Waitrose Napoletana Pasta Sauce

It is possible to make a pizza which the beats the taste of those in mid-range restaurants! With this sauce, it is easy to do so when paired with lots of quality mozzarella cheese. Unbelievably sweet and flavourful, bursting with tomato goodness, a generous dose of this yields a yummy delicious pizza. After this, I did find those signature pizzas or whatever are no where comparable to my simple Napoletana Scallop Pizza. Good ingredients do make a difference to the dishes.

Country of Origin: England

Where to get this: Cold Storage supermarkets

Otto Ristorante - Buon Appetito!

Buon Appetito! That's what the service staff sometimes said when my food was served. And oh boy, I sure enjoy my meals at this classy, chic dining establishment because the service is so friendly, upbeat, energetic, and the mains and desserts really won me over.

While I find that the salad here to be too plain to my liking which makes me feel like I am eating endless tons of grass, the other dishes managed to gain a lot of points on my scoreboard. The snapper served is so fresh and had no hint of fishy smell at all that I totally love it. For most of the dishes here, I feel that the taste do not wow one over immediately on the first bite, but rather, the aroma of the ingredients slowly build up, making the dishes taste better with each successive bite. It is only through the middle of the dish that makes me go "Woah, this is good!"

Though take note that the restaurant is quite crowded at times and can get quite noisy and the service may become considerably slower.

Definitely the place I like to come back often to if I am in the mood for Italian food!

My Thoughts: Nice!

Nearest car park: Open air car park behind Red Dot Traffic Building

Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar

28 Maxwell Road
#01-02 Red Dot Traffic Building
Singapore
Contact No: 62276819

Bibigo - Yummy and Fresh

Closed

Bibigo bills its food as Healthy and Fresh, well, I'm not sure about the healthy part, though I'm positive that the dishes are yummy and fresh.

While the side dishes are neither free nor free flow, the quality exceeds those in most of other Korean restaurants. My impression of Korean side dishes is always not bad, good variety, but is of usual home's cooking standard. Not the case for those in Bibigo where they are packed full of flavours, simulating to the taste's buds and extremely fresh. The seafood pancake is a beautiful dish packed with lots of veggies instead of flour, and the accompanying sauce is one great condiment due to the excellent mix of zest, spiciness and saltiness. The dumplings are good also due to the juicy meat fillings, and it helps that the same delightful sauce of the pancake is also used here.

The fresh grilled chicken is the winner because of the fresh chicken used, the precise grilling which retains the juiciness of the meat while bringing out the charred flavour, and the flavourful sauce used. This is a must order. The grill pork is good but tends to be a bit too salty as compared to the chicken. The spicy seafood soup holding lots of the goodness of sea is of just the right spiciness for me—enough for the kick but not too much to send me breathing out fire.

The service is very good and full of young energy as the young staff are responsive and friendly. The ambience is more of the casual type.

Definitely my favourite Korean's restaurant which I'm always looking forward to going back.

My Thoughts: Nice!

Though take note that the branch I always frequent is the Suntec one. And this review was done based on the food done by the original kitchen crew.

Note: This chain of restaurants has pulled out of Singapore.

Yú Cuisine - Not bad, but far from being one of the best Chinese Restaurants in SG

Closed

Actually, I was really impressed by the bold, non-conventional and modern decor of this restaurant, featuring sliver plush chairs, crystals lining the dark granite walls which contrasts so well the bright blue sections of the wall.  I do expect the food and service to be on par with the standard of the ambience.  However, things fall short a bit of my expectations (I kind of expected that this may be the case when I realized that the restaurant does not serve Shou Mei tea, my personal litmus test for the standard of a Chinese restaurant).  

Food wise, the dishes like roasted pork, char siew and mee sua are quite good but other dishes like cod fish with beehoon (has a fishy smell), sea cucumber with abalone mushroom (I could not finish the abalone mushroom since it was so tough and tasteless) and roasted chicken are mediocre.  Maybe I had been spoiled by the wonderful, creative dishes in set menu of Summer Palace and Li Bai, that I find it unacceptable that very generic roast chicken (which was too salty) was included in the set menu of a restaurant of such calibre.  The ingredients used are fresh but the dishes were quite boring without any twist or specialty, thus giving me no motivation to want to go there just to enjoy them again.

