Ling Zhi Restaurant - Light yet Tasty Food

As much as I like to go vegetarian, it is not easy to become one. I had tried, but did not make it due to many reasons that do not stem from me. So I give the props to those who can do it. Okay, after this talk on a bit of history about me, let's talk about the food here.

What I like about the food here is that a lot of dishes feature vegetables in their true form, not as mock meat. I do not mind vegetarian meat, but considering those are mostly prepared through frying and such, I will rather give them a miss. Another highlight is the dishes are light and not oily yet pretty tasty. The spinach soup served in bamboo cup is a novelty, but I like it. The contents do not disappoint. The mild flavour of spinach does well to enhance and not eclipse over the delicate taste of the enoki mushrooms and finely chopped crunchy chestnuts.

Like the chestnuts, the lightly stir-fried kai lan and the vegetables served in a basket made from batter also have that crunchy texture. Thus it is really easy to finish them all.

The settings is pretty posh, but the service is a mixed bag, just like most of the Chinese restaurants. One of the staff is quite friendly and helpful, but the manager seemed to be quite impatient when we requested to take out the preserved mustard greens from the kai lan. It did not help that they took a long time to serve up the dishes.

Still, if one wants to have a guilt-free, healthy meal, without compromising on taste and variety, this restaurant is the place to go to. And the choices of food are aplenty, exceeding my expectations of a vegetarian restaurant. Just don't expect great service.

My Thoughts: Nice!

Nearest car park: Liat Towers car park (park on the fifth floor for a short walk to the restaurant)
Nearest MRT: Orchard

Liat Towers #05-01
541 Orchard Road
Singapore
Contact No: 6734 3788

Marugana Ice-cream

This brand is a not bad choice for ice-cream. While not as heavenly as Waitrose Clotted Cream, Green & Black's and Móvenpick, Marunaga Ice-cream still stands a league above lots of its competitors.

Besides the uniqueness of the matching of flavours, like strawberry wrapped in white chocolate and red bean ganache in strawberry ice-cream, another highlight of this brand's ice-cream is the use of real strawberries. A bit of artificial flavour is detected though—the result is this ice cream is sweeter than Móvenpick's one made from all natural flavours. But there is not too much of it to be a deal-breaker.

At least, we shoppers can pick up some ice-cream of decent quality, such as this brand and Hirota, from NTUC, other than Ben & Jerry. Want any better from supermarkets, got to try the luck at Cold Storage instead.

Country of Origin: Japan
Where to buy this: NTUC supermarkets

Ivins Nyonya Specialities - Tasty Food but the service ...

Okay, ambience wise, this place is more like a well-kept coffee shop, saved for the air-conditioning. But every part of it is immersed in strong Peranakan culture. I love the rows of florid porcelain pots at the counter and the colourful tingkats lining the shelves at the other side of the restaurant. Even the claypots sitting in straw baskets ooze that Peranakan vibe. Yes, it is a nice touch to have all dishes served in claypots.

Though claypots does not really work for Ayam Tauyu Lada, which is chicken in sweet sauce. While chicken pieces—the dark brown colours and jumbled up formation make them look not great for photos—taste very flavourful with the right balance of intense saltiness and sweetness, those at the bottom are too sweet due to the accumulation of the sweet sauce at the base of the claypot.

Nyonya Chap Chye has that nostalgic homely feel to it. This is actually very similar to the mixed vegetable stew our mothers cooked, except that the one here has more spices and ingredients added for that subtle, extra zest.

Kuah Lada Ikan Pari—stingray soaked in turmeric and peppercorn gravy is the one that gets the thumbs up from me. I like the huge stab of fresh meaty stingray served, where I am spared of the trouble of scrapping for slivers of meat from the bony stingray. There is a tail part with minimum amount of flesh, but my guy had done the gentlemanly thing to eat that and let me have the meaty part. The tangy, spicy gravy does justice to the stingray meat to impart compatible strong flavours to the otherwise plain flesh.

Bakwan Kepiting is absolutely delightful. Just like Nyonya Chap Chye, it tastes like homemade food. Just that this bowl of unassuming-looking bowl of clear soup is bursting with flavours of different spectrum. The aroma of coriander leaves is very pronounced here, thus complementing the strong taste of the meat balls. It is tending to the oily side, so take note.

The service does leave much to be desired since some staffs, when busy, will outright ignore the customers waiting at the entrance to be allocated a table. Don't expect smiles, as they are not aplenty here.

Despite the service, the food does give me incentive to go back.

