A One Stop Place for Assorted Local Delights

Prima Taste Kitchen is located in a "hidden" passage down in The Centrepoint shopping mall. Although their Kitchen had been there for quite sometime, I believe that many of the shoppers would still have missed out the stretch of eateries in Centrepoint Mall just like me. :)

Shop Front

Prima Branding has been going steady and strong offering Singapore's cuisine through its convenient method all these years. With its innovative readily packed pastes and premixes sold island wide in convenience stalls illustrated with idiot proof cooking steps, they were well-liked by all. Today,  they are very successful and Prima is hardly a stranger to any local.

Design and furnishings of the restaurants were vibrant and young, installed with linear tracks lights and strong spinning ceiling fans in the air conditioned environment. Ambiance was cosy and patrons can enjoy the live demonstrations of chefs cooking through the showcase kitchen. Just beside the cash register counter, Prima had allocated a booth whereby one can buy their premixes and pastes, including noodles. A few tourists were seen grabbing some of the packs off the shelves after trying out the Signature's Cuisine at the stall, I guess they must have given a few nods to the taste of Prima Kitchen's delicacies.:)

Shop Interior

Not only was Prima innovative in their pre-packed pastes and mixes, they did it again with a twist through their serving menu. Just with a cost as low as $9.50, one get to enjoy 3 sampler bowls of our local cuisine. Available in 6 kinds of dishes, we had them all ordered for our dinner. Dishes were as follows:
(1) Mee Rebus
(2) Prawn Mee
(3) Laksa
(4) Satay Bee Hoon
(5) Mee Siam
(6) Hainanese Chicken Rice

Sampler bowls were rather small and its portions reminded me of those bowls of noodles bought during my Primary School Days in the Tuckshop. One can easily finished the bowl of noodles in 3-5 mouths.

Alright, my dinner is here. Look at the wide spread of local cuisines on our table! I would highly recommended this place if you have a guest from abroad. Do let them have a one stop taste of Singapore's Delights in Prima!

All Sampler Dishes

Mee Rebus, a traditional malay dish featuring noodles served with a rich sweet and spicy sauce, topped off with bean curd cubes, egg and prawns. Black sauce and vegetables were also added to further enhance the taste.

Mee Rebus

Prawn Mee was excellent especially when its stock tasted full of prawn flavours. They must have spent long hours cooking the prawns heads and shells to obtain such a rich taste.

Prawn Mee

Laksa served with rice noodles, prawns, fish cake, cockles and Tau pok. The gravy was rich and lends a thick creamy texture packed with coconut fragrant,if this style floats your boat.

Laksa

Prima had never failed to disappoint - With a generous portion of Satay Sauce drenched over the strands of fine bee hoon on my sampler bowl. This scrumptious dish was also served traditionally with pig's liver, lean meat and prawn. Yums!

Satay Bee Hoon

Mee Siam tasted traditional and refreshing. Bee Hoon was served in a tangy sweet-sour tamarind gravy in an assortment of garnishes as well as sambal chilli. Overall, featuring an authentic Singapore Dish!

Mee Siam

Enjoy the mouth watering portions of tender chicken meat over the pandan fragrant rice with chicken stock, presenting our Local Hainanese Chicken Rice.

Hainanese Chicken Rice

The popiah took sometime to be prepared. The rolled was wrapped and filled tightly with shredded turnips, slices of eggs, prawns and vegetables. The reddish spread of chilli could be easily seen through the translucent Popiah skin roll which looked orangy under the lights. Moist enough and the only letdown I had was that it lacked the crunch from the turnips as they were finely cut, a bigger shred will make it better.

Popiah

Lychee Sensation? What's that? Preparations of the drink was rather straight forward. It's a mixture of lychee in its syrup together with sour plum in the drink. The unique taste was supported by the big plum that had drowned in the drink. Sweet, Sour and Salty. Perfect!

Lychee Sensation

The friendly and jovious server had spoken on behalf, "Singapore's Best Chendol" he mentioned. I couldnt agree more. Sweetened with Gula Melaka, ingredients were plentiful. Do leave a space in your stomach after your meal for this!

Chendol

Total amount summed up to be $34.15. I would say every sampler bowls of Cuisine rock my socks off! Factoring that its a sample bowl, the ingredients were never compromised and quality was definitely there. Worth it!

Prima Taste Kitchen
Location: The Centrepoint, 176 Orchard Road #01-63/64, 238843

A Hidden Find

If you have been thinking about dining in a bistro with an tranquil ambience without paying a bomb, Buttercake Cream at Sunset way may fits the bill. Hidden in the neighbourhood estate, Buttercake Cream Business's tagline - let the magic begin had really brought up another level of dining experience amongst the neighborhood eateries.

