Nara Thai

Nara Thai was voted as Thailand's Best Restaurant Since 2006. Finally opened its door to Singapore, taking over the unit from Burger King outlet in Ion Orchard, Nara Thai cuisine had a team of Thais workers which somehow assure the authenticity of its cuisine to the patrons.



Interior finishing was modern and elegant with purple theme. Cellings were painted black giving a mysterious feel  together with its wooden cravings from the outside of the restaurant which would more or less draw attentions from the shoppers who walked past.

Dining Environment

Environment has chic design and looks sophiscated.

Utensils were neatly arranged in front of us after taking our orders by their attentive servers. Service was up to par especially when everyone of them was communicating through the handsfree that was plugged into one of their ears.

Utensils

Lime with Grass Jelly was literally the combination of Lime and Grass Jelly, the level of sourness was rather strong, nevertheless the drink tasted unique on its own. I would prefer the Lychee blend towards the former as it tastes sweet and full of lychee flavour. However, it would be better if there was just more than 1 lychee on the glass.

Thai Lime with Grass Jelly ($7.90) & Blended Lychee Juice ($6.50)

Assorted Nara’s Hors d’oeuvre aka the first course before main courses were served. An interesting combination of Pandan Chicken, Satay, Fish Cakes and Pomelo Salad. Probably a good choice for those who want to try out lots of tasty items in one dish. Thai Fishcake was tasty which taste comes in between Otah and fiskcake, chewy too. The pulps from the pomelo salad was fat and juicy, most importantly sweet. Though the Pandan Chicken was wrapped and well marinated, the infusion of the fragrance and the chicken was not that strong as I would have thought. Satay on the other hand was a good one too, especially its thick peanuty gravy which packed the aroma of coconut.

Hors d’oeuvre Nara - $17.90

Phad Thai with chicken was indeed addictive. The dish was sweet and tasty, non chilli eaters, this dish might suit you. Mixed the springy noodles together with the peanuts and raw beansprouts and squeeze the lime over after stirring and I bet you will enjoy as much as I do.

Phad Thai Phu Nim/Kung/Gai - $14.90

As I sink my teeth into the Crab Meat Omlette, I realized the pillow soft layer of omlette and could smell the existence of crab meat. The dish stands alone well even without having any rice to paired with.

Kai Jiew Nua Phu - $12.90

Crispy Fried Whole Grouper with Crunchy Lemongrass was prepared to suits the diners who fear the troubles of de-fillet the fish. Instead, the chunks of meat were already prepared and fried to its crispy batter. The body and its body were fried to perfect crispiness in such a way that one can actually eat them up. Doused the meat chunks into the sweet, sour spicy sauce and enjoy the meal. Do becareful as there might be bones within the meat.

Pla Gao Tord Ta Krai - $32.90

I would say Nara Thai's food was above average but definitely not the best I had tried so far. On top of that I find that it was pricy as compared to its competitor. With the above dishes, its about $110 after the taxes for just 2 person. But one good thing is that we dont have to hop onto the plane to enjoy such authentic Thai Food.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Nara Thai

Location:  ION Orchard 2 Orchard Turn, #B3-21 Singapore 238801

Website

Ye Shanghai (夜上海) pocket friendly Teochew Mui [Moved]

Ye Shanghai, a favourite hotspot for taxi drivers as well as my place for affordable and comfortable Teochew Mui whenever I'm in that vincity. Their porridge is well-liked by young and old, just look at the queue. But dont worry, the team of helpers at Ye Shanghai was rather efficient in their operations.

Kong Bao or Kung Po dish was good. The dish had adequate amount of spiciness with diced chicken stirred fried in peanuts, vegetables, and chili peppers. With the sweet gravy mixed well in the porridge, it can also be a good substitute to the braised sauce provided.

Kung Po Chicken

The texture of Tau Ki (Dried Beancurd Skin) was not too soft and not too oily. Additional bowl of braised gravy was given upon request for our porridge.

Tau Ki (Beancurd Skin)

A side dish that we cannot go without with a bowl of Teochew porridge. It was soft with the "Poi Poi" (bouncy) bites as we sank our teeth in.

Fishcake

The meat balls or what we usually call the "lion-head". This cluster of meat ball together with its sauce tastes great and is always on my order list.

"Lion Head"

Tau Gua was bigger than expected. It was cut into 4 equal portions and becareful during consumption as it might be steaming hot. 

Tau Gau

Total Spending: $9.60 for 3 porridge and 5 side dishes.

