Tao's Kitchen

1 Selegie Road,
#B1-19
Paradiz Centre


We visited Tao's Kitchen for lunch with Paul's family members to celebrate his niece's birthday last Saturday. A family-friendly restaurant, request for a baby chair was heeded, and several colourful, plastic cutlery were also laid out nicely. A heads up though, as the restaurant was rather packed for lunch (granted it was a weekend), reservations made in advance would be good as we saw several people being turned away at the door. 


Seated outside, service was slightly slower, as requests for a soup spoon were made thrice to the same waiter. He was probably busy but everyone was already tucking in and my spoon was still nowhere in sight even after ten minutes. Fortunately, when a frustrated Paul requested for a spoon from a waitress, she eagerly brought two forward and smiled sheepishly when we told her we only wanted one. Anyway, the stranded spoon from the other waiter never came. 

RAD RED MENU

There are about six courses: starters, salads, soups, main entrees, desserts & beverages. Didn't know beverages count as one too, but nevermind. Only the starter is by default, bacon and mushroom gratin, but the other courses are up to one's own palette. The waiter (or waitress...err sorry we are as confused as him/her) came to take our orders in pair, which is a good idea because the food came in pairs too. no more long wait for the partner's food to come while one stares hungrily at his food. 

Starters: Bacon & Mushroom Gratin

Beverages : Iced teas

Appetizer: Prawn Rolls with Pork Floss

Inside

Soup: Shark Fin Melon Herbal Soup

Main: Spicy Stingray

Dessert: Green Tea Icecream

Joy says:

Other than in a buffet where you can get fusion cuisine, the next best alternative is here. I had Prawn Roll with Pork Floss, Shark-fin Melon Herbal Soup, Spicy Stingray, Green Tea ice-cream and Iced rose apple tea. There isn't much to shout about for the food, but at least they met expectations. The prawn roll was refreshing with a hint of plum sauce inside, though I didn't get to taste any pork floss. The soup had a homely taste to it but the bowl it came in was deceiving. It looked like a big portion, but I only had about 5 spoonfuls of the soup, two strands of herb, a thin slice of meat, and a stray piece of chicken skin. 


For the spicy stingray, it came a little oily but I loved how it tasted. It was like having tze-char but in an air-conditioned place. Not that overly spicy but enough to tingle the taste buds. It was chewy and flaked off easily, and the spiciness did not overpower the taste of the fish. The sides were good too, especially the smashed sweet potato and softened broccoli. Veggie points!


Green Tea ice cream was a hit with Paul's niece, as she took a spoonful of mine and wanted more. No complaints about this one, but I had better. Not disappointed though, as I was already full by then. One noteworthy thing about the meal was the tea. My rose apple tea was super good. Cooling, sweet and with my favourite apple cubes swimming inside, it scored in taste and looks. 


One last thing to mention though was the presentation of food. At restaurant prices but nearly fine-dining presentation, i was rather impressed. 


Having said that, I might not go back again to try other entrees, since they did not look that appealing to me. I have more choices if I go to an Italian or Western restaurant where they specialize in their cuisine. There are so many other restaurants out there, so while this experience is passable, a revisit may not be too soon, at least not within this year(:


Grade: B

Appetizer: Shellfish salad with cold Japanese noodle

Soup: Cream of Mushroom

Main: Steak

Dessert: Creme Brulee

Paul says:

The mushroom and bacon gratin was alright. It felt like eating a small serving of cream of mushroom soup( with bacon bits) that was covered with a top layer of melted cheese. Pretty nice. Bread provided was warm but it was your normal neighbourhood bakery bread. Nothing to shout about. The top shell salad with cold Japanese noodle was kinda awful to say the least? The phrase "cold Japanese noodle" brings to mind cold soba. So I was kinda shocked when a small little bowl of white noodles(no, it's not udon!) greeted me. The top shell looks like some low grade canned abalone and the whole dish tasted sour on a whole. I would say Joy's prawn roll with pork roll tasted miles better. Tasted like Vietnamese food actually. The cream of mushroom soup came next. And the presentation was kinda drab actually. Just some cream squirted at the center of the dish. Taste was ok. Tastier than the mushroom soup from soup spoon. 
After an arduous wait of 15 mins( my dad's one took 20 mins- they were catching the sea bass probably?), my beef or what looked like one finally came. A thin slab of meat looked so forlorn in the relatively huge dish provided. I asked for medium well and the insides looked like tuna steak to me. Personally,the beef disappointingly tasted like nugget. What a letdown! The creme brule was nothing to rave about too. Have definitely tasted better ones elsewhere.(Eg, Acid Bar)