Shop Front

 One can actually choose from their Alfresco Dining or to have a table in the shop. While I had chosen the latter, the ambience did not fail to disappoint. It was cosy under the warm lighting with decorations well prepared for christmas somehow, triggered the festive season mood in me especially when I saw those hanging christmas ornament balls.

Alfresco dining was not bad either, one can enjoy the serene view of the trees settings which I find it rather unique considering dining in a neighbourhood.

Counter

Furnishing in the shop was simple with painted brick walls and cement screed flooring. Environment was relaxing given a different feel with the reflective mirrors and bright hanging ceiling lamps included.

 Seating & Ambience

Cocktail of frizzy soda, lime and bitters.
Cost: $5.50 / Cup

Lemon Lime Bitter - $5.50

Their Sauteed Mushrooms had prepared the seasonal button mushrooms with wine, herbs and onions.

   Appetiser - Sauteed Mushrooms - $9.90

Filled with buttery fragrance, this dish is served with 2 crispy garlic toasts, a definite appetizer to kick start the upcoming tantalizing dishes!

Appetiser - Sauteed Mushrooms - $9.90

  

Our meal start off with the delectable breaded chicken leg topped off with the in house marinana sauce that was still dripping off from the salad during the time of serving. The meal was accompanied by melted cheddar cheese and served with the steakhouse fries.
Cost: $13

Main - Chicken Steak - Parmigiana - $13.00

While Pan Seared Cod Fillet was not available, I took the salmon Steak as an alternative. The Char Grilled Norwegian King Salmon was served with baked potato in creamy seafood ginger sauce topped off with some bacon bites. A portion of sauteed vegetables were also available under the slab of delicious salmon

  Main - Salmon Steak - $16

 

Grilled to golden brown, crispy at the exterior and moist internally. How can I ever resist?

Salmon Steak (Close Up)

Potato was wrapped with aluminum foil with with top exposed. The skin of the potato literally tore off easily without much effort and the potato was soft.

Potato that comes with Salmon Steak

Tiramisu is a definite must try over here. The cake was rich, soften with every bite that melts into your mouth. Every layer of the cake was well defined. Simply exquisite!

Side View of Dessert

The decorations on the plate was also meticulously prepared with some colorful icing. Look at the heart shape on the Tiramisu, the love of the dessert had been well expressed!
Cost: $5.50

 Desserts - Tiramisu - $5.50

After taxes (Service Charge), our total bill was $60.94. Patrons are able to save up 7% off the total bill as GST was omitted. However 10% of Service Charge are still required, such amount paid for their attentive and friendly service was worth while. All in all, with such pricing and its environment, I dont mind having more return trips to Buttercake Cream.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Buttercake Cream
Location: Blk 106 Clementi Street 12 #01-52, Singapore 120106

Lai Lai Lai! [Closed]

Lai Lai Kitchen has been tucked in the far end corner of Jurong Point 1 over these years ever since the mall was in operations. Their roasted delights as well as the noodles were known to be up to the mark. The contemporary designed eating place is cozy and bright with curved ceilings that follow suit to the layout of the building and was installed with sparkling downlights.

 Clean & Neat Environment

As Space of Lai Lai is rather limited, the layout was maximized by placing counter table where customers can enjoying looking at the MRT passing by at an elevated seating during the day. While during the night, the panels of the building come in good use, reflecting the lighting thus enhancing the ambiance.

 Looking out of Jurong Point

We were skeptical on the food availability as only half a roasted duck was left hanging on the display. Fortunately, when asked, the cashier mentioned that the items we wanted was still available.

Ordered the Black Sauce Chicken Noodle at $4. Black sauce was sweet and was generously poured in with the springy fine yellow noodles whereas chicken was firm and juicy, yums!

    Black Sauce Chicken Noodle - $4

Reddish Char Siew on Wanton Mee ($4 Per Plate) was tenderlean to my liking added with 3 wanton bags and some greens stalks. Sauce used was the same and our mains were equally yummy especially with the QQ bite from the noodles!

Wanton Noodle - $4

I'm a fan of their braised Chicken Feet ($1 Each) . It's usually one of my orders unless it was sold out! The deep fried chicken feet were braised to infuse flavour thus achieving a succulent texture.

Braised Chicken Feet Aka 凤抓 - $2

Here's a close shot of the chicken Feet. Ho Jiak!

凤抓 - $1 Each

Dumplings soup, $5 was filled with about 6 dumplings in a bowl accompanied by some greens. Soup was tasty and lends some hints of peppery taste, however, we all knew that its the magic of MSG behind this.

Dumpling Soup - $5

While dumpling skins were smooth and delicate.

