A Western Meal at Jack's Place ジャクスプレスの西洋料理(63371752 / 6338663)

24 March 2010 (Wed): I went to this restaurant about a year and three months ago, on a day when A. asked me what was my favorite restaurant in Singapore when I was a kid. I answered "Jack's Place".

This is a household name for western food, as most kids know it. It's very reasonably priced, and I believe, it was one of those restaurants when one could hear oil sizzling on iron steak plates- something that was a thrill to kids those days.

The ambience then was great: It was dimly lit with a lot of wood and white table cloths. Now it has that 'minimalist' interior with no table cloths -only easy-to-clean smooth table tops- and no candles. It's bright and clinical. What a different Jack's Place it is.

The menu has reflected the change of times as well. There's a variety - including local sauces. Before, it was more "purely" western.

We ordered a chicken chop and steak (what we do not frequently eat), and they came with free desserts of mango pudding.

Overall, I can still say with some fondness: I like Jack's Place.

Shokudoo (Japanese Marche) しょくどう

10 March 2010:
By 'marche', no reference is made to the farmer's market in France.

Marche is the Swiss chain of casual restaurants with pick-and-choose-your-dishes from a variety of stalls. I like the idea of swiping my cards at small stalls just hugging one another under a common roof, offering a broad range of appetizers and desserts. The food is above average for some dishes like salads and soups; the ambience is also much more relaxing when the music is not blasting.

*Anmitsu: beans, green tea ice cream, rice cake & jelly cubes*
There is a better-than-average Ichigoo shochyuu as well going for S$9 a glass, rather highly priced item at this place.

I was surprised to find my comfort food here. Once I got ill and came here for the vegetarian claypot (yasai nabe) from which I got immediate relief from fatique.

I don't really frequent this place because twice I had to eat with blasting music in the background, but other times I did not. So unless I am not hungry I will not make a gamble.

*Mitsumame (bean and jelly dessert) and variations*
This place triumphs for its variety though not necessarily excellence in quality. For example, I find its kushi ryouri disappointing. It's still good for a casual weekend meal, overall.

Shanghainese Cuisine チャンギ空港の上海料理

2 March 2010:
We're being fast forwarded into the third month of the new year.

U san and her family have left Singapore for almost three months. While sending them off at the Changi Airport, Terminal 3, we had our dinner at the Crystal Jade Shanghai Restaurant. It wasn't my choice-but I had no other. Thus, we had to content ourselves with some unfamiliar orders and ambience, which was too cold in every sense of the word.

One of our dishes was stir-fried long bean with olive leaves(see above). It turned out really crunchy and was better than the local long bean with dried shrimp -often served soft. This is probably the best fried bean in my life!

Another impressive dish was shrimp with popped rice. If you've had choco-pop breakfast, then you'll know that it tastes almost similar, minus the sweet chocolate flavour, with crispy fat shrimps buried underneath the crunchy pile. Not bad; it's dry and not oily. So we managed to clean up most of the plate.

Despite good food, I think the restaurant manager totally dampened the mood. If you utter "thank yous" after settling the check, he wouldn't follow the polite routine because he hails from a different culture. He doesn't smile either. Instead his job of making guests feel welcomed is left to two other colleagues from our neighbouring land smiling and shouting out, "Thank you very much!" as we exited the place.
Gosh! How mechanical can service get?!

Chin Huat Restaurant サンセットウェーのＨＤＢ団地にある広東料理

15 October 2009 (Thurs): Today is hanamoku- meaning 'blossoming Thursday' -and I am looking forward to the long weekend!

I recall going to this Cantonese restaurant located in a public housing estate (with supposedly cheap rents since it's for the masses);but I realised after several visits that this restaurant-Chin Huat Seafood- is not cheap at all. You'll have to order at least 500 grams of shrimp- if you order a shrimp dish- and if you order a fish going by seasonal prices- then beware. Your bill for two may come up to S$100 for two diners with two other cheap dishes such as a green veg and a noodle dish.

Price aside, the quality of the food is good. The hor fun is not the dried flat rice noodle dish (what is known as sar hor fun in Cantonese) but the fresh flat noodle- each strand separated with oil. That's how the Cantonese like it - I don't mind either variety.

The greens is not as tasty as that of Hong Kong Street Bukit Timah,

but its bamboo clam ranks very high in terms of taste, at a very reasonable price of S$8 a piece (see top picture). The clam comes with a delicious consomme - not available at restaurants such as Seafood 1960s at Turf Club, or Jumbo Seafood (East Coast). It is not overpowered with minced garlic either.

The fruit we enjoyed at home after one of our dinners there the previous trip was kyoho grapes. These were given by Y. san after his trip back home:

Durian Desserts, Goodwood Park Hotel Coffee Lounge

By now the Goodwood Park Hotel, the second oldest hotel in Singapore, needs no introduction to its scrumptious durian treats. I'd the durian crepes - which 'rocketed' me into space (SGD 13)! Its real durian all the way! I win the hearts of my friends by treating them to the apple tart and ice-cream - less 'local' but very light and cool for this weather. The tart is flaky, warm and crunchy. Price: SGD 10 (excl. GST).

Minoru Restaurant (Tel: 6775 8879)

February 20,2008(Wed): It's mid-week and chilling out at some small cozy place seems the right way to 'recharge'. I found this place along the quiet West Coast Way. It's hidden and all covered-up so that passers-by will not be able to see its interior.

I used to take evening walks near Hong Leong Shopping Centre where Japanese kids and housewives hanged out in the 1980s-90s; but then, I did not even know this eat-out existed. The equally inconspicuous sliding door of the restaurant opens up to an authentic Japanese drinking ambience. Its low ceiling, warm latterns, small wooden chairs and tables, beer ads of sunbrowned belles on the beach, comics, and ornaments are all so provocative of the izakaya ambience prevalent in the back alleys of Japan. The three gaudy fu-lu-shou (Prosperity, Wealth and Longevity dieties) standing above the shelves of Japanese comics hint at its non-Japanese ownership, however. The chefs and the waitresses are also of Southeast Asian origins - though not necessarily Singaporeans - except for a tall waitress from Mainland China. The head waitress has the sweetest smile, and she immediately imparts an ii-kanji (good feelings) of the place. She told me that the restaurant has been there since the 1980s. I wonder what the place was like in those times when Singapore's Japanese population was four times greater?

Most customers now consist of families or couples, and most were locals living around there. There was a Japanese tanshin funin (expatriate without his family) who pecked at his bowl of rice and naberyori (hot claypot) while reading his daily. I guess doing that was better than just focusing at the steaming claypot right in front of him.

I ordered a Minoru bentoo (lunch-box) and A., a sashimi set. Although lunch time has long past, the waitress informed that bentoo orders were acceptable. That was the kind of flexibility I like.

After munching the rather chewy sanzai (wild mountain vegetable) appetizer, our food arrived.

My bentoo looked ordinary enough: a grilled saba, a deep-fried kushi consisting of bacon and asparagus,sashimi slices, a miso soup and a star-shaped mold of rice. I like the shredded daikon which was thicker and juicier than the very thin popular version. A. liked his fresh sashimi - but not the ambience.

The bill added to about SGD40, including GST. It's not bad, really. The friendly staff know their regulars; the restaurant offers decent wine /sake and does not charge any corkage fee so you can bring in your favorite drinks from home.

214 West Coast Way
Hong Leong Garden Shopping Centre