CoCo ICHIBANYA @ Westgate

CoCo ICHIBANYA @ Westgate

Fried chicken omelette

 Probably one of the more famous Japanese curry places around, CoCo is a well-priced restaurant with decent food. The portion sizes are good, but quality of the meat (pork) is definitely not top of the range. But given its competitive price of around $12++, it's perfectly fine. The curry is pretty good but most variations such as the omelette vs normal curry rice isn't too great, so the normal curry rice is reasonable for an average eater.

Pork cutlet omelette

Note: If you're reading this from Sep 6-15 2014, there's an opening promotion of 20% off the total bill and free matcha latte for the first 100 customers. So better go there soon!

Pork cutlet curry

My Little Spanish Place

My Little Spanish Place

Tucked in a small stretch of shops along Bukit Timah road, My Little Spanish Place is a quaint  restaurant that specialises in authentic Spanish cooking. While the name implies a home-like setting and it does have very small seating capacity, the interior exudes a more dimly lit/romantic setting that is more catered to couples or small gatherings. Note: If you intend to dine here on the weekends, it is safer to make a reservation beforehand as there was note on the door of the restaurant saying that the place was fully reserved for the night (Saturday night). Although, most of the tables were reserved for 7 plus, when I left at around 8, the place was at half capacity despite each table having  placards with reservations long overdue. Makes you wonder if restaurants are correct in promoting and allowing extensive use of reservations. Anyway, on to the menu for my party of 4.

1) Croquetas - $10

2) Paella de Marisco -$40

3) Pan con Tomate (toasted bread with tomato puree) - $9

4)Calamares a la Plancha (grilled calamari) - $21

5) Chulettillas de Cordero (Lamb cutlet) - $32

6) Cochinillo Asado (1/4 suckling pig) - $72

7 Churros - $12

Pan con Tomate

Pan con Tomate
Bread is a common starter for Western restaurants and it is not uncommon to be given complimentary (as with Blu Kouzina). MLSP does not have this but is still acceptable. Taste wise, the bread is nothing outstanding, your typical toasted bread served with olive oil and salt. The tomato puree is quite unique, offering a refreshing and more subtle taste. What's not right is the portion size that this bread starter comes with. At the high price of $9, I would have expected a more generous serving of bread. (instead we got like 5 thin bread "sticks"). My party initially thought the waiter was refilling the bread when he only took away the bowl it came in, but sadly it wasn't the case. For the high price and stingy servings, I do not recommend this.

Price: $9

Rating: 5.5/10

Croquetas (4 pcs)
Basically a savory fried puff filled with jamon-filled stuffing which is of a creamy texture. For a party of 4, this was a decent starter. More worthwhile than the bread.

Price: $10

Rating: 7/10

Lamb cutlet

Lamb Cutlet
Now as I'm a lamb lover,this dish is not bad but nothing unique. Portion size is reasonable for 3 pax (1 guy and 2 girls). Also, note if you normally want your lamb cooked medium-rare, I suggest you ask for medium instead. The lamb was really raw in many parts. While the lamb was average, the fries were outstanding. It's rare to get fries that are fresh and able to retain that pure potato taste.

Price: $32

                                                                            

                                                                                       Rating: 7/10

Grilled Calamari

Grilled Calamari

A decent side dish, though the sauce is on the sweet side but that's down to personal preference.

Squid was tender and well-cooked. Price is reasonable as well.

Price: $21

Rating: 7/10

Paella de Marisco (small)

Paella de Marisco (seafood)
One of the highlights and anchor of the meal, this paella's portion is value for its "small" size. It can easily feed 4 and there is an abundance of seafood. What's disappointing is the cooking, mainly how the rice was cooked. It tasted too moist to me and should have been more dry and more "nutty" or solid. A pity really.

Price: $40

Rating: 7.5/10 (gave it 0.5 more due to the generous portion size)

1/4 Suckling Pig

Suckling pig (1/4)

Probably the best part of the meal, the 1/4 pig is more than enough for 4 people. Comes with potato as seen in the picture. The skin is well-crisped and the meat is tender. Although the seasoning was not distributed properly: some parts were overly salted while some lacked salt completely. I would still recommend this for the taste and portion size. Note: you have to pre-order this about a day earlier (for full pig) and about 3 hrs earlier for any smaller amount.

