Corner House @ 1 Cluny Rd, Singapore Botanic Gardens

So Singapore's food scene has gotten more exciting with the Michelin Guide being released, and as my blog name suggests, I went around looking for Michelin Star places to try. In particular I was interested in Corner House, with its newly minted one star Michelin, which offers high-end contemporary (but more Western) cuisine. Tucked inside Singapore Botanic Gardens, Corner House is a quaint colonial house that sits amidst the lush greenery. 

Now getting a reservation for your meal is pretty important as ideal slots are harder to come by, especially with Corner House getting its Michelin Star. I unsuccessfully tried to get a Saturday lunch slot for 3 pax about two weeks before the date. Fortunately I managed Friday lunch for two instead. Do note that like other high-end restaurants, the dinner menu is often more expensive than the lunch. 

So Corner House has a rather "small" menu, so you'll probably end up getting a set, and in this case, I would recommend the Business Luncheon Set below. 

Note that the 3/4 courses courses differ in that you get both appetizers in the latter instead of having just one. I would recommend getting the 4 course set as the appetizers are probably one of the best I've tasted.

Before talking about the food itself, let's talk more about the actual setting of the restaurant. It's quite a quaint place, particularly good for a small group of friends or a couple.The table I got for two people was similar to this but more private as we were hidden in a corner. The view itself was pretty refreshing, as its good to escape the city sights for some greenery. The interior of the restaurant is well-adorned, reminiscent of colonial displays seen in museums. 

Complimentary bread is always welcome, especially when it's fresh. The bread (for those really hungry people, it's refillable) came in two types: the sweetish raisin ones and the plain toasted bread. The butter was pretty nice as it was lightly-salted but it was the presentation of the butter that impressed me. On a side note, Corner House is fully air-conditioned, otherwise the butter would have meet an untimely end.

Appetiser 1: Foie Gras

A pretty good foie gras with a comforting fruity aftertaste. The texture of the foie gras is sufficiently smooth for my liking and the taste is comfortably strong (but this is often a reason why some people avoid or like foie gras).  This taste is achieved through the accompanying ingredients such as the citrus (grapefruit in this case) which help to offset the "raw" taste of the foie gras. The presentation of the meal seen in the picture speaks for itself.

Appetiser 2: Hokkaido Scallop

Probably my favorite dish of the meal. The scallops are completely raw and turned out to have a fine balance of chewiness and firmness. This was to my liking as I find the texture of cooked scallops too chewy. The usage of citrus once again does wonders to keep the brininess of the scallop in check. The tobiko

Main Course 1: Hungarian Mangalitsa Pork

I normally prefer beef as my choice of meat, but I would change sides in a heartbeat if all pork tasted like this. The pork is extremely tender and is easily comparable to kurobuta.  It was pretty amazing how the pork managed to be this tender and not have to compromise by being too thin. Though I wasn't fond of the yellow mustard, it helped to mask the overly meaty flavor that pork tends to have.

Main Course 2: Australian Wagyu Beef

Served medium rare, this wagyu beef is pretty average, although this was because  the earlier pork had already set the standards pretty high. The meat was surprisingly less tender than the pork. The taste of the beef was noticeably less flavorful than wagyu beef offered elsewhere. The fried potato crackers, sitting above the beef, was too firm for my liking.

I would recommend the pork over this, especially since the wagyu is $6 more expensive.

Dessert: Kaya Toast (Left); Japanese Cucumber Sorbet (Right)

The sorbet is unconventional as cucumber is used as the main ingredient. However the sorbet feels too "airy" and I felt that I was eating cool air half the time. Yet it's alright if you just wanted something light but refreshing to end off your dining experience.

Now, the chef's interpretation of kaya toast is an interesting one. It's like an atas sandwich ice cream but instead of taking huge bites of it, you're probably enjoy it more eating it slowly. The cream wedged between the "toasts" is neither too full nor too empty, and is a fine blend of gula melaka and coconut. This was easily the better of the two desserts I tried. 

Overall comments:

The setting of the place is really nice, conducive for a carefree and sunny weekend lunch with a small group of friends and family. The service is excellent, with the waiters meticulously introducing the dishes and its ingredients as well as diligently replacing cutlery and refilling water. (Note: if they ask you whether you want still or sparkling water, you can just opt for iced/warm water)

Overall, Corner House is deserving of its Michelin star in terms of food quality and service. The presentation of the dishes are impeccable and you can forgive them for being a bit small in portion size. Not terribly expensive, although if you opt for dinner, it'll cost a bit more. If you're looking for a nice place to celebrate a more private occasion, I would recommend trying Corner House.