Dinner Time

All in all, Ye Shanghai serves a value for money dinner especially when we talked about Teochew Mui. Their competitor in the same vicinity whom sell the similar items may cost twice as much. Therefore, they are always my first choice for budget meal.

Rating: 4 / 5

Ye Shanghai 夜上海
Location: Blk 116 Bukit Merah View #01-217, Singapore 151117

Opening Hours: Wed to Mon: 1030 - 0500 (Closed on Tuesday)

Smiths Authentic Bristish Fish And Chips

If you are looking for some authentic Fish & Chips Flavours with the taste of British, do head down to the shop houses along Tanjong Katong Road or their other outlets.

Shop Front

Smiths offers Take-Away and dined in menu. Both menu were more or less the same.

Take Away Menu

The counter was pretty modern, sleek, metalic finishing with blue LED lights coming out from the under sides. British flags were hanging by the sides too.

The place was well ventilated as we hardly smell any greasy smell in the shop even though they were frying and preparing the dish at the end of the counter.

While waiting for the chef to fry the fishes in the oil, we  had ordered some can drinks, self taken from the fridge. Each can was pretty expensive. :(

Soft Drinks - $2.50 Each

It's hardly that we get to see servings of Fish and Chips being wrapped up in paper. It really reminds me of someone who told me that the authentic Fish and Chips in London would have their Fish and Chips wrapped up in newspaper. To make the orders identifiable, the cod fish was indicated with "C" on its wrapper.

Fish & Chips Serving in Papers

After having tried so many fish and chips in Singapore, indeed Smiths did have the closest match to the one I had in UK. Our servings were all paired with thickly cut fries. Condiments and sauces were already placed by the side for each table. Just help ourselves with it.

Cod Standard (180 - 200 grams) and Chips - $18

Fried to a golden brown perfection, the cod was coated with a thin crispy layer of batter and the fish meat was quite chunky. The length of the fish was about a 30cm long ruler. Furthermore, one can really taste the freshness of the fish.  Break open the hot battered fish and enjoy a free facial steaming session. :p

Cod Fish

The Haddock was fried to golden brown as well but the size looked different. It is wider in shape.

Haddock Standard (180 - 200 grams) & Chips - $17

Meat wise, they are moist and fresh too.

Dissecting of Haddock Fish in action!

Overall, I find that this is a good Fish & Chips fix if we are looking for authentic taste from Britain though it may be pricy. The standard meal may be plain but there are sides available for add-ons. Service wise, its pretty average.

Rating: 3 / 5

Smiths 
Location:  230 Tanjong Katong Road,  Singapore 437018
                
OPEN 6 DAYS A WEEK:
1130am – 11pm daily
Closed Mondays

Website

Antoinette

Tucked away from the bustling city and among the industrial area, Antoinette is one of the outstanding places which sells french pastries among all.

Antoinette @ 30 Perhas Road

Painted with faint blue color, Antoinette facade had given us a classy outlook  which reminds someone to pamper oneself especially over the weekend. Let's go

Facade

As we swang opened the door, sweet little treats with attractive looking packaging were all lined up neatly on the shelves waiting to be picked home.

Treats

To the left of the cafe, there were a number of photo frames glued to the wall with different colors without any picture within.

Everything could be ordered to their menu except for its pastries.

Menu

Just in front of the cashier counters, customer can choose to have macaroons over the cakes. Customers were all pampered by the range of variety and colors to choose from.

Macarons

Not only that, delicate cakes were all displayed on the chiller, Just walk over to them and have your pick. Each type of cake comes with a tagging, indicating its made.

The interior of Antoinette was very cosy with dainty victorian details, a very french theme with chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Its comfy plush cushioned chairs as well as those rattan made ones were good enough to make one spend additional time there chit chatting. Moreover the space between diners were great, allowing rooms for accessing and "spaces" to talk among ourselves.

Dining in Antoinette

Strawberry cake was amazing. The sponge cake was moist that literally melts with a little press from the tongue. The layer of fresh cream was light with ample of tasty strawberries. Overall, I find that the shortcake was delectable, giving off sweet strawberries scent. If you were to ask me to eat another 3 of it, I would be most happy to do so.

Strawberry Shortcake - $9.00

This cake is strongly advocate by our local TV program and is true to namesake. Super love this! A MUST Try and do make sure you had them before leaving.