Price: $72

Rating: 8/10

Churros with ice cream and chocolate dip

Churros
Easily the most disappointing part of the meal, this churros is just bad. While it looked really appetizing and fresh, the dough was undercooked and too moist. Even the churros sold in USS is better quality, although is not fresh from the oven.

Price: $12

Rating: 4/10

My Little Spanish Place is an expensive place but the food is decent if you know what to order. I strongly recommend the suckling pig and maybe the paella (giving them a benefit of a doubt that the rice was a one off thing). Both of the dishes are really generous with the portion sizes. Ambience wise, the restaurant is quite suitable for couples or gathering of friends, although seating capacity is limited so make reservations! But as far as Spanish food goes, this is rather disappointing. I would recommend Don Quijote at Dempsey instead. 


Overall rating: 7.5/10 (Mainly because of the suckling pig)

Shang Palace @ Shangri-La Hotel

Located at the Shangri-La Hotel in Orange Grove Road just off Orchard, Shang Palace is a fine-dining restaurant specialising in Chinese cuisine. Note to anybody driving here, be sure to get a complimentary parking coupon or else face the hefty parking fees ($6 for first hour and $4 for subsequent hours). Shang Palace was also having a 15% discount for making a reservation online.

Dishes for 4 pax:

1) Whole Peking Duck with 2nd dish - $78

2) Spare ribs with garlic - $30

3) Roasted chicken with beancurd sauce -$28

4) Mushroom with mixed vegetables - $26 (not pictured)

5) Tai-O Vermicelli with Pork - $22 (not pictured) 

) Lemon Jelly with Aloe Vera -$11

6) Avocado Sago with Icecream - $11

Peking Duck

Peking duck, 2nd dish, fried with chili

Peking Duck 
An average Peking Duck. We were given the option of making the pancakes ourselves but we decided to let the waitress do it for us. In the end, there was too much sweet sauce to my liking.The skin was moderately crispy but had quite a lot of fat attached to it. The pancake was one of the thicker ones I've had. An average peking duck.

Rating: 7/10


If the peking duck was average, this dish is above average. The duck meat was tender and the more bland seasoning made this dish rather refreshing. How others in my party would have liked this to be saltier, I felt that this dish was pretty good as it is.

Rating: 8/10

Spare ribs with garlic

Spare Ribs with Garlic
Not what you would expect from a spare ribs dish, this had very few bones but that did not negatively affect the texture. It was tender enough and was a better tasting fillet. However given its $30 price, this is an average dish.

Rating: 7.5/10

Roasted chicken with beancurd sauce (placed separately)

Roasted Chicken with Beancurd Sauce 
An average dish that was inconsistently seasoned. The signature beancurd sauce that this came with was too sugary sweet. In addition, some parts were salted too heavily while others lacked salt. However, the texture and crispiness of the meat and skin respectively was okay. Price was decent.

Rating: 7/10


Tai-O Vermicilli with Pork (no picture)
Easily one of the best dishes, this noodle dish serves 4 pax and is subtle yet savoury enough to make this a must have. Though not in the description, the dish came with whole prawns. Unfortunately, the prawns were not fresh. Still highly recommended.

Rating: 8.5/10

Mushroom with mixed veg (no picture)
A mediocre vegetable dish that was too gooey. Not recommended.
 Rating: 6.5/10

Lemon Jelly & Avocado (right)

Lemon Jelly with Aloe Vera
The better of the two desserts, the sharp lime sherbet complemented the more subtle aloe vera which almost melted in my mouth.

Rating: 8/10

Avocado Sago with Icecream
An awkward combination of generic ice cream mixed with overly liquid avocado and sago.
Rating: 7/10

Misc cost such as $2 per pax for tea and $5 for nuts was on the high side but overall compensated by decent quality.While Shang Palace may not have spectacular food, the service is one of the best I've experienced. From the constant tea pouring to the waitress giving us advice that we over-ordered and asking us whether we drove to the hotel (and accordingly giving us the parking coupon), the service was good. The staff could converse fluently in both English and Mandarin. With the 15% discount and the restaurant's cozy ambience, this was a good dining experience. Able to compete with Hua Ting (though slightly behind).