One of the Dumplings

What's wrapped under it? A lump of minced meat packed with little chunks of chestnut that gives of a crunchy bite with a jelly bite like feeling from the black jew's-ears.

Dumplings Fillings

To sum up, Lai Lai serves as a convenient place to dine in with a reasonable pricing. Quality and quantity of food in my opinion are the best so far in the mall! The downside I would say that if the restaurant is packed, the walkaway along the aisles are rather narrow and there's no direct route to get out of the restaurant after the meal especially. One more thing to take note is that as Lai Lai Kitchen is located next to a training school, it is best to avoid the peak hours especially when the children are dismissed from their classes with parents waiting at Lai Lai. Be early to to avoid disappointment! 



Lai Lai Kitchen
Location: Jurong Point, 1 Jurong West Central 2 #03-08, 648886

Curry Chicken Noodle

Ah Heng Curry Chicken is one of the popular stalls in Hong Lim Food Centre. Noted for its famous chicken curry noodle. We have order a big bowl of noodle and fine bee hoon over lunch. As usual, there was a queue of weekend lunch crowd waiting to get a bowl from this famous stall.

The bowl was full of chicken meat on top laden with many Tau Pok by the sides, submerged in a nice aromatic curry. There wasn't any garnishing to the bowl of noodles but it was not necessary at all. The simple ingredients, the rich curry taste had all the flavour to it and did not need any extras to it.

The large chunks of Tau Pok were cooked to perfection, absorbing every bit of essence from the curry. The potato felt soft and literally melts in your mouth like a mashed potato.The noodle was accompanied by generous amount of fish cake slices. Each mouthful brings the flavours of the noodles, curry and fishcake to your taste buds.

I had specifically asked for chicken breast meat, and they were tender and moist. Coupled with the gravy, the overall taste of the chicken was enhanced to another level. Succulent meat, rich curry taste and other sides in the bowl were perfect complement to each other. This made a simple dish a winning combination.
Cost: $6.00

A Bowl of Curry Chicken Noodle

Tau Pok, Fish cakes and Chicken

Chicken Meat

Ah Heng Curry Chicken
Location: Hong Lim Food Centre & Market, 531A, Upper Cross Street #02-57/58, 051531

Breakfast on a Holiday Morning

What could have turn a public holiday into such an enjoyable one? My answer will be just a meal down Casuarina road but of course not the Casurina Curry as it was overly crowded. A marvelous breakfast choice made even though it was quite a heavy meal and sacrificing the sleep hours in such a cooling weather especially during a rainy day but they are all well paid off.

Looking at its fruits drink on the menu, there were a handful of interesting drinks we can choose from and we had shortlisted the Bitter gourd with honey (Left) as well as the HK Style Yam Ice (Right). Bitter gourd drink tasted bitter in nature however taste was still bearable with the honey sweetening the entire drink while the Yam Ice was filled with yam's fragrance and coconut's milk, tasted close to a bowl of Bo Bo Cha Cha. Nice!

Our Drinks

Kway Teow was clustered , sticking back to back and seemed hard to separate but it's just the small matter as they used lesser oil, making the plate non greasy. I had it well mixed with the sauce and taste wasn't that bad afterall. Most importantly, the chicken meat sweetness tastes special and uncommon from the usual shredded chicken I had. It was smooth, tender and juicy, well done! Vegetables via the sides were not the usual Xiao Bai Cai and what was given tasted crunchy.

Shredded Chicken Kway Teow

Shredded Chicken Kway Teow (Close Up)

Salute to this plate of Hong Kong Style Wan Tan Mee, even its soup tastes very rich with prawns flavours. Yellow Mee is absolute different from our usual thin yellow noodle and it gives hints of prawns flavour too in every strand of them. Mee was Q and springy doused in the light soy sauce and with big dumplings placed on top of them. Dumplings looks appetizing especially in its plump and crumpled looking translucent skin.

Wan Tan Mee with Soup

Wan Tan Mee

If you have tried Victor's Kitchen Carrot Cake, this is pretty similar. The "cha wan mushi" look-alike dish was actually its carrot cake. When seen from far, I thought they are selling some pudding. The softness cum its springy texture had blown me away. Dont worry, you definitely get to taste the bits of carrot in your cake. It was simply more than heaven! I will highly recommend this!

Carrot Cake

Char Siew Chee Cheong Fun is one of best sellers of Chef Chair Lao Ban. Not only that it is freshly made on the spot but also of its soft and thin skin that encase the ingredients properly. They were divided into smaller pieces with each of them doused with sweet soy sauce, sprinkled with cut spring onions and sesame seeds.