My Thoughts: Not Bad

Nearest car park: URA open air car parks around Heartland Mall
Nearest MRT: Kovan

205 Hougang St 21
#02-00 Heartland Mall
Singapore
Contact No: 62887922

East Bistro - Sembawang Well-kept Secret

Who says Dim Sum are meant for lunches only? I want to have them whenever I feel like it, especially given the fact that I have a preference for dishes that come in small plates instead of a huge mountain of food slapped in front of me. Though the fact remains that most restaurants do not serve Dim Sum at night time. This is where East Bistro comes to the rescue, not literally, of course.

Besides the trademark soupy rice, featuring rice grains soaked with the flavourful milky soup base while retaining the firm texture of rice, Dim Sum items are also on the all-day menu. The good part is they are of decent quality and incredibly low price. And the Barbecue Pork Bun has an amazing fluffy exterior that is out of this world, partly because I have never eaten a Chinese Bun with such soft and fluffy skin. And since I dislike the mush-like porridge and is bored with the regular Thai rice, the Soupy Rice here, which has different texture and taste from the other types of rice dishes, does well to entice me into getting my dose of carbohydrates for the night.

Ambience there is ... well ... serviceable. At least, it is clean, air-conditioned, with ample space between the tables. Just keep in mind how wallet-friendly the food there is, and all will be good.

Service is like ... well ... what you find in common Chinese restaurants—efficient but brutal. But I do appreciate that the boss, a chef from Hong Kong, goes around to enquire on our opinions of the food.

Oh yes, the boss greets us and bids farewell if we see him in the restaurant, as we are kind of like regular patrons there already. I do like patronizing this place since both my palates and wallet remain happy after a meal there. One last thing, this restaurant is way better than Tim Ho Wan, in terms of food, ambience and pricing.

My Thoughts: Nice!

Nearest car park: Victory 8 Condominium's car park
Nearest MRT: Sambawang

10 Jalan Tampang
Contact No: 67524844

Kohi-Koji - Nice Cakes

Closed

Emporium Shokuhin: an assemble of various dining concepts, it would not be complete without a cafe for patrons to chill out after meals, right? Enter Kohi-Koji, an open-concept cafe that specializes in coffee, cakes and sandwiches.

The place looks more like a mini square in Emporium Shokuhin, located between two escalators. A little counter displaying pretty cakes and delicious looking, and sometimes unique, sandwiches, and some light beige furniture, and there you have it, a small, quaint cafe. I do feel that this is more for a quick bite, rather than a place for long tea break.

The dessert, Mixed Berries Strawberry Champagne Verrine, it looks very pretty. But does it taste as good as it looks? The answer is yes, if there is an appreciation for the amalgam of different flavours. Since this dessert is created with real strawberries, from the sauce to the custard, it is bursting with the goodness, meaning the aroma … and tart taste, of fresh strawberries.

When I first saw the sauce lacing the top of the pink custard, I did feel a slight bit of apprehension because for one, I dislike the smell and taste of preserved fruits, and most sauces have the smell and taste of preserved fruits. Also, I did wonder if the sauce was made with artificial strawberry flavour, which I hate. But all my worries were dispelled the moment I tucked into it. The sauce simply smells and tastes like fresh strawberries. The cute dollop of cream perched on the top is very fragrant, so much that when I took off the lid, I immediately caught a whiff of the aroma of vanilla cream. Eat the cream with the custard, the combination of sweetness and sourness worked so well that it is hard to stop at few mouthfuls. And they taste great with the fruits also. The champagne sauce is placed at the bottom of the verrine, and a swig of this adds a touch of indulgence and dimension to the taste of the cream and custard. So try to scoop up the dessert from the bottom to get to the champagne. The best part is this dessert is only $4.80. Kind of unbelievable though I am totally digging it.

The cakes are also good, no doubt about it. The cream used is light yet substantial enough to impart that blissful tummy-filling feeling, which is just what I need to complete a meal. The sponge is moist, soft and fluffy. What I like most about the rainbow cake is the lemon flavour infused into the cream, making it a more exciting cake than most of the other rainbow cakes. With the extra zest, the cream tastes a bit like lighter version of cream cheese, with the aroma of lemon. What is more, there is generous amount of cream added into the cake due to six layers of cake sponges. And I love the bright pastel colours.

And here is another good news for cake lovers: since the cafe closes at 8:30pm, the cakes are sold at 30% discount after 8:30pm. There is no reason not to grab them after dinner at Marina Square. I am doing just that already.

My Thoughts: Nice!

This cafe is currently not in operation.

Senmi Sushi - Just Another Sushi Restaurant

Closed

It is through the word of mouth about Senmi that I know of Emporium Shokuhin. But alas, this restaurant is the runt of the lot, offering nothing special as compared to its competitors.

The ambience is similar to the likes of Sushi Tei. Comfortable environment for dining, but there is nothing distinct about the venue. But then again, this hardly matters if the food is good.