Rating: 8/10

Wan Hao Restaurant @ Marriott Hotel

Wan Hao
Wan Hao is a higher-end Chinese restaurant located in the 5-star Marriott Hotel in Orchard so one would expect the food and service to be of a higher standard. Overall the place just met my expectations. The ambiance of the restaurant is quite peaceful although it was a bit too quiet during lunch meaning that the conversations at the table had to be too soft for my liking. The table that they gave my party of four was good (could be better due to reservations), as we were given a cosy "room" with sofa-like seats & pillows. However for bigger groups, normal tables are provided.

Peking Duck (Half)

 Peking Duck (Half) - $48
The price for this Peking Duck is on the high side and while the actual duck skin is crispy, the "popiah" skin is a letdown as it was much too thick. I don't think I would need to exert so much force when trying to eat this dish. However on the plus side, the staff prepared the Peking Duck for us and did put in sufficient spring onions (good for me). Still a pity about the skin. Portion-wise it is decent, about 8 large "popiahs" as seen in the picture.

Peking duck 2nd dish, e-fu noodles

Second Dish, E-Fu Noodles
Nothing unique but the noodles' texture is decent.

Rating: 7/10 Super Duck restaurant prepares this a lot better.

Roast Pork Belly

Roast Pork Belly -$20
No, the portion is really that small. About 9 cubes of pork belly. Texture of the pork is definitely superior to any other hawker center/food court stalls but that's expected. However, the taste is nothing unique and I felt the pork was a bit too chewy for my liking. If you are looking for pork, I recommend Hua Ting's pork ribs (@ $10 and the rib is huge compared to this)

Rating: 7/10

Seaweed beancurd with conpoy sauce

 Seaweed Beancurd - $22
One of the better dishes of the meal. The portion is definitely a lot bigger in comparison with the rest (Peking Duck & pork belly). This is a good dish, the crispy skin of the tofu complements the inside, which simply melts in your mouth. The sauce is savoury and surprisingly doesn't really compromise the crispiness of the tofu's skin. Easily serves more than 4 pax. Note: the tofu comes with a healthy portion of spinach below it, so you can probably just treat it as a vegetable dish as well.

                                                                                      Rating: 8/10

Seaperch (Chef's specialty)

 Seaperch -$18 (serves 1 pax)
Avoid this dish, as the sea perch meat is too tough and while the sauce has a tangy and unique taste, it is not enough to justify this as a fish dish. Perhaps the cod fish is better.


Rating: 6.5/10

Sweet and Sour Pork

Sweet & Sour Pork -$18
I normally avoid sweet & sour pork so I'm biased against it but the people in my party who actually like this style of cooking said that this dish is good. I though that the dish was decent because it was on the drier side and the quality of the meat was good. The sweetness was of a normal level but once again I normally dislike sweet and sour pork.

Rating: 7.5-8 (for people who are ok with sweet and sour pork)

Beef ribs with chef's special black pepper sauce

 Beef ribs in black pepper sauce - $22
A bit on the chewy side and quite rare, but this is a good savoury dish. However, as expected with black pepper dishes, the pepper may be a bit too overpowering. I suggest getting the next vegetable dish to freshen things up. Decent portion.

Rating: 7.5/10

Spinach with egg & century egg

Spinach with egg & century egg -$18
The receipt labelled this as spinach but I believe it is a different vegetable. Taste and texture is defnitely different. This vegetable is refreshing and has a very light feeling to it. It's good to eat especially after the heavier dishes. I highly recommend this. Portion size is quite big as well.

Rating: 8/10

Lemongrass jelly with lemon sherbet

Lemon Grass Jelly with Lemon Sherbet -$10 for 1
One of their specialty dishes, this dessert is nice to close up the meal. The sherbet is outstanding when paired with the lemongrass jelly giving it a very fragrant but yet sharp taste to it. Highly recommended

Rating: 8.5/10


Overall, Wan Hao is decent but service and the menu could be better. For example, the inconsistency in portion sizes makes it hard for people to decide what dishes to order. For example, the small pork belly portion size is 180 degrees from the that of the beancurd. So my party ended up having a lot of leftovers despite the waitress implying that we had ordered too little (especially when we ordered half a Peking duck and only one fish/seafood dish). Don't be pressured into believing the staff when they said you've ordered too little. The chrysanthemum tea and peanuts came up to $3 per pax and the usual GST and service charge has to be added on. Apparently, you can get a complimentary parking coupon but I didn't get one.

