Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Victor's Kitchen: Authentic Dim Sum at a Steal

Ever since business bloomed due to the word of mouth, this humble looking eatery had expanded from one stall to three scattered stalls around the ground level of Sunshine Plaza.

To be honest, Victor's Kitchen looked rather "lok kok" with minimal attention paid to its renovation. But we don't really care because if they're scrimping on that to deliver us quality food at low prices, why not? I'll just grab a shaky wooden stool, sit down, and eat my hearts out.

Victor's King Prawn Dumpling

Victor's King Prawn Dumpling,   S$3.80++,   

The freshness of the prawns play a major role when it comes to eating Har Gaus, and this one here didn't disappoint us. Prawns were tender and bouncy, and the transluent skin clinging around were thin and soft, yet firm enough to hold the entire dumpling together without falling apart.

Tasty Queen Size Siew Mai

Tasty Queen Size Siew Mai,   S$3++,   

I don't know why Har Gau Siew Mai must go together when people speak of dim sum, but we're not missing this out. The Siew Mais didn't appear 'queen size' as stated in the menu, but they were still quite tasty alright. It wasn't soggy, and most importantly, it didn't reeked of the foul pork smell which we both hate.

Scallop, Sausage Carrot Cake with XO Sauce

Scallop, Sausage Carrot Cake with XO Sauce,   S$3.80++,   

This Carrot Cake was apart from the fried ones we usually eat, and it was quite fascinating to see the whole steamed carrot cake literally soaked in XO Sauce. Taste wise, though somewhat bland with zilch hint of any Scallops nor Sausages, it went really smooth and well with the heavy XO Sauce.

Steam Chicken with Chinese Wine

Steam Chicken with Chinese Wine,   S$2.50++,   

Not just one, but all of the chicken parts were composed of bones, and very fatty meat. Yuck.

Oyster Sauce Char Siew Bun

Oyster Sauce Char Siew Bun,   S$2.80++,   

We are big fans of Char Siew Baos, and the ones served here are definitely in our top ten list! The buns were made of soft cottony goodness loaded with juicy chunks of Char Siew - two is never too full!

Milky Custard Bun

Milky Custard Bun,   S$2.80++,   

The first Custard Bun we've tried was right here at Victor's Kitchen, and following our first unforgettable experience, we went around trying Custard Buns from other places but none could become a match for this. We simply love how the rich creamy egg custard blended perfectly with the salted egg yolk - sweet with a slight tinge of saltiness.

King Prawn Cheong Fun

King Prawn Cheong Fun,   S$3.50++,   

You can really skip the Char Siew Cheong Fun here, because it was so-so and you could find much heavenly ones at House of Rice Roll and Porridge @ Killiney. Go for the King Prawn Cheong Fun instead which the Killiney eatery loses out at.

King Prawn Cheong Fun
The prawns, like those in the Har Gaus, were so fresh you could hear them crunch!

Youtiao Cheong Fun

Youtiao Cheong Fun,   S$3++,   

Initally when we saw this in the menu, we were like, "who the heck would put a Youtiao into Chee Cheong Fun?" Nevertheless, being curious, we ordered the dish anyway and it turned out to be an absolute no regret! A very unique dish to speak of - with the crispyness of the fried dough sticks in contrast to the silky rice rolls, and together with the sweet black sauce, the combination was simply out of this world!

Crispy Golden Shrimp Rolls

Crispy Golden Shrimp Rolls,   S$3.50++,   

None of the online reviews we've seen had mentioned about this dish, but it was admittedly great in our modest opinions. The beancurd skin was light and crispy; the hot shrimp fillings were juicy and delicious; and the vinegar added more even more punch to everything.

Passion Mango Pomelo Sago

Passion Mango Pomelo Sago,   S$4++,   

Don't forget to order this soothing Passion Mango Pomelo Sago as dessert to end off a gratifying dim sum meal.

VERDICT
Overall, we are very satisfied with Victor's Kitchen and the affordable prices that go along with it. Though menu items were pretty limited, they were enough to tell us what good authentic dim sum is. (We heard that the owner's actually from Hong Kong!)

Victor's Kitchen
Victor's Kitchen
#01-21/27/48, Sunshine Plaza
91 Bencoolen Street, S(189652)
(+65) 9838 2851
Tue - Sun: 10.30 a.m. - 8 p.m.
Mon: Closed


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Friday, September 19, 2008

Riders Cafe: Hidden Find

We were doing some online research for makan places around Bukit Timah area when we stumbled across this restaurant - Riders Cafe.

Secluded in a secluded Bukit Timah Saddle Club, it was an instant urban getaway with long winding roads and overlooking greeneries welcoming you from everywhere.

Riders Cafe
With wooden finishings and unshut windows, one can totally loosen up in such an environment. What's most awesome about this restaurant which offers a different dining experience from others is that you could actually spot horses trotting by while savouring your meals!

