Carousal Pt 2

Back again to Carousal for our farewell dinner to a dear colleague just recently but this time, we went for a more safe approach by having its well known buffet dinner. "Well known" because my boss and colleagues have already eaten here numerous times before and because it still remains the most worthwhile investment.

Location: 25 Scotts Road, Royal Plaza Hotel, Lobby Level

Contact: 6589-7799

Website: http://www.royalplaza.com.sg/carousel.php

Price range: $45-60 per head for dinner

The cold dish corner

Japanese Counter

Salads and Meat Counter

Chinese Food Counter

Roast and spaghetti counter

Fish and condiments

Dessert

Fondue

Dinner, it seems, brings out the best and worst in this restaurant. I'll just point out the worthwhile items in point form.

1: The cold dish corner is a must. Baby lobsters, medium sized oysters, crayfish and prawns adorn the counter. The freshness is hit or miss though. Out of the 4 lobsters i had, 2 had a powdery aftertaste while the remaining 2 were crunchy, juicy and fresh. So i'd place it at 50/50 on quality.

2: The Japanese counter is a steal. Lots of sashimi, sushi and freshly made california rolls. There's also warm udon and cha soba if you are so inclined. I came back to this counter quite a few times.

3: The spaghetti corner is also a highlight with the spaghetti done al dente along with a balanced tomato base. Waiting time can get a little long when its peak hour though. Along the same counter are huge cuts of steak, duck and fish with a wide variety of condiments which were also worth trying.

4: The cooked food section had sauted wagyu beef the night i was there. There was also eggplant with cheese that the group agreed was done really well. The prawns were average and so were the rest of the offerings though.

5: The chinese food, malay good and indian food counter had queues as well but i don't really take spicy food so i'm not sure if their good.

6: DO NOT TAKE the desserts. This was a surprise for me because i found all the desserts lacking that night. They were either too sweet, too fluffy, or just plain weird like the pandan creme brulee. A disappointment on this corner.

Overall, dinner was a better experience then my previous visit. Click here for previous visit.

I'd up my score to 6.5/10 for this visit for the cold dish and japanese food section.

Last word:
The desserts definitely need work but on another note, I'll still be back for dinner if given the chance.

Bali Thai

A long belated post which has lain dormant in my list for some time. However, the memory remains fresh nonetheless, fresh enough to provide a review and an accurate impression of the experience i've had here.

Location: Tampines Mall #04-01 Singapore 529510

Contact: 67871500

Price range: $20 - 25 per head

Needs no further explaination

Menu

Tables

To be honest, i've been past this place so many times, its amazing how i've never felt the urge to actually step in for a meal. The exterior looks rather dull and dark but the interior is bright and cheery with clean wooden tables and nice black chairs for a zen-like feel. Service was brisk, attentive and rather pleasant as well, which makes me wonder why the place was so quiet. It was peak lunch period when we patronized it and somehow, space was aplenty with a rather abysmal clientele.

The usual compulsory crackers ($3 each)

This was rather pushing the envelope for the rip-off department at $3 per basket of crackers but i must say, i actually liked it. The crackers were good, fragrant, strong vegetable taste but add in the chili and its a whole new game. Spicy, sweet and just good. $3 is still too much for it though.

Tahu Telur ($8.50)

Another look

A rather hearty portion if i say so myself. The tahu telur was overly hard at places but managed to remain acceptable mostly due to yet another excellently fragrant sauce. Its just the normal peanut sweet sauce with a little chili but it really makes this average dish taste better then it really is. However, paying $8.50 for it is something i won't soon repeat however.

Garlic Stir Fried Kailan ($14)

Kailan stands as one of my favorite greens and its a relief that they managed to at least preserve its good tastes with this dish. Nothing outstanding, its the casual garlic stir fried version but its fragrant and very appetising.