Overall rating: 7.5/10 (I would recommend Hua Ting @ Orchard Hotel over this, check my earlier post on this)

Ristorante Da Valentino @ The Grandstand

Valentino is a quaint high-end Italian restaurant tucked in the corner of the Grandstand and seems to attract a decent number of regular patrons as seen in the other online reviews. I made a reservation for a table for 4 about a week in advance through the HungryGoWhere online reservation system. Everything went smoothly and my pre-order of the linguini in squid ink was properly received by Valentino. For the meal itself for 3 pax, I ordered:

1) Ciabatta Bread ($6.50)

2) Buffalo Mozzarella with Tomato and Basil ($22.50)

3) Carnivoro Pizza ($25.90)

4) Fettuccine Squid Ink with Crabmeat in creamy tomato sauce ($29.90)

5) Linguini tossed with squid ink, tomato & garlic ($35.90) Min. 1 day preorder needed

Ciabatta (Left) Buffalo Mozzarella (Right)

Ciabatta Bread & Buffalo Mozzarella Cheese
Both are suited for starters, but the Ciabatta bread is a lot more value for money. It's freshly baked and served with a mint dip. Quite filling which is good as the pasta portions are really small.

The Buffalo Cheese comes in 5 large coin-shaped slices with tomato slices and basil. (Picture only shows 2 pieces left). The cheese itself is not too strong and has a smooth and rich texture. The tomato was sweet and extremely tender. Overall a good dish but price is quite steep ($22.50)

Ciabatta Rating: 8/10
Buffalo Cheese Rating: 8/10

Squid ink fettuccine

 Fettuccine Squid Ink with crabmeat in creamy tomato sauce
Apparently a favorite dish of "many" reviewers, the squid ink is added into the fettuccine during the cooking, leaving a subtle hint of the ink, so less worries about the messiness when eating the ink. The crabmeat was a welcome addition as its tenderness helped lighten the otherwise overpowering creamy sauce Overall, as I'm not a fan of creamy stuff, I didn't really like this dish. And as with Valentino's pasta, the price-to-portion ratio is high and the serving probably can only feed a half a man .

Rating: 7/10

Linguini with squid ink ($35.90)

Linguini tossed with squid ink, tomato & garlic
Another of their more popular dishes, this dish has the squid ink cooked with the linguini so there is quite a lot of squid ink. Do not order this if you are eating with somebody who you are not comfortable with (eg. 1st dates or business dinners). Unless you enjoy showing off your black-stained teeth. This dish has a bit of squid meat at the side and is a lot drier than the previous dish. The taste is more appetising although I found it a bit too salty. If you are okay with the messiness of squid ink, get this. Side note: you have to order this dish at least a day before your meal. It could be that the dish is "specially" prepared or simply that the staff need to know which tables to lay black colored tablecloths & serviettes. (My table was the only one with black fabrics, normal color was pink).

Rating: 8.0 (Marked down due to over saltiness)

Carnivoro Pizza

Carnivoro Pizza
Basically a meal-lover's pizza but this pizza was too salty. I suggest if you want a pizza, get one with some vegetables. Although if the pizzas are around this standard, just stick with the pastas.

Pizza, Linguini, Fettuccine (clockwise)

Lava Cake with ice cream scoop (no 

Was about $18 I think but the size was extremely small and nothing unique.

Overall, Ristorante Da Valentino is a fine-dining Italian restaurant so if you adjust your expectations and expect small portions with higher prices, this is a decent place to have a meal for a special occasion. Service was good as the waiter was attentive and had a sense of humor (may be annoying to some). Most likely a one-timer for me as the prices were a bit steep but if you want fine-dining, this is  an option.

Overall rating: 7.5/10

Hua Ting Restaurant (Orchard Hotel)

Hua Ting @ Orchard Hotel is famous for its fine dining Chinese cuisine, having multiple culinary awards under its name. My party of four decided to patronise Hua Ting due to its relative fame but also due to its 20% discount off the total bill (includes the price of the tea and starters). I called the restaurant about a week in advance  to make a reservation for the coming Sunday and wanted a table at 12:30. However, the restaurant could only offer me a 1:45pm slot or an early 11 am table (of which we "had" to vacate by 12:30pm). I was surprised that they were that busy, but could possibly be due to belated Father's Day meals and the attractive 20% off promotion.

Note: Hua Ting's seating capacity is not very big and majority of the tables seat more than 6 people. So do make a reservation to avoid being turned away (or worse hearing crap excuses).