The drink which I ordered was refreshing at least. Grassjelly and mint tea. But I still preferred Joy's red apple roses tea. I can safely conclude that the place was understaffed as they look like they were overwhelmed with orders as they served us. Or maybe they just weren't bothered. ( As I can see from one or two staff who was standing around standing about). Ok, that's it for Tao's. Average food. Frustrating service. Sorry, I won't be coming back again.


Grade: C

Per person was $19.80++ (for lunch), GST & Service Charge definitely included.

In conclusion,

Food: C

Service: B

Ambience: B

Value-for-$: C

Overall grade:C+

Apples given:

Haato & Co

77 River Valley Road, 

Meidi-ya Supermarket, 

Unit B1-50

There are about 7 Haato & Co outlets in Singapore, but the one which we saw most of would be the one at Central in Clarke Quay. Located at the first level and making use of its high visibility on street level to provide alfresco dining, it was a cool chill-out corner with limited seating. The black-white minimalist design of the cafe did its magic to draw onlookers and subsequently customers to check out the tubs of sweet relief on display below frosted windows.

After our meal at Ramen Santouka, we initially planned for desserts at the Central outlet but were too full, so we took a leisurely walk to Liang Court. That impromptu visit revealed a find. There was Haato & Co there too, albeit at a cheaper price! Same outlet design, same offerings, but about $2 cheaper. Being typical Singaporeans, we excitedly ordered the Summerberries Waffles that come topped with Lychee sorbet (changeable upon request), power berries (strawberries & blueberries), almond flakes and strawberry jam. 

Summerberries waffles ($7.50)

Joy says:

These waffle is extremely appealing to the senses of sight and smell. That golden brown centrepiece, topped off with sorbet and generous serving of fruits, jam and almond flakes, who could resist taking a bite? When it arrived, that heavenly aroma of fresh waffle-goodness tantalised my tastebuds and made my stomach growl. so what if I just had lunch?


The first bite was a huge one, and the coolness of the refreshing sorbet contrasted just nicely against the warm waffles. Not cloyingly sweet, which was good, but it wasn't as fluffy as I wanted it to be. I think I would have preferred those from Gelare better. 


I still like how the waffle was presented though! Perhaps it is just me but I love waffles and I don't rule out going there again for a revisit(:


Grade: B

Paul says:

The waffles was alright. But there is nothing that really jumps out here. I'm starting to find it really hard to discover a place that serves waffles like those found at A&Ws years ago. Just maple syrup and butter. And of course, nice light and fluffy waffles. Good ol' times those. The waffles found here reminded me of those $1.20 Prima Deli waffles. Just thicker in size. The edges here are slightly burnt and they did not do a clean job of scraping off the excess bits. However, the Lychee sorbet was pretty impressive. Not too heaty and really refreshing. There was also a generous serving of blueberries and strawberries. And a healthy sprinkle of those almonds. Yum. Quality of waffles aside, at a price of $7.50, I guess I can't complain that much. If I EVER do go back to this place, I shall try the Banana Chocolate waffle reasonably priced at $7.50.


Grade:B

Total bill was $7.50 (incl. GST. No Scv Charge)]

In conclusion,

Food: B

Service: B

Ambience: B

Value-for-$: B+

Overall grade: B

Apples given:

Ramen Santouka

6 Eu Tong Sen St
#02-76, The Central
Singapore 059817
Tel: (+65) 62240668


I was having my usual ramen craving yet again(yes, I've developed this mega liking for the flavourful pork-bone soup based noodles topped with those irresistible slices of char-shiu. and not forgetting the tamago too. OOIISSHHII!). Joy has so kindly went around searching for the best Ramen places in Singapore through reading up reviews on the web( Call me lazy, whatever. I'm a blessed man). So yea. I've been to quite a few ramen places already. ( Ippudo, Nantsuttei,etc). 