BBQ Platter ($48)

Fried whole fish, 2 grilled prawns, generous bbq calamari and squid, chicken and satay rounds up this huge platter of food. This is good. I mean its really pretty good in terms of overal quality. The prawns are grilled till there's a little char on the bottom but manages to make the shell so brittle, you can simply eat the entire thing without much fuss. The fish is huge and deep fried on the outside with the inside still thankfully moist and soft with sweet spices. This went really well with the balachan-like chili. The chicken was overdone which resulted in tough and dry meat but the overal was still nicely fragrant and sweet. The calamari was also done just right and like the rest of the package, is sweet and fragrant. The satay is acceptable and rather bigger portioned then regular satays. Overal, this is a rather good buy to me.

Asam Fish Head ($22)

This was something i touched very little of because i didn't want to sweat like a pig before returning to work. However, i couldn't resist eating the tender and sweet fish meat that was left over by my colleagues. The asam was actually slightly spicy but not overwhelming. The curry taste was rather strong but the fish head was definitely worthwhile at the meaty portions. Fishy taste is apparent but minimal as well.

Tom Yum Seafood ($24)

Their version of the oh-so-famous tom yum seafood soup. This is the clear version and it came packed with seafood. I mean it was literally bursting with ingredients like squid, fish, mussels, prawns and scallop. Its definitely strong in terms of taste and moderately spicy but if i'm not mistaken, still milder then the actual tom yum soup in Thailand. A pretty good rendition and value for money however.

Bill

Finally, a pleasing meal for 7 came up to a total of $141.95. I'd say this is rather worthwhile given the food we had.

Value for money: 7/10
Ambiance: 6/10
Food Quality: 6.5/10
Overall: 6.5/10 ( not an average)

Last Word: A pretty decent setting and decent serving of food. The pluses are the fact it came with good service and that the price of entry is rather low. For improvement, i'd suggest having more set meal options and tie ups with companies for catering and such to boost visibility.

Swenson's

Swenson's is a property pretty much everyone would have heard about. Began since 1948 over in San Francisco, Swenson's has since grown to encompass the Middle East, Asia and USA. Their outlets can be found easily in shopping malls and other outlets alike. For a place that began as a humble ice cream shop, it now boasts a menu all its own. Has time been kind on this franchise though?

Location: 4 Tampines Central 4 #03-03

Contact: 67815489

Price Range: $20 - 30 per head

Strawberry Sundae

Chicken Soup

Prawn And Fruit Salad

Chicken in a Jacket

Omelette With Salad and Fries

French Fries

Pesto Salmon Saute

Rodeo Wings

Clam Chowder

Ribeye Steak

Cookies and Cream Ice Cream with Chipsmore Cookie

Of all the items above, the ones i did try are the soup, which was pasty and starchy and also quite salty.
The prawn and fruit salad was pretty good albeit bland as it was only the taste of lettuce with prawns with little or no olive oil and vinegaritte. The good thing about it was that the prawns were crunchy.
The fries turned out to be the best item for this visit IMHO. Hot, slightly thick and not oily. It went well with the tartar sauce and chilli/tomato mixture as usual.
The rodeo wings came across as overfried and had too much flour thrown into the mix. The rodeo aka spicy chili sauce felt tagged on and not the authentic smoked rodeo wings it should be.
My main course was the ribeye steak which i ordered medium rare but came well done. There was also an abundance of the fatty layer which meant a huge part of the meat could not be consumed. The meat tasted tough and lacked any form of beefy taste which i would have expected.
The cookies and cream ice cream was another disappointment in it being close to tasteless. At least it was sweet though.

Overall Score: 5.75/10

Last Word:
I'm quite disappointed frankly but at the very least, it did not deteriorate to the point of Jack's Place which i've completely sworn off. Also, i have to thank my 2 colleagues for giving me a treat for this as otherwise, i may not have had the chance to try it again. The way it stands now, its a safe bet to say that improvements are definitely needed but its still not beyond redemption.

Fresh Bulgogi

Fresh Bulgogi belongs in the same vein as Seoul Garden, Breeks and is part of a larger group of restaurants under Zingrill holdings. As ever, their commitment to bring a large array of food to the masses has given birth to yet another chain which specializes in Korean Food. And yet again, it was my colleague's birthday which brought us to gather round for a meal.