Anyway, my party of 4 ordered

1) BBQ Combo (Consist of Char Siew, Braised Duck, Jellyfish) - $32

2) 2 x Servings of Pork Ribs ($10 each), 2 x Servings of Beef ($12 each)

3) Fish fillets with two different sauces (was not ordered from the menu)

4) Mung Bean Noodles (was labeled under the vegetarian and vegetable section) -$18

5) Noodles & Fish Paste with XO sauce -$20

BBQ Combo (Char Siew, Duck, Jelly Fish)

BBQ Combo (Char Siew, Duck, Jelly Fish) - $32

I'll declare first that I'm not particularly fond of Char Siew and duck, but the char siew is definitely tender, a lot better than the usual dry ones you get outside. Duck was surprisingly not overpowering, so to me was slightly above average. Now the jellyfish was probably the most unique and my favorite, as it was not too chewy but still had a satisfying crunch to it. The spicy sauce complemented it well.

Rating: 7.5/10 (marked it down due to its rather poor price value) 

Beef (forgot the name)

Beef - $12
The beef that I was served  was succulent and tender, and was garnished quite well. However, it was overly salty, making me favor the less strong tasting pork ribs more. (and I normally like beef a lot more than pork). However, the other serving that someone else in my group ordered was lightly seasoned and its saltiness was just right.

Rating: 7.5

Pork Ribs

Pork Ribs- $10
The pork ribs are easily the best part of this meal. The lightly salted seasoning does not overpower the succulent meat and makes this dish a keeper. I would recommend this over the beef dish earlier. Plus it's cheaper.

Rating: 8.5/10

Fish fillet with chili

Fish fillet with spinach sauce)

Two Sea Perch Fish fillets (approximately $16+ each)
Initially I wanted to order a steamed Soon Hock but we were told (quite some time after the order was made) that the smallest Soon Hock that they had was 1kg+. Now that's quite big for a Soon Hock (apparently it was because their daily stock had not arrived, but I believe it's because they didn't want people to benefit too much from the 20% promotion.) Anyway, the waitress recommended the sea perch fish fillets. From the picture you can tell the servings are really small and both dishes are fried. While, the fish fillet with chili is nothing special ,the fillet with the spinach vegetable sauce is quite unique. The light seasoning and texture complements the sea perch flesh (which is similar to that of a cod fish). If you're looking to order the fillet with spinach sauce, it is not on the menu so you'll need to ask the staff.

Rating: 7.5/10 (small serving and nothing too unique, but it's hard to compare price & quality of a whole fish and fillet)

Mung Bean Noodles
A combination of vegetables (I could only identify celery) and mung bean noodles Anyway on the menu it's labeled as being a vegetarian dish. Bland and not nice to eat.

Price: $18 (serves about 4 pax)

Rating: 5/10 (Go for more common vegetables such as French beans)

Noodles & Fish paste with XO Sauce
Despite being a filler for the meal, this deal is good. The noodles is springy and definitely not soggy. The mild spiciness adds a kick to it. The fish paste itself actually does taste like fish (unlike the yong tau foo stuff you get in hawker centers etc).

Price: $20 (serves about 4 pax)

Rating: 8.5/10




Overall, given the 20% discount off the total bill (and they gave a complimentary parking coupon, saved us $5.50, having parked in the hotel's carpark for approximately 1 and 3rd quarter hours. Hua Ting is a good place to have family meals (eg. meals for parents' days/birthdays.) For couples, you can get by with ordering like the pork ribs plus noodles and a veg, but it's more suitable for older couples who probably enjoy fine dining better.

However, I want to point out my disappointment in Hua Ting not having a smaller Soon Hock fish. In addition, their service falls short of high-end restaurants (eg. taking away our teapot and not returning it - we had to specifically ask where our teapot went.) In addition, the higher ranked waitress who took our order did not repeat the order back to us and conveniently missed out 1 serving of beef despite us emphasising it. (plus, we have 4 people, so 2 servings of pork and 2 servings of beef made sense.) However, if you order the right dishes and lower your expectations of the service, I would recommend this place.