We went there on a Sunday afternoon at around 1.30pm. Crowd was pretty manageable. There was just a group of 3 in queue when we reached, though it would snake to around 5 couples awhile later.  Typical of a Japanese restaurant, there was a glass cabinet of plastic representations of the dishes served at the restaurant with prices attached too. In addition, there were a few cotton sheets draped over the restaurant's entrance, reminiscent of those you find in Japan. Authenticity marks there! Waiting time was around ten minutes and our queue was nearly cut by this Japanese couple due to the gross negligence of the waiter. Oh well. Standing up at the front of the queue just doesn't quite beat seating down in the restaurant. Yes, there are four chairs provided for the tired legs out there. 

We were promptly ushered to the counter seat-right next to the kitchen, overlooking the Singapore River. But it was surprisingly bearable, as opposed to that at Nantsuttei.  Service was prompt as the waiter instantly put 2 glasses of ice-water(without any prompt fyi) down on our tables. A jug of water which was filled with ice was to be shared between us and another couple. Plus point there as it saves us the hassle of requesting for water repeatedly. After much discussion, Joy settled for the Kara Miso Ramen while Paul settled for the much raved about Tokusen Toroniku, which was coincidentally its house specialty. Essentially, your dish will come served separately, with the roasted pork cheeks separated from the bowl of piping hot shio(salt)ramen( that's Paul's choice upon the recommendation of the Japanese waiter. Apparently, the shio ramen flavour is the most popular flavour both here and in Japan! You have three other soup-base options- Shoyu(soy-sauce), Miso and the spicy Kara Miso(additional $1)). Joy told me that the Char Shu Ramen was much raved about. However, due to the exclusive nature of those tasty and tender pork cheeks at an additional cost of just $2.50, the dish was too hard to pass up. In addition, we ordered a koji Tamago to be shared between us two.

Paul says:

Personally, I prefer my soup to be more salty. The uber rich pork-bone stock from Nantsuttei especially struck a chord with me as it was extra flavourful due to the addition of garlic oil. However, with that said, the soup base from Santouka is rich as well. I can say that it's not so overpowering. I definitely didn't get that choking feeling when I took several slurps of the soup in one go. So, in that sense, I can say that the saltiness level of the soup was just right. In addition, the fragrant topping of toasted white sesame seeds helped to enhance the overall taste of the ramen. 


The plate housing my fat-rich delicacies consisted of servings of Japanese Green Onions(Negi), seasoned bamboo shoots(shinachiku), shredded black fungus(they were really tasteless btw), Japanese Fishcake( or more affectionately known as "naruto") and a single pickled Japanese Plum(umeboshi). I eventually tossed everything into my bowl of ramen except those slices of pork cheeks obviously! The pork cheeks weren't served hot but were cold. However, they were very juicy and tender! It had this smoky flavour was similar to the smoked ham people have during thanksgiving. Very nice indeed. The layers of fat embedded within the meat melted on my tongue as I soon chomped down the whole slice in a jiffy. Definitely money well spent. I must say that the texture of the ramen wasn't too spectacular. It reminded me of cup noodles actually. Just a personal opinion really. I actually tried a bit of Joy's Char Shu. However, just fork out an additional $2.50 and don't settle for "inferior" meat. The Tamago was nothing to shout about really. It was served cold and neither was the yolk especially runny nor the white tasty. At $1.50++(really steep as it's priced at a dollar at ramen restaurants elsewhere), it's not a must have, unless you are a huge fan of tamago! 


Tonkusen means premium quality in Japanese and I was not disappointed.


Grade: B+

Joy says:

I'm not that efficient at Japanese terms unlike my dear Paul, so I will just talk about "my bowl of spicy Ramen". I love eating spicy stuff, but there was too much chili oil on top when my ramen came. Luckily I mastered the art of sifting the tricky substance out, and tucked in before my ramen got cold. The egg was served cold, and didn't leave much of an impression on me. It was served separate on a small plate, which was something different as I usually had the eggs inside my ramen when I ate at other outlets. 


