Scrumptious at the Turf

After walking one round at The Grandstand we decided for unit #01-08 while viewing from the directory and headed towards Scrumptious at the Turf.

Environment

Environment was rather pleasant and not too much of people as it was after the official dinner hours. Looking at the nicely decorated blackboard at Scrumptious, All-Day Breakfast was being served.

Since we were rather late for dinner, we quickly made our orders with 2 mains and 1 side. It was not too soon when the service guy approached us that all chicken mains were sold out and he apologized for it mentioning it was a long day. He suggested that we could take the Pan Seared Dory as an alternative and I agreed.

All Day Breakfast

We waited for about half hour then our appetizer were served. The Spam Fries were nothing interesting, dull thick cut meats deep fried and place on a plain white plate. Texture was not too bad with some crisp on its external however, it would be perfect if they were harder in bite and not too big in size.

Spam Fries - $9

Observing the on goings throughout the wait, with one of the tables complaining their buffalo wings were not cooked, and we started to notice that something was very amiss and was pondering how much longer do we need to wait.

Unfortunately, the wait wasn't for us. To make things worst, one of us had to rush back immediately due to work commitment. We tried calling off the bill and initially we were rejected but shortly the In-Charge came over and agree upon as we emphasized we had really something urgent to attend to.

He repeatedly apologize for causing the blunders and even offered our fries free but in the end we left paying.

It's all about team work when it comes to operating the Cafe. Luckily the kitchen is kind of opened concept with the glass panels and we were able to view the happenings. There were only 4 staff on service during our time of visit about 9pm which I would say over the peak hours. Keeping in mind that the crowd wasn't too many, the speed of serving was indeed very slow. The body languages from the 2 chefs in the kitchen had shown the reluctance in their job even though the so called Team Lead had emphasized the upcoming orders countless time that even offered to prepare some of the ingredients from them. It's all about getting serious on the job and it showed how much efforts the chefs had put in by their unpleasant and ignorant attitude. From what we observed, the team lead was caught in the middle and no matter how many times the team lead tried hard to recover its service, apologizing to customers just doesn't help after all.  With so many bad reviews around, it would be at best the management could do something to clear its name.

Sigh what a night!

Rating: 2.5 / 5

Scrumptious at the Turf
Location: The Grandstand (200 Turf Club Rd.), #01-08, Singapore 287994

Xian La Dao [Closed]

Xian La Dao is stationed conveniently at the 3 level of the Grandstand, dishing out authentic Chinese fare to satisfy the cravings. They were officially launched in August 2014 and marketing responses has been seen good based on the statistics seen on the our local deal portals.

Restaurant area is spacious, catering outdoor and indoor dining experience with its interior design as chick and modern. Though Grandstand maybe a tad inaccessible, the management had catered free bus services at pickup points and for those who drive, free parking is available.

Environment

Besides owning this business, it was said that the pretty lady boss has a number of manicure outlets. In conjunction to her business, Xian La Dao has a cozy corner for diners right to polish up their nails at free of charge anytime during their meals. This manicure salon is right at the smack of their entrance, so guys and girls don't forget to pamper yourself!

Claim your complimentary gelish manicure session here

Another point that drew our attention was its counter located right in the middle of the restaurant. Amazed by their wide varieties (which is more than 20 kinds) of condiments neatly spreaded on the counter top.

Condiments counter

Exotic sauces like beef sauce, fermented bean curd sauce, their home blended garden sauce, chicken powder and even gourmet powder made up part of the starring moments.

So let's pick a bowl and mix your selection in.

Exotic Sauces

Let's tickle our taste buds for their signature Si chuan soup base for a savoury satisfaction! We have the Yuan Yang Pot filled with Hot Spicy and Mushroom Pot. With its impressive myriad of soup bases and condiments, its hard not to dig in fast!

Yuan Yang Pot Consisting Hot Spicy Pot and Mushroom Pot - $18

 For a start, there are some ready to eat food on the counter too. Beverages like Lime and water chestnut are free flowing.

Temperature of the hot pot is adjustable with the use of the controller attach to every table.

Ready to eat food and adjustment for the hot pot

Another bonus is that each diner is entitled to a piece of baby abalone. However, if you want additional, there will be a top up of $3 each. We were advised to cook them in the boiling pot for 2 minutes to achieve the "q" and chewy texture! Remember to time it with your stopwatch!

Baby Abalone - $3 each

Soon, our platter of chilled baby abalones were all up in our stomachs, leaving those shiny empty shells. Ah ha! Now you see it, now you don't!

Now you see it now you don't

Moving into the the seafood portion, it excites me further! With its freshness quality, there was nothing I could do to hold back my appetite.We had the live prawns ($4 / $8), Fish Maw ($4 / $8), US Scallop ($9 / $18) and even the red grouper ($28).

Seafood - yummilicious!

Beside the seafood temptations, we got to enjoy a good spread of premium meat selection featuring Short ribs ($9 / $18) and Kurobuta Pork ($8 / $16). Another W-O-W for the night.

We had the Japanese Curry Bun ($3 / $6), Beancurd skin ($1) and Lettuce ($6) into the pot too!

Meat and Others

Angus beef ($19 / $38) was deliciously shaved and rolled up, a dip into the pot about 30 second would have it well done! Sauces like their homemade garden sauce are perfect to go with this!

Mutton slice ($9 / $18) and handmade pork balls ($6 / $12) are also part of the feast.

To strike a balance from the carnivorous feast, we had their special produced Cheese Bun ($3 /$6) and Pumpkin pies ($5) for snacks. These golden fried lovely little pumpkins were the eye candies, not only were they crispy on the outside, the fillings were delightful, reminding me of a taste close to a "Nian Gao" but in a less sweeter version.

And most importantly the greens that we can never go without, Tang O ($6) - A chinese steamboat will not be considered as a complete meal without one. 

Snack, meat and vegetables

 Service was impeccable with duty staff topping up our beverages and clearing our plates promptly, attending to our needs.  It was also our honour to be served by the boss. And with one of the moments showing his expertise squeezing the shrimp glue to the boiling pot!

Homemade Shrimp Glue - $9 / $18

It was an pleasant experience to enjoy such scrumptious steamboat meal in a relaxing environment. On top of that with its freshness quality and family friendly dining atmosphere of round tables catering up to 12 diners, it does also make a perfect spot for group gatherings indeed.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Xian La Dao
Location: The Grandstand, 200 Turf Club Road #03-08/09 Singapore 287994