Char Siew Chee Cheong Fun

Char Siew Chee Cheong Fun (Close Up)

Chicken Shredded Porridge was a bonus to our breakfast (we are almost full) as we did not want to waste a trip down not trying its "Must-Try" dishes. Famous for its bowl size, we had ordered one bowl to try out. Fell in love with the softness and the mini cut fried fritters that comes with it. Those who don't enjoy roasted peanuts in the porridge will find it disturbing to consume when you have to bite the hard crust of them with the spoonful of congee. Shredded Chicken meat was exactly the same as the Kway Teow we had, and perfect!

Shredded Chicken Porridge

The drink and noodle stall will sum up the business nature of Chef Chair Lao Ban's. The place is brightly lited with table and chairs well organized inside and out of the shop.

Inside the Shop

They had only a row of tables available for dining due to limitations of the pathway outside its shop.

Front View of the Stall

Usually the shops' van will be parked in front of their stall and it's less likely we can get a good parking lot like this.

 Front View Blocked by its Van

I find it funny to see the typical Hong Kong Man in his 30s wearing tee shirt and jeans, making his rounds to check if his customers was served. Bald and carrying a big belly walking about and once in a while you will get to see him pulling his jeans all the way up way above the waist line, looking "different". And while he was walking again, his belly pushed his jeans and adjustment of jeans repeats. Anyway Chef Chair's service was prompt and better than average standards.

There was no receipt given and total cost of our breakfast (2 pax) is S$25 which we find it pretty reasonable for an Authentic Hong Kong Meal in Singapore.

Notes:
(1) For those who are dining in, just take a seat and servers will come to you while for those who are taking away, they are required to queue in front of the stall.
(2) They are selling Zi Char too but not in the morning.

Date of Visit: 08-08-2013

Chef Chair Lao Ban
Location: 134 Casuarina Road, 579522

Fine Dining

Restaurant Ember is housed in one of the conserved buildings in Singapore, Hotel 1929. A small and cozy restaurant serving modern European food in a good balance of intimate and bustling ambiance.

Hotel 1929

My reservation was made successful over the phone and followed up by a confirmation SMS a few days before. We have ordered the dinner set menu for 3 pax each costing S$88.00++.

These complimentary crispy Foccacia are served hot on our tables and good to go with the butter cube.

Tomato Focaccia

My fine dining course kicks off with the delightful crab cake as the appetizer. It is made up with a ball of crab shreds mixed in some Asian garnish, coated with a thin layer of crush fried to golden brown, accompanied by the sweet tasting sauce and salad with an absolute strong crab smell. Irresistibly, I cleared the plate and had it almost "licked" dry. 

Crab Cake, Yums!

Cold Toufu Salad: A plate of fresh greens tossed in vinaigrette with slices of avocado, tofu and tomato in savoury sesame dressing. Main selling point of this salad is its soft and smooth beancurd served refreshingly chilled in the tangy Japanese sweet dressing.

Cold Tofu Salad

Roasted Foie Gras: The foie gras was accompanied by a 1-hr poached egg and morel mushroom in truffle oil melts into my mouth easily. Seriously awesome!

Roasted Foie Gras

Giant chip that is to be paired with the plate of foie gras.

Chip

Deliciously prepared Crispy Maine Lobster with beurre blanc and mesclun. Comes with a caramelized crust on the soft and chewy lobster. Yums!

Cripsy Maine Lobster

Pan Roasted Barramundi with Bacon Veloute and Beetroot: The outer layer of fish was crispy and with hints of bitterness mixed in sweetness of the sauce.

Pan Roasted Barramundi with Bacon Veloute and Beetroot

Pan Roasted USDA Prime Beef Tenderloin with Seasonal Mushroom: Merlot reduction. Stated on the menu in CAPS "NO WELL DONE". Ember certainly won't disappoint. The beef was roasted to the requested done-ness. The method of cooking has brought out the tenderloin's natural freshness especially in its succulent flesh. Evenly done and served with sweet potatoes and potatoes.

Pan Roasted USDA Prime Beef Tenderloin with Seasonal Mushroom

This Apple Tart requires two people to share. I'm not a fan of apple tart or pastries that deal with apples but this changes my thought of it over night! The delicate and savoury pastry comes in flakes of crust glued together on the plate and chunks of sweetened apples adorn on it, yet no signs of sogginess.

Apple Tart

Awww... all good things have to come to an end. As the finishing touch to my meal, I had a cup of camomile tea with honey and a little cookie. How I wish I could have more. Overall I would say that the food standards are consistent, experience is terrific!

Camomile Tea

Some things to take note:
(1) No shorts and slippers to the restaurant.
(2) Reservations required, book early.
(3) Valet Parking is available outside the restaurant at a cost.
(4) No Sharing of Dinner Set

My total damage including GST and Service Charge.

Receipt / Bill

Ember
Location: Hotel 1929, 50 Keong Saik Road, 089154