The noodles were springy and good to chew on, but they weren't as smooth as the one at Nantsuttei, which I prefer. I prefer my ramen smoother and whitish in colour, since yellow ramen reminds me of yellow noodles which reminds me of kopitiam mee. The soup got saltier towards the end, and even though still flavourful, it missed in having that punch of creamy char-siu taste. I thought I was just drinking spicy noodle soup. 


I will source out other ramen shops to satisfy Paul's craving for the time being ;)


Grade: B-

Total bill was $41.75 (GST & Service Charge included)

In conclusion,

Food: B

Service: B

Ambience: B-

Value-for-$: B

Overall grade:B

Apples given:

VIctor's Kitchen

91 Bencoolen Street
#01-21
Sunshine Plaza
Closed on MONDAYS 


There seem to be plenty of good food at Sunshine Plaza, a shopping center we never frequented. Probably because its a mixed use development with minimal eating outlets and print shops, with other levels mainly for office use. It is a 15 minutes walk away from Bugis MRT, and a stone throw from Fortune Centre.


It was our second time to Victor's Kitchen, with the first being a good experience a few months back. With minimal decorations and no ambience to speak off, other blogs that we came across described it as rather reflective of those dim sum outlets in HK, so I guess that's authenticity points scored! The whole ordering system is very simple, just tick your items and give the slip of paper to the aunty at the counter. She's one fiery woman so be careful not to make any mistakes like we did during our first visit. A heated exchange ensued between the aunties working there and garbled Cantonese came shooting out like missiles when we got our table number wrong. They didn't aim at us but the publicly-made internal scuffle definitely soured the experience.


In all, we ordered only four dishes today. Their signature (posted on the wall as a MUST TRY) Golden Lava Egg Yolk bun, panfried chee cheong fun and the staples hargow + siewmai. 

HK Milk tea ($2.50) and Ice Lemon Tea ($2.00)

Pan-fried Cheong Fun

Siew Mai, Har Gow and Golden Lava Egg Yolk Buns

Joy says:

I was craving for custard buns so badly because I missed the "flowy-center spectacle". It gives me a mini adrenaline rush when I break a bun with flowy center into two and swiftly distribute the filling between two halves. The feeling of popping one half into my mouth is - ORGASMIC BLISS.

The first time when we went Victor's Kitchen, I had such good fun doing that and it made me crave even more to do that once more. Especially after our recent trip to Taste Paradise, that craving manifested. 


Unfortunately this time, it was just mere disappointment. When I executed my ritual -- broke the bun into half and about to get that mini rush, all I saw was a hardened, segregated, neat mess inside. Meh. Where is my golden goodness? Did my buns stay too long on the steamer or what. A check with the opposite table revealed the same solid filling. See told you, don't trifle with the dangerous aunties there. This is what you get. I swear I felt super sore about it because I forced myself to eat that one bun down. There were three and Paul ate one & a half and I could see it was tall order for him as well. The other half just laid there forlornly like a crippled bun. Well, that DID make my craving for buns die down. 

The non-flowy centre :(

The rest were alright, for the kind of price you pay (around $3-$4/ basket) but panfried cheong fun was a great find. It saved our lunch, at least. Crispy at the sides, fragrant with soy sauce, served piping hot, it was a winner. We loved this dish. I know it because Paul didn't feed me with it and just continued eating. LOL. When no war on who eats the last piece is present, it means that dish is extraordinary. 


Victor's Kitchen isn't exactly cheap, to be honest. It did serve up staples that met standards, but the "MUST-TRY" was a total flop. Probably it is just today, the steamer went wrong, the aunty  pms. Ugh. Shall we go down again? No idea, because there are many other dimsum outlets we can try, like Royal China, Red Star, Imperial Treasure etc etc the list goes on..........