Buffalo Wingers

Buffalo Wingers (Half a Dozen),   S$8.95++,   

These Buffalo Wingers came in as a sweet tasting surprise - they weren't spicy at all! (At least to us.) But despite missing out on the usual fiery kick, these wingers still carried off their unique sweetness well. If the thick sauce coating didn't seem enough, dip them into the special mayonnaise for a even sweeter smack.

Mushroom Chorizo Pasta

Mushroom Chorizo Pasta,   S$15.95++,   

In a bed of healthy looking Linguine, you could find thin shreds of cheese, slices of button mushrooms and also Chorizo (a mixture of several types of pork sausages). We thought that the pasta appeared too dry-looking for Aglio Olio style, but upon trying, the humble strands proved us wrong with their spring and flavour - everything nice and delicious in much less oil.

Ribeye

Ribeye,   S$28++,   

Man, this was definitely one good Ribeye! The grill, the tenderness, the succulence, the cut, the sauce, the presentation gets your cutleries and gastric juices running in full swing. Even the sides like asparagus, carrots, and roasted potatoes were not taken lightly of.

Death-By-Chocolate-Cake

Death-By-Chocolate-Cake,   S$11.95++,   

Love on first bite, sick after fifth bite, hate at tenth bite. Chocolate cake with warm runny chocolate sauce is no doubt yummy, but when it's an overwhelming portion, errr... Our advice - share it!

VERDICT
We were in love with every little bit of Riders Cafe from the moment we stepped foot in until we left. Delectable dishes enjoyed over luscious sceneries with greens and horses - how often do you chance upon places like this in our lion city?

Riders Cafe
Riders Cafe
Bukit Timah Saddle Club
51 Fairways Drive, S(286965)
(+65) 6466 9819
Tue - Sun: 8 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Mon: Closed

http://www.riderscafe.sg

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Monday, September 8, 2008

Sakae Teppanyaki: Clink Clank Clonk

In Sakae Teppanyaki, an orchestra of "clanks" could be heard from all that skillful frying, flipping, scraping as the chefs present the food neatly to your face.

Cooking Teppanyaki
Seated in a side-by-side fashion within a semi-circle table of ten, it was very easy for the chef to become the centre of attraction. Thus, he puts on his best performance even when cooking - stunts like somersaulting the bottles of sauces and drizzling them in a fancy way.

Appetiser and Miso Soup

Appetiser and Miso Soup (Part of Chicken Set),   S$17.99++,   

To start the ball rolling, we were served a bowl of hot soup and a bowl of cold cucumber lettuce salad with Japanese dressing. Very ordinary - just something for us to slurp and munch on as we watched our meal being prepared dish by dish.

Garlic Brown Rice

Garlic Brown Rice (Upgraded from Chicken Set),   S$2.50++,   

We did a top of S$2.50 to change the plain white rice to this! It was indeed as promising as it looked, fried with egg, butter and a couple of sauces, giving off a redolent of garlic. And the best part was it was neither too greasy or dry.

Assorted Mushroom

Assorted Mushroom (Part of Chicken Set),   S$17.99++,   

What can we say when it comes to mushrooms, and what's more when they're in Teppanyaki style? We simply love them to bits!

Salmon

Salmon (Part of Chicken Set),   S$17.99++,   

Quite a stingy thin slice of Salmon of passable quality. It does not belong to those super fresh kind but at least it wasn't dry and mashy.

Oyster

Oyster (Part of Chicken Set),   S$17.99++,   

Oysters in Teppanyaki style was a complete turn-off. I threw this away after the first bite. Yuck!

Tofu Steak

Tofu Steak (Part of Chicken Set),   S$17.99++,   

Thankfully egg tofu was used for this because we have a personal distaste against plain tofu. A simple but likeable dish but we still got quite tired of it after a while.

Chicken

Chicken (Part of Chicken Set),   S$17.99++,   

Yes, we ordered the Chicken Set, so the Chicken must have been the star. These juicy cubes were tastily seasoned and cooked till slightly charred around the edges, but yet not overburnt - just the way we like it!

Duck Meat

Duck Meat,   S$9.99++,   

The Duck Meat was an a la carte add on, and we thought that it was a bit pricey to pay for little tough meat like that.

VERDICT
If you like the sight of sizzling and frying done before you, then you would enjoy it here! Sakae Teppanyaki however does not entertain 'girls' who complain that their hair reek of the strong smell of food afterwards, because all that smoke is inevitable! It's up to you whether to call it stench or aroma.

Sakae Teppanyaki - Bugis Junction
Sakae Teppanyaki - Bugis Junction
#B1-05, Bugis Junction
200 Victoria Street, S(188021)
(+65) 6884 4624
Mon - Sun: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.

http://www.sakaeteppanyaki.com

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