[On the banlist] Jin Shan @ Marina Bay Sands Hotel

Haven't been updating the blog since laziness got the better of me, but I just had to write a review for this. Jin Shan is a Chinese restaurant, located on the main floor of the MBS hotel, which suggests it's pretty good. Unfortunately it's the opposite. To summarise Jin Shan, it has poor service, sub-par food but worse, it operates like a scammer. Wanna know why? Scroll to the bottom.

But to be fair, let us talk about Jin Shan does to draw customers. Other than its prime location to attract hotel guests, it has a reasonably priced 5 course lunch set for $38++.

Looks pretty good right? Sad to say that Jin Shan's lunch set is pretty bad, even if we disregard the fact that it's located in a five-star hotel.

Set B: Barbequed Trio Combination

 Very ordinary appetiser. Didn't help that the meat was on the cold side.

Set A: Dim Sum Trio

 One of the better courses of the set. Their dim sum is quite dainty and the ingredients such as the prawns that they use is fresh.

Set B: Minced Chicken with Millet in Golden Soup

Probably the best part of the meal, this soup is extremely flavorful and savory. The texture of soup is in a good place as it strikes a good balance of not being overly thick or thin. The presentation is exquisite, although the portion size is deceptively smaller than expected. Nonetheless probably the only enjoyable part of the lunch set.

Set A: Shredded Dumpling Delicacy in Supreme Soup

  A rather plain dish that pales in comparison to the richer flavour of Set A's soup. However, I would think that people who prefer more bland food would prefer this soup over the earlier one.

Set B: Fried Pork Ribs in Honey Sauce

 To be fair, I don't normally like my meat being sweetish (save for bakkwa), but this is pretty average. The meat was generally tender but "ruined" by the sugary sweetness. Would probably be better if it was converted to coffee ribs. 

Set A: Fried Prawns with Spiced-Salt

 The good? Huge prawn, generous amount of spices. The bad? Prawn itself could not be seasoned thoroughly and was not very fresh. Decent dish for prawn lovers.

Set B: Stir Fried Sliced Fish in Sichuan Style with Rice

Easily the worst part of the set. I don't know what they were trying to achieve with this dish. It says Sichuan style and has some dried chilli, but I taste no spiciness. What I got was dish that was sugary sweet that is far from being Sichuan Style. Simply bad.

Set A: Steamed Sea Perch with  Preserved Turnip and Noodles

 This is definitely a lot better than the fish and rice dish above. The sea perch is what the sliced fish above should have been. It's lightly seasoned and compliments the carbohydrate side, which is tasty on its own.The noodles was respectfully soft

Set B: Red Bean Soup

 Very average. No texture to the soup, overly sweet and barely any beans. 

Set A: Chilled Cream of Fresh Fruits Sago

 The fresh fruit was honey melon but that was only the flavour. It was pretty much eating foam laced with some sugar. Shouldn't be calling it cream or sago. 

Overall comments:

 For $38++, this five-course meal is pretty good... except the food is bad. What's worse was that the staff had the audacity of charging my party of 4 a $20 miscellaneous fee ($5 per pax). When asked what this fee was about, the staff mentioned it was because of the pickles and tea...Wait, what tea? Everybody only ordered water and we only had a measly mini-plate of pickled vegetables. How did it come up to $5 per pax? If this isn't scammer behavior I don't know what is.

 Only upon further investigation and firm words did the manager address the issue and reduce the charge to $11, with each person being charged $2 for water and towel ($1 for each item) plus $3 for the pickles.  In any case, the original charge was deliberately ambiguous. Even the revised amount had some cover up as many other five-star restaurants don't even charge for towels.

I normally already don't agree with Chinese restaurants charging for pickles/peanuts especially when many Western restaurants offer complimentary bread baskets. This meal with Jin Shan reinforced my opinion that it's about time consumers take a stand against being forced to pay for pickles that were not requested for. It's even worse when the restaurant tries to charge day-light robbery prices for it.

I would say that Jin Shan's practices are a disgrace to Singapore. I would feel extremely embarrassed if tourists who are less savvy with our practices even see this "miscellaneous" charge.

Honestly, Jin Shan should have better ways of attracting its customers. Yes, $38++ is pretty "value" for money for its lunch set. However, the $5 per pax "miscellaneous" charge is obviously a scam.

Jin Shan's food quality is sub-par. Its slow service didn't help it in any way. This is the last time I'll patronage this disgrace of a high-end Chinese restaurant.

Rating: Placed on my ban-list due to their unscrupulous practices

Golden Peony @ Conrad Hotel

So Golden Peony had a 1-for-1 UOB promotion for its set meal, although this was only limited to a small selection of sets. Its normal sets were excluded from the promotion.