Location: #036-059 Changi Airport Terminal 2 Viewing Mall South

Contact: 62221339

Website: http://www.zingrill.com.sg/

Price per head: $20 per head

Chicken Bulgogi ($8.99)

Beef Bulgogi ($9.99)

Going by its namesake, the bulgogi should be first rate and thankfully, it wasn't too bad. I had the beef bulgogi which consisted of pan fried beef, bean sprouts, greens, kimchi and an egg atop rice which were reminiscent of japanese rice in that it was more moist and had much texture and bite. From my limited knowledge of the food, the only way i know to enjoy this was to mix the ingredients till it was colorful and mashy. The mixture in the end tasted slightly spicy and sweet which bodes well for me.

Marinated Chicken ($5.99)

Do not let this extreme close up shot fool you, the chicken portion was so small it was laughable that they dared priced it as it is. The meat itself was the usual korean marinated, which meant it was sweet and tasted like honey coated barbeque meat. It was rather tender too but the price and portion screams "RIP OFF" so loud its difficult to ignore.

Marinated Beef Short ($15.99)

8 pieces of beef for $15.99. Shock has more or less abated since its becoming abundantly clear on how these little items cost so much. The sweet beef is strangely elastic as its almost impossible to chew and break.

Seafood Hot Pot ($26.99)

Just when i was about to give up on the restaurant, in came its saving grace. The hotpot was huge and all the seafood within it was served uncooked thus the view was one where you see the food slowly simmer to a boil. Mussells, clams, prawns, mushrooms and scallops in kimchi broth. The broth itself isn't as spicy as the color makes it out to be and had a rather pleasing chunky texture to it. The seafood itself was thankfully fresh. Now, this, i can recommend an order.

Fried Chicken ($5.99)

Crispy, hot and moderately spicy, this reminded me a little about Mcdonald's spicy drumlets but bigger. Nothing much else to say though.

Bill

The bill for this meal came up to $118.19 after a 10% discount.

Overall Score: 6/10

Last Word:

For a korean food place, i'd say its not too bad although the price needs tweaking to ensure customers don't feel ripped off from some of its small serving items. Still, i'm not returning to this place for a second meal though.

Breeks

It was my colleague, Florence's birthday that we decided as a team to go down to Changi Airport for a quick get together lunch with the entire team and the boss. Well, Breeks has been around for at least 15 years if i'm not mistaken and has been serving unbiased and unpretentious western fast food for the masses since its inception. Its strong points according to its website are its fish and chips and its chicken of which i have yet to try honestly.

Location: Terminal 2 #036-087-01 Level 3 Viewing Mall North

Contact: 65431339

Website: http://www.zingrill.com.sg/zingrill/

Price Range: $30-40 per head

Clam Chowder Soup

Its definitely thicker then usual campbells soup and there is quite a good variety of condiments and bread in the soup. Not lacking in the taste department at all and in fact, its pretty satisfying for a starter.

Safari Feast ($14.50)

As we were trying to decide which other starter we should have, the waitress informed us of the safari feast which included everything we needed to have. Criss cut fries, chicken drumlets, fried fish and some deep fried shrimp. Sinful stuff. Anyway, we ordered the feast and were delighted that they gave us 5 drumlets instead of 4 which was the norm. Great service on that one. The fries were golden, thick and crispy, the wings were crispy, spicy and juicy which were both good. The shrimp and fish were alright though it could be better as they somehow lacked much taste.

Hotplate Salmon Steak ($16.90)

Fish and Shrimp Lafayette ($15.90)

Baked Seafood Rice ($14.90)

Leaving you with the photos as i didn't get to eat much. I did try the seafood rice which was decent but not outstanding, the fish lafayette was alright as well but not fantastic. My boss had the chicken melt which was actually quite tender and fragrant but also, not fantastic. Honestly, that holds true for my main course as well.

Pan seared Black Pepper Fish Spaghetti ($16.90)

The spaghetti is worth mentioning as it was done al dente and worked well with the tomato based sauce it came with. The black pepper fish itself was also done pretty well but lacked the sweetness it should to be above average as the black pepper tended to mask the taste. However, in its defense, the fish was soft and seared well to retain its juices. The garden salad was a good choice to neutralize the taste when it overwhelmed as well.

Bill

Total bill came up to $134.10 for 7 people which averaged about $20 per head. Not too expensive but the quality needs improvement.

Overall Score: 6/10

Last word:
The place was surprisingly quiet for lunch and the seats were more or less free to choice. Service was pretty good but lacking finesse and the food has lots of room for improvement. However, for simple unpretentious fast food which it really is, it gets the job done. Just don't expect me to return when there are so many other better places around.

Siam Kitchen

Had the good fortune to be treated once again by my nice boss when it was Secretaries Day. I'm not a secretary but i tagged along and shamelessly got myself a free meal. Ahhh....its the little things in life that make life beautiful doesn't it? Thanks boss!

Location: Parkway Parade #B1-126

Contact: 6766 4766

Price range: $19 - 24 per head

Website: http://www.siamkitchen.com.sg/

Started in 1997, Siam kitchen is committed to bringing authentic Thai cuisine to Singapore without compromising the taste and quality of the transition. After 11 years, has their food been palatable for the majority of Singaporeans or are they going down the slippery slope marking the end?

Crackers

As with most meals, an appetizer begins the day and this time, its a bowl of crackers. Vegetable crackers if i'm not mistaken. Light, crispy and fragrant, it managed to set the mood for the meal to come. In fact, it was good enough for us to get it refilled at least once but maybe we're just cracker people.

Salad

Fish cake

Chicken Wings

Whilst waiting for the rest of the team to arrive, we went ahead to get ourselves a few ala carte items which you see above. Surprisingly, the best items turned out to be the salad of which i've forgotten the actual name. Either way, the salad was drenched in the usual sourish and sweet sauce that thai food is known for and the cold "cucumber?" and other items made for a refreshing and interesting taste. The wings were hot and tender while the fish cake was rather lackluster.

Buffet Lunch Set with free flow ice lemon tea($15.90 +1.99)

The buffet Spread

Green Curry Chicken

Tom Yum Soup

More On the Buffet

Pineapple Rice

The buffet spread came with a multitude of items which you will get to have at one go. These include, thai spicy squid salad, lemongrass chicken wings, prawn balls, tom yum prawn soup, thai fish cake, green curry chicken, chicken satay, fish fillet in yellow curry, sweet and sour prawn, beef massaman in dry curry, minced chicken in chili and basil, tofu in oyster sauce, baby kailan with garlic and mushroom, fried kangkong and pineapple rice.
In all respects, that is a pretty big variety and everything is done ala carte. The catch is that they'll serve everything once and after that, you'll get to re order whatever else you wish to have seconds of. The tom yum is more sourish then spicy while the green curry had an overdose of coconut milk which isn't to my taste nor waistline. The only item good enough to mention was the chicken wing and thats at a discounted size from the actual ones that could be obtained from the ala carte menu. Still, the other items weren't all bad per se, just not up to the standard i would like. And anyway, its a buffet so this is more or less expected.

Beef Guo Tiao

Sweet and Sour Fish Guo Tiao

More Guo Tiao

Red Ruby, Water Chestnut and Coconut milk in Shaved Ice

Glutinuous Rice, Vanilla Ice Cream and Mango

The above items were had by my colleagues who opted for the ala carte menu instead of the buffet. All of the guo tiao items received positive feedback which more or less confirms that the ala carte served much better food. The red ruby however, had too much coconut milk and was exceedingly salty, yep, salty is the word. The mango and glutinous rice also turned up too salty but was balanced by the mango and the ice cream in the end. Maybe thats how the authentic items tasted like in Thailand?

Overall Score: 5.5/10

Last Word:
In terms of value for money, the buffet is generous and definitely filling enough although quality is compromised somewhat. The desserts and a few other items really felt like there was excess salt added which was quite disconcerting. Otherwise, the service was pretty good and no additional rules were enforced when the buffet customers and the ala carte customers sat together which i took to be a good sign. It wasn't terrible and the ala carte items definitely got better reviews.