chinese cuisine.

My Thoughts: Nice! Very Nice when they used to feature Truffle Chicken Pie

This restaurant is no longer in operation.

Ola Cocina Del Mar - Simple, Honest Spanish Fare

Closed

The meal at Santi absolutely wowed me,  so after it closed, I was on a lookout for places serving great Spanish food to hopefully rekindle that wonderful experience at Santi. Well, for Ola it is in the same league as Catalunya: Nice but not at the level of Santi.

The place felt enclosed with the furnishings of a simple Spanish pub and the service is hit and miss. While most of the things were done right (Love the constant refilling of the water and the thoughtful gesture of setting up a wooden crate to put one's bag), the service is generally not meticulous. Some of the staffs were friendly while some were not, looking quite grumpy. One example of lack of thoughtfulness: When a crate was needed for another patron's bag, the staff just took my bag and put it in my companion's crate, taking away the crate I was using, without even mentioning about it to me. When the food was served, with exception of the chef who introduced the peppers dish, the other staffs did not bother to introduce the dishes. Not exactly what I expected from a restaurant of this calibre.  One more thing, the staff at the reception did not bother to bid farewell to the patrons who were leaving.

Food wise, the dishes are very down-to-earth unlike the ones at Santi which excite one's taste buds. They are good nonetheless, filled with simulating flavours, especially the gazpacho and the peppers. The lobster arroz caldoso (Spanish soupy rice) was very wholesome in taste and texture. Rice pudding is very refreshing in taste but creme catalan is very ordinary (and I do not like the pieces of fruits added inside).

All in all, a decent place to enjoy Spanish fare, if service is not of a big concern.

My Thoughts: Pretty Nice!

This place is no longer in operation.