Golden Peony is located in the Conrad Hotel, which is considered as mid-high tier and it is to no surprise that the ambiance of the restaurant is quite grand as it is its "intended" atas branding. However, the management of the place leaves much to be desired for. Having read multiple negative online reviews about Golden Peony's notoriously deceptive practices, I had moderated my expectations of the place downwards. True enough, the restaurant met those expectations.

The Bad: 

Even before taking orders, the waitress asked us if we wanted drinks. We asked about the Calamansi Juice listed in the set menu, and it was pointed out that it was not an actual drink and only intended to cleanse the palate. (It was served in shot glasses) This annoys me as it is pretty clear that Golden Peony was trying to pull a fast one and falsely make their menu look more glamorous. 

 Having heard good reviews about the herbal tea and that it was also refillable, my party decided to order two glasses of the Herbal Tea (Lor Hon Gor). Yet as our glasses were later left half empty, we requested for the drinks menu to look for the Herbal Tea description and/or pricing. Having not seen such an item, I asked the staff whether the drink was refillable. The junior staff hesitated for a moment, before commenting that it was refillable and subsequently confirming it with the captain, who then refuted the earlier comment. Addressing the recent online reviews  (dated two weeks from the date of the meal) that the Herbal Tea was refillable, the captain said that it was part of an older set. 

All in all, this just reaffirmed my impression that Golden Peony is deceptive in its practices. If even the staff do not know what the drink is, how do you expect the consumer to know without a well-detailed drinks menu? The restaurant should be more transparent and list all its drinks in a proper menu with prices & descriptions. 

Another unsatisfactory point was that the set had a lot of hidden prawn ingredients but omitted such information in the menu. This could have had disastrous implications as one of my party members is allergic to prawns. We talked to the restaurant manager about this and she later apologized for not reflecting such details in the menu. Towards the end of the meal, the manager gave each member a serving of Golden Peony's signature puff (which we assumed was part of the set), which we later realized was complimentary after checking the bill and the set items. This was a diplomatic way of handling the situation and ended the dining experience on a less sour note. 

The Good:

 The serving sizes are satisfactory. Despite the earlier bad points, Golden Peony does serve pretty appetizing food. The food is generally well-prepared and the serving sizes are satisfactory. However, after my unsatisfactory dining experience with the deceptive practices of Golden Peony, I do not foresee myself returning here even if they have 1-for-1 promotions again in the future.

Herbal Tea (Lor Hon Gor) (Not included in the set)

Charsiew (Left), Deep Fried Prawn (Right)

Not too sure what this was, but I believe it was a replacement of one of the servings of soup

Double Boiled Seafood Soup with Spring Roll

Calamansi Juice (-.-)

Braised Abalone filled in Beancurd, served with Baby Spinach

Fried Rice with Crab Meat, Fish Roe, and Shimeiji Mushroom

On left: The complimentary Golden Peony signature puff
On right: Chilled Avocado Cream with Vanilla Ice Cream

Shisen Hanten @ Mandarin Hotel (Restaurant Week)

Been busy with school and been lazy to write, but it's finally time for another Restaurant Week review; this time at Shisen Hanten, a restaurant specialising in Chinese cuisine despite having a Japanese sounding name. The restaurant is located on the 35th floor of Mandarin Hotel, and boasts an uncommon high-ground view of the surrounding landscape. The table my party of 4 got was quite quaint, although our window view was a bit lackluster, as we were facing the wrong side (the Orchard side would probably look a lot better). The night view is supposed to be pretty good, so be sure to make a reservation for a slightly later timing if you're celebrating a special occasion. 

The Restaurant Week dinner set was $55++ per person (although the Restaurant Week website listed it as 58++) and drinks was not included. Water, however, was $2++ per pax so watch out for that.

BBQ Platter (Jellyfish, Roasted Pork, Roasted Duck)

Portion-size was pretty small, but it was still acceptable for an appetiser. The jellyfish and duck was pretty average. The pork was the best, although the meat turned out pretty cold. (although the skin was still crisp)

Double-boiled conch in chicken stock

Quite a tasty soup, although the highlight was the conch. The flesh tastes a lot like abalone, plus it turned out less rubbery. Pretty good.

Sea Perch Fillet

The "staple" meat for the set, this sea perch was pretty good. The light soya sauce complemented the fried fillet well. Cod would have suited the style of cooking better, but hey, as a fish-person I give this a thumbs-up.

Stir Fried Prawns with Chili Sauce

This was basically prawns with chili crab sauce. Now, I'm not usually a fan of chili crab due to the sauce, but the recipe for this was really good. The sauce was mildly sweet and more savory overall. The prawns were pretty big and definitely fresh and succulent. I surprisingly found this dish more unique than the sea perch.