Savoury dishes aside, the desserts here are actually quite good.  The custard buns were filled to the brim with salted egg custard goodness and the aloe vera with coconut is very refreshing and fragrant (though could do better by cutting the jelly into smaller pieces).  How I wish the chef can be more creative with the main dishes as he had with the desserts.

Service wise, is quite okay, no major hiccups and professional, but lacking in a certain warmth and passion for service.

I'll recommend this restaurant for gatherings, since the standard is still there, and should be good enough to impress most people (for those who don't frequent Chinese restaurants).  But for personal indulgence, maybe not, unless I'm going for the desserts only.

My Thoughts: Quite Okay

This restaurant is no longer in operation.

Starz Restaurant - Limited Selection

Closed

Though this restaurant is called Starz, but it is far from bring the star of the repertoire of high profile, top notch restaurants in Resorts World Sentosa.  Almost everything about this place is ordinary, to the point I can only say, worth a try for a cheap hi-tea buffet price of $28 plus but do not expect too much from the variety and the quality.

The spread is quite limited, with some sushi, indian food, few salads, deep fried finger food and certain local delights.  That is all.  I could tried everything with my plate sparsely filled in just two rounds.  The saving grace is that the food taste decent, seasonings are added adequately without overloading and ingredients used are reasonably fresh.  There is no sign of any seafood in the spread, except for one small prawn found in the laksa.  So seafood lovers, take note.  The desserts section is surprisingly well stocked with a huge array of nice desserts of very different origins, from the western panna cotta, ice cream, cakes to the local ones, such as nonya kuehs.  

The ambience is chic and modern, great for gatherings with family, though I had seen patrons snatching the food and piling up their plates with mountains of food, which kind of ruined the atmosphere there.

The service is decent and friendly, being extremely prompt in clearing the plates and filling up of the drinks.

I will not say that I will not go to this place again but obviously, I have way better choices to go to in RWS.

My Thoughts: Quite Okay

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.

Guy Savoy - Full of little Surprises

Closed

A meal at Guy Savoy is not about food only, it is also about the little thoughtful things done to enhance the whole dining experience.

Little surprises come in the form of three amuse bouches, which were all excellent in taste. Foie gras can go so well with the simple toast, the waffle with cheese is interesting and the pumpkin soup is smooth and has a light taste of zing in itself thus resulting in a heavenly taste.

The oysters served in 3 ways, also give nice surprises, in which they are served in 3 plates cooked in different styles. The oyster in ice gelee and salad are nice but not exactly awe inspiring. The oyster with egg in Japanese sauce is the star of the trios, which has subtle complexity in taste.

The black truffle soup is the best soup I ever had, period. It has a myriad of light flavours which danced together in harmony to create gastronomic bliss, which goes well with the mushroom brichio. The pan seared duck is very soft in texture; though taste wise, it paled in comparison to other dishes. The distinct taste of duck meat which I like, is not present.

The Apple Textures is refreshing in taste and the puree at the bottom lent an interesting dimension to this dessert, in the good way. Petit fours are cute and nice, the macaron has an excellent chewy texture though taste is just nice only, not outstanding.

One last surprise came in the form of earl grey sorbet, which is totally unexpected. The sorbet itself is sour but when paired with the fragrant, creamy sauce that came with it, the taste is great and exciting.

The dinner service is also amazing. I never expect cauliflower and peas to taste this good until I try the delectable creations at here.

Truly appreciate it that the restaurant seeks to create that extra special dining experience by having the service staffs to pour the sauce or soup when most of the dishes are being served onto the table. The service is very professional and the ambience is nice and formal.

I definitely will not stop at enjoying such a wonderful dining experience only once!

My Thoughts: Meticulous and Amazing!

Note: This restaurant is no longer in operation.