Grade: B-

Paul says:

The equation is straightforward. Consistency in the quality of food brings in the crowds.  With that said, the standard of their "MUST TRY" golden lava egg yolk buns was really appalling today. Whatever happened to the promise of warm, flowy lava oozing out of the bun once you carefully tear the bun into half? Instead, what greeted me was a solidified mass that reminded me of really normal custard buns that you could find in your nearby coffee shops. Why did I pay 4 bucks for? To make myself terribly disappointed? Actually, by forking out about a dollar more, I could enjoy orgasmic dim sum at Taste Paradise in its lush setting. Do the math. This place isn't worth it to me. The siew mais may be nice. But at just 80 cents below that of Taste Paradise, my choice is clear. Over here, they sprinkle pathetic bits of carrot atop their little yellow dumplings. 80 cents more and I can enjoy my crab roe over at Taste Paradise found in town. I give credit when it's due. The pan fried cheong fun is really good. Crisp and fragrant at the sides and soft in the middle. Really a find over here. But sadly, the abysmal quality of the "lava" buns really spoilt my whole dining experience this time round. With the constant bickering and foul attitudes of some of the aunties, I shall place my buck where it's worth. Taste Paradise, here I come.

Grade: C

Total bill was $19.50 (incl. GST. No Scv Charge)]

In conclusion,

Food: B

Service: B

Ambience: C+

Value-for-$: B-

Overall grade: B-

Apples given:

Tom's palette

100 Beach Road, 189702
6296 5239

Contrary to people having desserts after a hugely satisfying meal, we decided to have ours after a lunch that left Paul (& half of Joy) sorely disappointed. That said, we escaped to our usual place for a sweet fix - Tom's Palette!

Not difficult to locate, this shop is directly opposite the famous Ah Loy Thai. It's the perfect lunch outing. Thai food, then ice-cream.

Granny's favourite: This is personally my favourite flavour thus far. But with that said, it does not make me a granny! It just has this chocolate-malt taste that I like. And it has what seems like chewy horlicks bits within the ice-cream. A unique combination which as its name suggests, is a favourite even among our elders! (A)
Nuts 'n' such: Chocolate base with nuts like pecan inside. Our first time trying this new flavour, but it was so good! i love those ice-creams with extras like nuts inside, give that extra KRUNCHHH when biting into it. always a surprise and doesn't make eating ice-cream boring. Love it. (A)

Taste Paradise

2 Orchard Turn
#04-07
ION Singapore

You know you’re flipping with excitement inside when you walk towards a restaurant you’ve been dreaming of visiting, when your heart suddenly beats faster and even when the queue has only three people, it feels immensely long.

Last Monday, we went Taste Paradise for “a light lunch”, since it was dim sum and we thought it wouldn’t really fill us up very much. It was our first time eating dim sum after a long break following a buffet at Zhou’s Kitchen which had us swearing off the “Chinese tapas” indefinitely. Oh well, but after reading glowing reviews about Taste and feasting on visual images of delicious dim sum, we caved in & let’s just say, we aren’t disappointed. J

XO Carrot Cake ($7.80)

Charsiew Sou

Siew Mai

Egg Tarts

Har Gow

We ordered 7 dishes in total. The usual har gow, siew mai and egg tarts, their specialty XO carrot cake,  char siew sou,  dough fritters in steamed chee cheong fun, and the much much much awaited custard buns. Everything arrived piping hot, fresh off the kitchen, and the wait staff mentioned the names of the dishes as they came fast and furious. Not a must but much appreciated, since we are often the kind to forget what we order.

Price-wise, it was much more affordable than the higher end dimsum restaurants that we are planning to visit, like Royal China. That said, it was steeper than Swee Choon, our usual hangout place for dim sum since we first got together. ;) Of course, the food was much better too. 

Joy says:

I LOVE THE CUSTARD BUN. Like, really. I mentioned to Paul I wanna marry the chef. I was so excited about it as I read super good reviews about it elsewhere. My excitement must have influenced Paul cos neither of us took a picture of the buns as we were too hasty in sinking our teeth into that goodness.

When the waitress placed it on our table, a milky sweetness from the bouffant beauty queen wafted to my nose invitingly. I held the hot, white gem in my hands, gently peeled off the paper backing, careful not to rip the delicate bun housing the yellow custard goodness. As demurely as I could, I broke the bun into two without much effort. I was drawn into a juggling act as I distributed the filling speedily among two halves. I couldn’t wait any longer and popped one half into my mouth. The filling was still warm, and the sweetness coated my entire tongue. Slightly grainy in texture, the sweet custard bun was a winner. It’s a MUST ORDER.