Overall rating:
8/10 (food quality)
7.5 (as a fine dining Chinese restaurant)

Hung Kang Restaurant (Teochew)

Hung Kang Teochew Restaurant (North Canal Rd)

I decided to check this place out because it was Teochew and had a $39.80+ (7% GST) set for each pax. Basically, with a party of 4, we were able to choose a type of shark's fin soup, steamed soup, and 3 other dishes.

Shark's Fin Soup with Conpoy

 Shark's Fin Soup with Conpoy
Average shark's fin soup with not a lot of the fin. However, the thick soup is tasty enough to make this dish acceptable. No wow factor though. This was supposed to come with conpoy but I saw no trace of it.

Rating: 7/10

Clear shark's fin soup with chicken

Clear Shark's Fin Soup with Chicken
Much of this soup was filled with chicken and once again the amount of actual fin given was low. This is basically a more soupy/clearer version of the one above. Both of the soups are average, and the choice should probably be made purely on individual preferences. However, this soup actually came with conpoy unlike the one above. Makes you wonder whether the restaurant actually checked when they named the dish.

Rating: 7/10

Pork Tendon (left) Goose Meat (right)

Pork Tendon

Though this was supposed to be pork tendon with brocolli, it tasted more like fish maw. An average dish.

Rating: 7/10

Goose Meat

Closer shot of the goose meat

This dish is supposedly a Teochew specialty and was recommended by the waitress. However, the dish turned out mediocre as the goose just tasted like a very dry and tough duck. Even as a meat-lover, I only ate 2 slices.

     

    Rating: 6/10

Steamed Pomfret 

Steamed Pomfret (Teochew Style)
Probably the bulk of the set (in types of value), this pomfret is steamed with the subtle seasonings (or bland to some people) of Teochew style cooking.

Despite having 4 pax ordering the set, we were only given half of the fish, which I felt was a bit of a scam. The fish itself is decent although it lacks real flavour or that wow factor. However, if you are a fish-lover, you will still be able to appreciate this dish as the flesh was still tender, and the bland sauce complements the natural taste of the pomfret.

Rating: 8/10 (Mainly because of the freshness of the fish)

Ling Zhi Mushroom with some green veg
A decent dish if you are fond of mushrooms. I'm not particularly fond of mushrooms but this dish is not bad.


Rating: 7.5/10

Honorable Mention of Oni Dessert (no pictures)

The oni dessert which wasn't included in the set was $6, in a relatively small bowl. However, it was probably better than the meal save for the pomfret and shark's fin soup. The oni (Bin Nuts Pumpkin Yam) had the thick texture that is typical of the dish and the taste of the yam was preserved. Only downside was that it was overly sweet.

Rating: 8/10

Overall, Hung Kang was a letdown of a meal, as the price of the set was steep and was certainly not justified by the quality. Also, the information given about the set was extremely misleading as it said it included complimentary T & T. (My party assumed it meant Tea & Tidbits). However, that there was complimentary tea but the cups were extremely small, probably able to hold only a tablespoon of tea. Seems like the restaurant is out to trick people.

The charge for the chinese tea and towels came up to $8.80 for 4 pax, which was not properly represented in the brochure contained the set details.

Overall, the bill came up to a high $186.20 for a very disappointing meal. A one-timer for sure.

Overall rating: 5.5/10

Miam Miam Review

Miam Miam (WestGate)

Miam Miam is a French/Japanese Restaurant with a greater emphasis on the French aspect (due to the food choices and decor of the physical place). The menu has sandwiches (only on weekdays), pancakes pasta, baked rice, savoury and sweet souffles, amongst other desserts and drinks. With my party of 4, we ordered:
1) Souffle au curry ($15.50)
2) Souffle de nuage ($15.50)
3) Valrhona chocolate souffle ($13.80)
4) Miam Miam Spaghetti ($15.80)

Miam Miam Spaghetti
This was recommended by the waitress and is quite a tasty dish. There was a soft-boiled egg (not in the pic) on the top before we mixed it with the noodles. Portion is decent, and reasonable size for 2 people to share. A good choice especially if you are not too fond of creamier sauces.

Rating: 8/10

Valrhona Chocolate Souffle
Basically a chocolate souffle, but wow, even for a guy who doesn't have a sweet tooth, this is good. Reminiscent of a lava cake, this souffle looks good and tastes good. The outside has a fluffy texture but the rich and warm chocolate contained inside is the best part. It melts in your mouth with a chocolatey explosion. A must-have.