Signature Mapo Toufu (wasn't part of the set)

One of my party members requested for a change of the earlier prawns due to the allergy. The captain kindly replaced it with two portions of their Signature Mapo Tofu along with their Hokkaido Rice (not pictured). This is the signature dish of the restaurant's founder/original chef who was an Iron Chef trained in Japan so as expected, it was pretty good. The tofu was tender and was comfortably spiced and not spicy. The dish was well complemented with the short grain rice.

Alaskan king crab noodles in superior soup

The "filler" of the meal, this dish was rather odd as there was a sharp sour taste in the soup. I couldn't identify the exact ingredient but it killed the taste of this otherwise rather light dish.

Chilled mango puree with sago, pomelo and lime sherbet

The dessert's portion size was pretty big and the sherbet was particularly refreshing. The mango puree however, could have been slightly thicker but that's probably my preference. Quite a good way to end off the meal.

General comments:
This was a pretty worthwhile Restaurant Week meal at $55++ although tea should be included as well (as seen with other Restaurant Week restaurants such as Cassia). Plus, the $2++ per pax for normal water was too high. The total bill for 4 ppl came up to $268, with complimentary parking ticket  ($3 off) was given.

Overall I enjoyed this meal as the food was refined and the portion sizes were satisfactory. However, the ambiance and service made the experience even better. The ambiance of Shisen Hanten is pretty grand, with the many chandeliers dangling from the ceiling (as seen below) and the decent window view (try to get the side facing Orchard Road!). Service was particularly good and I want to commend the captain who offered to replace one person's prawn dish (due to an allergy) with two portions of their Signature Mapo Toufu. 

Ignore the random people in the background and enjoy the chandeliers

Li Bai @ Sheraton Singapore

The first meal of 2016, and hopefully to kick off a good year. Li Bai is probably more famous for its dim sum but my party of four decided to go for both ala carte and dim sum stuff. Now unlike other restaurants whereby I will reject all non-complimentary "peanuts"/appetiser (or equivalent), I did not reject Li Bai's yam chips as I read pretty good reviews about it.

Yam Chips 

It was odd that most of the reviews about Li Bai did recommend a particular dish save for their "peanuts" or specifically, the yam chips. Well-crisped but still retaining a relatively not oily texture, the chips reminded me of a better tasting aeroroot chips (from Chinese New Year). Some reviews said that the tea and the yam chips were counted per person but for me, it was $5.00 for the yam chips while tea was $3.00 per person in 2016. When I return to Li Bai, I'll probably order an extra place of this.

Price: $5.00

 Fish Congee

The actual serving for one person was pretty big and the picture was taken after I scooped some to my bowl. A pretty decent porridge, nothing too outstanding except the exceptionally crispy you tiao bits.

Price: $6.50 per person/bowl

Roasted Pork

The skin was well-fried, and the meat was not too dry but resembled pulled pork. The flesh was oddly on the cold side but nonetheless this roasted pork was still pretty good.

Price: $13.00















Chicken Feet

Would not recommend. As one of my party members said, this dish was too salty and too gooey. Said party member actually did not finish her portion. So basically, don't order this.


Price: $4.80







Crispy Chicken

A pretty good roasted chicken with crispy skin. Meat was overall quite tender, Portion size was good (picture is misleading). Presentation is pretty good, especially with the flower garnishing.

Price: $28.00

Crispy Chicken, Chicken Feet, Pork Bun

 Pork Bun

My comparison for pork buns are normally going to be with Tim Ho Wan's buns. This pork bun is a decent competitor although the skin is a bit thicker. However, the filling was good (wasn't overly sweet).

Price: $8 for 4 pcs (normal serving is 3 pcs)

Crystal Dumpling

Basically a vegetarian dumpling. Quite good though nothing too spectacular. Would still recommend.

Price: $8 for 4 pcs (normal serving size is 3 pcs)

Camphor-tea Duck

This would have been pretty good if it was called a roasted duck. However, this camphor-tea duck lacked the tea-infused taste. That put aside, the duck meat was very tender and the skin was crisp. As someone put it, the duck was not too "ducky" and that was a good thing. Pity that the tea taste was missing. Would still recommend though, just imagine it as being a roast duck.

Price: $38.00

Final Price: $145

General Comments:
The service of Li Bai was above average; clean plates were given out regularly and tea was poured frequently. But that was mainly because the tea was charged $3.00 per person. Some reviews have frowned upon Li Bai's relatively "new" location in the hotel, being technically located in the basement level. However, the layout of the restaurant does not actually reveal this plus the restaurant overlooks an indoor fountain. The food of Li Bai is decent but does not seem to have any signature dishes. Although prices seem to be quite high for the quality and amount of food given, it is still worth a try.