The problem is that the food is just comparable to those of the chain restaurants. The menu features all the usual suspects of various types of rolls and sushi. And the quality is not a league above those restaurants. This contrasts greatly with another restaurant of Emporium Shokuhin, Takujo, whose raw seafood is so fresh. The salmon served in Senmi is pale in colour, which is not what I like to see in salmon. This is no different from those salmon sashimi I had at the common mass produced restaurants. I prefer quality salmon that has deeper hue of orange, and too bad that I cannot find it here.

The chirashi sounds interesting since the patrons can customize the toppings to add to the bowl of sushi rice. Though given the quality of the raw seafood, the end result is okay but not exceptional. The plus point of the chirashi is the pearl-like rice with fluffy, smooth texture.

Service is okay. Nothing special to make mention of.

This place is worth checking out if one is looking for a fairly decent Japanese restaurant serving Japanese food catered to the masses. But for unique dining experience, head to the other restaurants in Emporium Shokuhin instead.

My Thoughts: Not Bad

This place is currently not in operation.

Umi + Vino Seafood Wine Bar - Chic Hangout Place + Awesome Seafood Dishes

Closed

If we talk about ambience, Umi + Vino is considered to be the best among the restaurants under Emporium Shokuhin's umbrella. Full glass panel walls and a bar counter with fresh seafood displayed on it, this place is definitely a great venue for dates. It is hard to fault this restaurant on settings. Service is a mixed bag, ranging from very good to okay.

As for the food, well, on the first visit, I only get to try the set lunch (there is update below on subsequent visits), so the fresh seafood may send me over the moon, but for now, I am not totally wooed by the offerings of the set meals. The oysters are without a doubt exceedingly fresh, but the raspberry vinaigrette is too sweet and not tangy enough to go well with the briny flavours of the oysters. Takujo gets it so right with the ponzu sauce for the oysters, so I am surprised that this restaurant, whose focus is on seafood, does not hit the sweet spot with the accompaniment condiments. My suggestion: skip the raspberry vinaigrette and add the lemon only to enjoy the freshness of the oysters.

The Clam Chowder looks very good, but the taste seems muted, with nary the taste of the sea. While the Mushroom Soup looks messy, to the point that I did not take a photo of it, but is bursting with the woody aroma of mushrooms.

The Roasted Chicken suffers from the same problem as similar chicken main courses of other establishments, and the problem is that the breast meat is too dry and tasteless. Few restaurants can get this right, and Umi + Vino is not one of them.

The Spaghetti with Hokkaido Scallops is done right. The scallops are fresh and succulent, being lightly grilled to imbue the springy meat with a hint of charred flavour. Well, it is hard to go wrong with quality scallops. The spaghetti is prepared to the style favoured by Asians: thoroughly cooked instead of al dente. So take note.

When dessert time comes, a tray of a beautiful array of cakes will be brought out for the patrons' pickings. I recognize those to be from Kohi-Koji. No complaints here since the cakes from this cafe are of great quality. Soft, moist texture paired with very creamy cream, they get thumbs-up from me.

Actually, given that the set lunches are only $26, they are value-for-money and worth a try. Though I cannot say I love this place to the bits. Maybe the seafood platter may convert me into a fan, until then, I say I prefer the other restaurants of Emporium Shokuhin.

Update: I visit this place for the second time, and I see huge improvements made, to the point that I tag this restaurant as one of the "Highly Recommend". In fact, this restaurant is my favourite, along with Burosu Honten, among Emporium Shokuhin's offerings.

Now this place have toned down the sweetness of the raspberry shallot sauce, so it tastes just right now.

Umi salad features crunchy fresh vegetables topped with tangy sauce and pine nuts, which make this a pleasant bite.

The grilled spring chicken is what surprises me the most. Tender, succulent chicken grilled to perfection, I don't expect the chicken to be so well-prepared in such restaurants, since the chicken dishes tend to be on the dry side in European themed restaurants.

Grilled silver cod is packed with fresh omega goodness. The smooth, oily flesh of the fish, peppered with the aroma of grilled meat, is a joy to savour.

One of the big highlights of menu is the lobster, prawn and scallop burger. The charcoal black bun is fresh and fluffy, which serves as a great complement to the super fresh seafood. Lobster is perfectly grilled to retain the delightful flavours of the sea and that slightly chewy texture. Scallop, as with the ones I have in the set lunch, is a hit. Prawn patty is more nuanced in flavour as compared to the lobster and scallop, but in its form, it makes for big hearty bites, which I enjoy. And I like the very flavourful sauce drizzled onto of the fresh raw vegetables.

I am impressed. Loving this place more. Definitely going back!

My Thoughts: It is one of my Favourite Haunts!

Well, cannot go there any more since this restaurant is currently not in operation. And there is not much reason to visit Marina Square anymore.