In case you are wondering, what is the red stuff on its top, its actually a raspberry coulis that you can burst to get raspberry sauce all over your cake. The thought of  its lusciousness and lightness of Earl Grey chocolate mousse base over the thick raspberry sauce oozing out with its crispy bits of chocolate (reminds me of Ferrero Roche) excites me.

Antoinette - $10.00

Look at the video for burst of raspberry. Oohed!

The pot of Charming Medows was rather normal, nothing to shout about.

Organic Charming Meadows - $8.50

This place is very good for chit chats but may be a little pricy. But for this kind of ambiance and the delicate pastries, I find it worthwhile to pay a visit once in a while. However do ensure that you make reservations at least a week before to avoid disappointment.

Rating: 4 / 5

Antoinette
Location: 30 Penhas Road, Singapore 208188

Wings Bar

Attracted to its bar's theme, welcome by an airbase looking place with airport runway, and aeroplane hanging at its entrance and that's Wings Bar. Not only that, Wings Bar's servers were all well dressed in Airbase Uniform, looking smart and be ready to serve.

Entrance

My first visit to Wings Bar had make my eyes rolling here and there, looking everywhere at its decoration. It's definitely interesting for someone like me as I hardly come across the site and operations of Airbase.

Just beside our table, there was this Air Raid Shelter which also warned us not to smoke in the Bomb Bay. In fact there was 2 arcade machine underneath to keep the customers entertained.

Air Raid Shelter for 150 Persons

Wings Bar, was famous for its Wings but on the menu, it mentioned Best Ribs In Town. In fact from 25th July this year, Wings' Chef had created Clarke Quay Best Ribs! So come and sink your teeth into the meat.

Best Ribs/Wings in Town?

Each of us was given a side plate together with wet and dry serviettes.

Storage or Underground Bomb Shelter?

Sandbags were placed by the sides of windows as well as underneath the table where we were seating. Let's get ambush!

Sandbags

These words were rather encouraging "Work Hard Drink More".

Motivational Quotes. Lol

I'm facing this view throughout the night. The colorful sight was captivating with a big television screen hanging, showing motions of the music video muted but with another music playing in the background. The entire place was relaxing and comfortable for a chill out especially after a hard day of work.

Bar Counters

If you like beer, this Erdinger Drunkel is rich and smooth wheat beer specialty from Erdinger Weissbräu, Germany.

Erdinger Dunkel - $16.00

Those who want to skip beer may go for their Cider, recommended by their servers, the Toffle Apple is one of the recommended choice from many customers. The taste immediately turns me off during the first few sips as it tasted of cough syrup. However, after getting used, I find that the drink was not bad.

Brothers Toffee Apple - $15.00

Pear Strawberry might be a wiser choice as it was more refreshing and had a sweeter scent.

Brothers Pear Strawberry - $15.00

Corona was smooth, refreshing taste and a well-rounded character with a pleasant malt aroma. Served with a lime or lemon wedge to enhanced the citrus aromas and flavours.

Corona - $12.00

These fried cheesy goodness was served with WINGS tomato salsa or honey BBQ Bourbon Sauce.

Mozzarella Sticks - $8.90

There were level of spiciness for the wings from 0 - 5 where 0 is the non spicy while 5 is the spiciest version. For those who opted level 4 and 5, a waiver is required. Customers were required to sign off on the waiver to indicate that incase of anything happened under consumption, they shall bear the own responsibilities.

Both flavours of wings ordered were equally tender. Honey BBQ (Level 0) was one of WINGS's signature which tossed the wings in honey BBQ and Bourbon sauce. One of the all time favourite.

Another version ordered was its Thai Afterburner (Level 2), OooooH Yeaaaaahhhh! Wings were all coated with sweet chilli, garlic, basil and lemon grass, totally reminds me of Tom Yam taste. For those who cant take spice, it is recommended to go for Level 1 and 2.

6 Thai Wings and a Wings Meal - $8.90 & $15.00

Refreshing crunch that was paired with the Wings Meal. Dipped them into the cream sauce and it gave a good bites with its juicy nature.

Sides that comes witht he Wings Meal

Looks hot with the sliced chilli garnishing! Cheese slices were big and portions were generous? Can you see the pasta? They were all covered up by the chunks of chicken.

Baked Chicken Pasta - $22.90

Wings bar's theme is rather unique as a bar and it definitely attract people like me who seldom goes to bar, knowing it might be such an eye opener. Knowing that within steps away, there was another bar with a hospital theme. Wings Bar does really stands out on its own too! 

Rating: 3 / 5

Wings Bar
Location: 3D River Valley Rd Singapore 179023