For the other items, they were pretty good too. The char siew sou was super delicious. Warm, flaky pastry with sweet charsiew filling, one was not enough. We shared three among the two of us. If I were any greedier, I would have ordered more of this.

The usual har gow and siew mai were plump, juicy and fresh. The taste wasn’t much different from those we usually had, but the crunch of the prawns was notable.

In all, we only ordered from the dimsum menu cos it was pretty much what we can afford for now, and the other items were on the steeper end. The whole lunch was vvvvvvvery worth the money and we were really propelled into PARADISE when we TASTED the dishes. And I must add that we were pretty much stuffed by then.

And yes yes yes yes, I WILL GO BACK TO SINK MY TEETH INTO THE SEXY STEAMED CUSTARD BUN. The madness continues.

Grade: A

Paul says:

Service was prompt and we were ushered into the place in less than 10 minutes. Interior was ultra posh and the prices that we paid for the dim sum, though higher than usual, fully justifies its price due to the quality of its food above all else. We were seated in a "private" cabin-like those you see in ancient china dramas that were equipped with curtains. You ARE allowed to pull the curtains back for some privacy but no raunchy business please:P. 

Food was served promptly upon order and the har gow that came first was awesome! The prawns were spongy-"hou yao tan seng". They were fresh and enveloped in the warm embrace of the white crystal-like skin. Next came the special XO sauce fried carrot cake. Though nicer than the one prepared at Zhou's kitchen, it was nothing to shout about especially as it was priced at $7.80 for just carrot cake tossed with some sambal chilli and beansprouts. Keep your moolah for somemore kickass dim sum I reckon. 

Next up was the Char Siew Sou. Normally, these chinese pastries were served in a rectangular fashion with fillings that were cold. However, this eatery sought to buck the trend that I had experienced. I was pleasantly surprised when I sank my teeth into the light and flaky samosa-shaped pastry that revealed warm substantial pieces of char siew within! This dish was indeed a revelation. Definitely the BEST rendition of this dish that I had ever tasted. Even after leaving the last piece of pastry in the open for 15 mins, the char siew was still kept warm. Excellent. 
The Siew Mai came shortly after and boy was I not disappointed. I had previously tasted excellent siew mai at both Pony Jade(@ Keppel Club) and Tung Lok(@ECP). But this one came out a winner. Tiny bits of roe(yes, they could be seen individually) was seen on top of each Siew Mai and this was a welcome change from the orange dots that we see atop most Siew Mais. The filling didn't disappoint too. A fresh prawn was embedded within the minced meat and it was a joy just munching on the crunchy prawns accompanied by a generous portion of meat. Two thumbs up.
The egg tarts came next and while they were not bad, they certainly weren't worth the price that we paid for it. Besides being inadequately sized, the seemingly runny yolk fillings didn't quite live up to expectations. I would say that the best egg tarts that I have ever tasted were from Tong Heng at Chinatown.
Next up was the dough fritters that were wrapped in chee cheong fun. Though it was accompanied with 3 different kinds of sauces- peanut,soy and sweet, the dish was a disappointment.In retrospect, should have spent just a little bit more for a prawn/scallop filling.
Saving the best for last, the much raved about custard buns made its appearance. It was definitely worth the wait. Piping hot molten golden custard was kept in the safety of the bun that held it within. But barely so. The slightest of touches broke a little hole when I delicately tore the paper underneath the bun. I gingerly proceeded to break the bun into half, careful not to let any of the precious custard to flow out. In one gregarious open of the mouth, I wolfed down half the bun. I closed my eyes in bliss as the warmth of the custard bathed my tongue. The bun wasn't overly hard and was soft and fluffy. Thus, it actually blended quite well with the custard that was in my mouth. 3 buns were definitely not enough for us two and this would definitely draw me back to this place for round #2.




In all, the name of the restaurant was quite befitting of the delightful experience I had during lunch. I was in paradise indeed as I marvelled at the taste of the delicacies that I was so fortunate to have before me.




Grade: A

Total bill was $44 (incl. GST & Scv Charge)]

In conclusion,

Food: A

Service: B+

Ambience: A

Value-for-$: B+

Overall grade: A

Apples given: