Peach Garden Restaurant at Hotel Miramar, Singapore

Peach Garden Chinese Restaurant in Hotel Miramar

Peach Garden @ Hotel Miramar
401 Havelock Road
Hotel Miramar, Level 3
Singapore 169631

For reservations, please contact:

Tel: 6736 3833
Fax: 6235 6833

We went there for Sunday lunch where there is an ongoing discount of 30% on dim sum. I can see why! The service from the managers was poor and only made up for by the elderly auntie waitresses who tried their best to serve the customers. The senior waiters (wearing suits or are they managers?) were quite rude and did not appear to contribute much to the service.

Most of the dim sum, despite being served from trolly steamers, were cold or only luke warm. The fried dim sum was generally cold and not any better. Most of the dim sum tasted quite ordinary. I ordered the 3 roasts, which was not very good. The roast pork (siew yoke) skin was crispy but the duck and char siew was very average. Even with the 30% discount, it was poor value for money and I would not go back there again.

It was not packed on a Sunday and I suspect that many customers are voting with their feet and not returning. Parking was easy as the hotel appeared to have amble parking space and it was $3.50 per entry. 

Poulet, at Westgate Jurong, Singapore

A French rotisserie restaurant in Westgate, Jurong. Near Jem. On the ground floor. 

We went into this restaurant at the spur of a moment during a routine shopping trip in Jurong. The chicken roasting in a rotisserie was particularly attractive. We ordered half a roast chicken in a cream and mushroom sauce, some escargots, a chicken puff pastry pizza and a tuna baguette. 

The roast chicken was nice. He chicken was juicy and soft, hard to do well for chicken on the spit. The chicken puff pasty "pizza" was average (and very forgettable) and the tuna sandwich was worst than DeliFrance. The French fries was crispy in the outside and fluffy on the inside. The mash potato was perplexing. Either the wrong type of potato was used or it was mixed with powered potato as the consistently was powdery and lack a true potato flavour. I didn't think that any French restaurant can get escargots wrong as it's usually frozen or from a can. However, this suffered from a lack of garlic and seasoning. Very disappointing. 

Charging 50 cents for tap water just cheapens the place and takes it down a notch. Service is average. Waiteress did not appear to know the pronounciation of the Fench menu. Water was only refilled when requested. Despite the number of staff, other customers have to walk up to the cashier to request for the bill!

Overall, I would return to poulet if it was the only restaurant open in Westgate. I probably would order only the roast chicken and some fries as that appears to be the only thing good in the restaurant. 

P Bistro - Owen Road, Singapore

http://www.p-bistro.com

142 Owen Road
Singapore 218941

info@p-bistro.com

T. 6392 2333

Closed on Mondays

Dress Code: Casual

A friend recommended this little cafe/Bistro to me recently. This is a little family run restaurant by a lovely couple. The chefs were previously working in the Grand Hyatt hotel so I expected the standard of food to be quite high.

We had a very warm welcome when we arrived at the restaurant. The owner was actually having his Father's Day meal in the restaurant. We were shown around the restaurant (P Bistro is spread over 2 floors, the more formal dining area upstairs and a more informal cafe down stairs but the menu was the same)

I ordered the Thai beef salad which was surprisingly good. The dish was very well balanced with the right amount of tartness from the vegetables, spiciness from the fresh red chillies and sweetness from the marinade. The beef was done medium and it was so lovely that I would return to this restaurant just to eat this again. The salad portion was very generous and was a small main course by itself

Thai beef salad

Flat iron steak

For my mains, I had the flat iron steak with a mushroom salad and a side of red wine sauce. The steak was done very nicely in medium. Well seasoned and tender. I couldn't really taste the red wine in the sauce but it was still a very tasty sauce. I like my steaks and this was good value at $25.

Spag Bol

Fish and chips

My 2 other guests had the fish and chips and spag Bol. The fried breaded fish was unfortunately dry and lacking in flavour. Maybe I'm just too used to good beer battered fish from England but this was disappointing. The spaghetti bolognaise was very good. The pasta was not overcooked (Very difficult to find in Singapore as pasta tends to be over cooked) and the meat sauce was not too wet. Very classic italian and delicious!

I had the chocolate mousse cake which was very nice. It was creamy and well whisked but could be more chocolatey. It lacked the slighty bittersweet taste of a good chocolate but don't get me wrong, it was still very nice. The cake top was slightly dry. I'm not sure if the macarons should be stored in the same section of the cake chiller though as one needs to be dry and the cakes need to be moist.

The service was warm, friendly and attentive. Our water was always filled and there was a nice selection of drinks. The coffee was also excellent!

Overall, it was a delicious meal and I would return again. All 3 of us unanimously would order the beef salad, steak and spag bol again. I just wish I had more room in my stomach to try out the other cakes. Oh well, we will be back again!

Chocolate mousse cake

The lovely selection of cakes

Bistecca - Tuscan Steak House, Singapore

Bistecca, Tuscan Steak House, Singapore.

25 Mohamed Sultan Road 
Singapore 238969

http://www.bistecca.com.sg (Reservations can be done online)
Dress code from what I can see: smart casual

I like steaks. I've lived in the UK for a long time and really appreciate the high quality steaks the country produces. I heard about this restaurant from several blogs and from a friend. The menu looks fairly simple (which I think is a good sign for a steakhouse as steaks should be done simply, lightly seasoned to bring out the flavours of the meat) The restaurant has 2 sittings for dinner, 6-8pm and 8.30pm to 10.30pm. I made the reservations online, and it was confirmed by an email which gently suggested that we vacated the place by 8.30pm.

My friends and I decided to skip the starts and go straight to the main course (why distract my stomach?). We ordered the 1kg Costata  (Wagyu F1 bone-in rib eye, MBS 6+ ) on the recommendation of the waiter. Ribeye cuts are marbled with fat, usually full of flavour and its an easier steak to cook as its less likely to be tough. We ordered it to be done Medium as I like my steaks to not bleed too much. but yet not too tough. 


The costata arrived after 30 mins, cooked over a wood fired grill (you can see the cooking in the open kitchen), with an appropriate chargrilled crust. see pic below. It was pre sliced and it was more rare to medium rare than medium. It was a disappointing start. We clearly ordered medium, and the chef obviously knew it was medium rare (as he sliced it!), and still served it. Not a good sign for quality in the kitchen. The steak was also under seasoned and we had to add more salt and pepper to it. I understand that its a big chunk of meat and difficult to cook as its quite thick, but for a restaurant that routinely serves steaks that are 1-2 kg, that is just not forgivable. The wagyu itself was juicy and tender, but I've had much better for a cheaper price. The grilling just did not enhance the flavour of the meat. I really think I could do a better job with a grill pan at home. On the positive side, the steak was well rested though, as there was very little meat juice on the plate and was served warm, rather than hot. It came with some grilled red onions a sprig of chive, which was pretty good, and the only fibre I had for that night! 8P

On a side note, I've found a great recipe for tuscan-style steaks from the Culinary Institute of America http://enthusiasts.ciachef.edu/grilled-steak-tuscan-style/. It works very very well.

The Costata

The chips (ok, you guys call it fries) was interesting. it was a thick cut british style chip and it was actually pretty good. It was just crispy enough on the outside, and filled with soft fluffy potato. Exactly the way I like it.

Tuscan Fries

The front of house was slick and professional. Despite being late, they got me to my table quickly and welcomed me warmly. Our waiter was excellent and service was pretty good. He was attentive and constantly refilled our drinks and water. However, overall, the food experience was disappointing. I really expected the steaks to be better considering that we were paying over $170 (or $85 per person) just for the steak alone and the speciality of the restaurant. I've noted some very good online reviews on Bistecca, but most appear to be sponsored or invited.

If you are wondering where is the best steak I have ever had in the world, it is in an argentinian restaurant in London called Gaucho (£35 for a ribeye). If you are wondering where is the best value steak house I've ever been to so far, it was in a columbian restaurant in London (£12 for a delicious hugh ribeye steak). I'm still convinced it a front for something more sinister. More on that another time.

The Singapore Bak Kut Teh Wars - Ng Ah Soh Vs. Founders

Bak Kut Teh (or pork rib tea to my English friends)  has always held a special place in my heart. It reminds me of old Singapore, my childhood in hot sweaty coffee shops slurping up the peppery soup and eating the chunky pork ribs. Since my return to Singapore, I have explored various bak kut teh restaurants in Singapore. In this review, we actually went to both restaurants in the same night, to avoid any recall bias!

We went to the original Ng Ah Soh at Rangoon Road first and then to Founders after. We had a nice variety of dishes in both restaurants as you can see in the pic. The Soup in Ng Ah Soh was peppery and a little more herby than Founders but was missing the meatiness of a prolong simmer with pork. The pork was a little softer than Founders. I'm not exactly sure why, perhaps its the breed or type of ribs used. Overall, we felt that the soup was better in Founders. The fried You Tiao was quite disappointing in both restaurants, being quite stale and flavourless.

Service was much better in Founders than in Ng Ah Soh. The soup was topped up frequently and staff was just more polite and friendly in Founders.

Ng Ah Soh Bak Kut Teh

Founders Bah Kut Teh

The Winner? Founders!

The verdict was unanimously Founders between the 4 of us. It was a nice combination of pepper, herbs and flavour that made it an excellent soup. My only complaint was the pork was a little tougher compared to Ng Ah Soh. Overall, you will have a fantastic culinary experience in either restaurant, but Founders was just a little better!

https://www.facebook.com/founderbakkuttehrangoon
http://ngahsio.com 

Dancing Crab at The Grandstand (Turf City)

Dancing Crab - Louisiana Seafood Restaurant, Singapore

200 Turf Club Road, The Grandstand #01-20/21, Singapore 287994

Tel: 64663303

Interesting boil in bag American Southern canjun and creole seafood. I have never had this style food before so I was really keen to try it. I've only seen this concept while watching Man Vs. Food in the UK! It's $80 for the seafood combo we had (see photos below). The bag was packed with a Sri Lankan crab (weight probably around 900g), some big prawns (300g worth according to the menu), mussels, some root veg and sausages. It tasted absolutely fab with the medium spicy sauce. No cutlery was provided as the food was "finger licking good"! The seafood did require hand picking and shelling and it did add to the experience. I did have to ask for a spoon though as I risk burning my fingers when the hot food was just delivered. If you are sharing, a spoon will also be required to avoid dipping your (possibly dirty) fingers into the sauce looking for tasty seafood morsels. The food was very good, and we finished everything! I also highly recommend the corn bread to soak up the chilli goodness in the bag.

The food was 8 out of 10, but the service was not very good (5 out of 10)  despite the restaurant not being very crowded. The food was dumped on the table and the waiter just walked off. I understood the concept so it wasn't a problem, but the elderly couple next to us were really confused on what to do after the food got delivered. I asked for a fork later to dig out some of the crab from its shell and the waiter gave me a disdainful look and said "you should use your fingers in this restaurant" Thanks. But I've got no interest in cutting myself on a shell.

Despite the service, Overall, I would go again! I suspect that there would be more competition from restaurants in this format in the future but at the moment, this is probably one of the best for canjun seafood cooking in Singapore.

The Menu

The cook in bag goodness!

Yum! We finished everything!

La Petite Cuisine at The Serene Centre, Singapore

What can I say? Small portions, average quality and poor service. The only thing French about this place is the poor service. 

I ordered the potato and leek soup ($3.50) which was tasteless and under seasoned. For my main course, I ordered a medium sirloin steak ($15) which came overcooked in a strange pepper sauce. The potato gratin that came with it was not caramelised and hence lacked any flavour.  I've had much better French food in a hawker centre for half the price. 

The person that took my order was sullen, rude and appeared disinterested. I will not be coming here again.

Basilico - The Italian Restaurant at The Regent Hotel, Singapore

Basilico

I 

I came here on the recommendations from some friends. The lunch time buffet was $58++. It is excellent value for what you get. I particularly love the smoked buffalo mozzarella cheese and the variety of olives. The range of Italian hams were limited to just 2 types. There is a mixture of both northern and southern Italian cuisine and from my experience, it was all very authentic. I would recommend a trip to Basilico for a fantastic Italian experience! Service is also excellent and the waiters very attentive in clearing the plates and topping up the drinks. 

Review written on the iPhone. 

Queenstown Claypot Laksa, Singapore.

Claypot Laksa in Queenstown Hawker Centre, Singapore.

This is the $4.50 medium bowl. I've had much better laksa for $3-4 and of a much larger portion. Verdict? Not worth the $4.50 and not very good.