Rating: 9/10

Souffle Au Curry & Souffle De Nuage
 The savoury souffles are basically baked rice with the "lift" or the fluffy texture on the top. The curry souffle was disappointing, with a broccoli and sausages hidden inside. Didn't really taste like curry.

Other souffle was average, if you're here for souffles, opt for the sweet ones.

Rating: 6.5/10

Hot Coffee ($5.20)

Grossly overpriced for the dinky cup that they gave. Not worthwhile at all. I was expecting it to come as the dripping version.

If you're eating a full meal, get the ice water (50 cents per person and they give you a bottle of water which they refill for you)

Overall, the pasta and the sweet souffles are probably the best Miam Miam has to offer. Probably not a place I would go for a full meal, but seems quite okay for a casual meetup/tea.

Mykonos on the Bay (Sentosa Cove) Review

Mykonos on the Bay

Located at Sentosa Cove, Mykonos on the Bay is a Greek restaurant that recently opened in December of 2013. The restaurant is located along a stretch of other Western restaurants facing the water and the inhabitant yachts. The view is great, adding to the holiday/resort feeling which is refreshing especially when coming from a hectic city-life.

However, transport here is a problem. The entry fee to Sentosa Cove is $5 (weekdays) & $7 (weekends) and there is also a parking fee (was $3.50 for about 2 hours).

The restaurant itself offers both sheltered and open-air seats, though there is no air-con. The outside tables are quite exposed to the sun (and many patrons asked to moved inside).

Note: Don't believe the opening hours on the website (it says 11 am and I got a confirmation email from Mykonos but when I went there on the dot, the staff said they were not officially open as the chef normally comes in at 12 pm, so only drinks were available). The whole reservation was a mess but fortunately, the bartender saved the day by offering us complimentary drinks.

On to the actual meal itself,  my party of 4 ordered the:

1) Mykonos all time famous Dip Platter - $27 

2) Mixed grilled platter (seafood) for 2 - $89 

3) Mixed grilled platter (meat) for 2 - $89

Mykonos all time famous Dip Platter

Mykonos all time famous Dip Platter

The platter came with 3 types of  dip: fava bean, eggplant, Taramosalata spreads. The amount of pita bread given was too little (only 9 cut pieces, as seen in the pic)

Fava - a bit dry and bland

Eggplant - awkward combination of being sweet and cold 

Taramosalata - the best of the 3, a savoury and creamy dip. Has a rather strong fish taste so may be a bit too much for non-fish lovers (I love fish so I loved it. 

Rating: 7/10 (a good appetiser but slightly overpriced, more pita bread could have been given)

Mixed grilled platter (meat)

 Mixed grilled platter (meat)
Comprised of homemade lamb sausage, lamb chop, beef fillet and fries.

If you are a meat-lover (specifically lamb and beef lovers), this is the platter for you. The beef and lamb were the best parts: succulent and flavourful. The lamb sausage was average at best (I initially thought it was beef). The fries were limp and lacklustre: I wonder why it tasted not fresh.

Rating: 7.5/10 (Saved by the beef and lamb)

Mixed grilled platter (seafood)

Mixed grilled platter (seafood) comes with the Beetroot & Potato Salad

Beetroot and potato salad

Came with mussels, prawns, octopus, calamari and the catch of the day. Catch of the day was quite big, and well-fried. However, it was overly salty but the sprinkling the lemon helped. The prawns and mussels were average but the octopus and calamari was outstanding. The octopus was very well done, and did not have the rubbery texture. The calamari was even better, very tender and a party in the mouth.

The beetroot & potato salad was not to my liking but others in my party felt it was quite refreshing after all the meat. (We had no other vegetables)


Rating: 8.5/10 (It's better than the meat platter)




Overall, my party of 4 ordered a platter too many and should have opted for a smaller dish. The portions of the platter are quite generous even for a hard-core meat eater like me. We didn't finish the lamb sausage. Mykonos on the Bay is on the higher-end and the final bill came up to $241, excluding the $10 plus dollars for the entry and parking fee. A decent place but if you are interested in Greek food, you should first check out the more authentic (subjective) Blu Kouzina restaurant at Bukit Timah (more quaint and run by Greeks). The owner interacts frequently with customers giving the place a more cosy feeling.

But overall rating for Mykonos on the Bay: 7.5/10 (Large portions for the platter, tasty food, but pricey and inconvenient to reach)