Raffles Marina Bistro, Tuas, Revisited

No regrets. Still as Yummy!

I revisited this place again. It was then raining so heavily and the wind was so strong that we have to force ourselves sittng indoor (away from the sea view). Sigh..

Our orders this time:

1. Chicken Wings (1/2 dozen) $11.00 – 9/10
They are still as good. Yummy!


2. Fish & Chips $10.00 – 7/10
The battered fish fillet is fried to golden brown and very crispy on the outside. Not a bad choice. Considering it is merely a $10 item, it is definitely value for the money.


With another two glasses of beer, total bill came up to $43.57.



Overall Verdict: 8/10


Address:
Marina Bistro
10 Tuas West Drive
Raffles Marina
Singapore 638404
http://www.rafflesmarina.com.sg/clubhouse_bis.htm

For reservations, call Tel: 6869 2299

Operating Hours:
Daily: 8.00am to 10.00pm (last order 9.30pm)

Café Cartel, Bukit Panjang Plaza

Café standard?

Our orders for a simple dinner:

1. Spicy Chicken Wings $5.80 – 2/10
I am quite disappointed with the spicy wings. It is tasteless, not spicy & too floury.


2. Spicy Chicken Bolognese $12.00 – 6/10
The Bolognese sauce is little sourish, sweet & spicy but it is too water and diluted. The spaghetti texture is overcooked, no longer springy.



3. Root Beer Float $4.20 – 4/10
How I miss A&W’s root beer float!


Total bill came up to $25.85.


Overall Verdict: 4/10

Despite the disappointment for this meal, I will still go for their Chicken Chef’s Salad and St Louis Pork Ribs which I will give them 7/10 & 8/10 respectively.


Address:
Café Cartel
1 Jelebu Road
#01-55/59
Bukit Panjang Plaza
Singapore 677743

Tel: 6767 7900

Operating Hours:
Mon-Fri, Eve of Public Holiday: 11:30am-10.00pm
Sat, Sun, Public Holiday: 8.30am-10.00pm

Raffles Marina Bistro, Tuas

Good food and good place!

This restaurant serves both Asian and Western delicacies. It has many varieties of choices such as chicken rice, char kway teow, Indian curry, Naan, fish & chips, etc..

Our orders:

1. Mutton Satay (1/2 dozen) $6.00 – 8/10
The mutton satay is tender and juicy and the mutton smell is not that strong too. The satay peanut gravy is so thick and full of peanut chunks.



2. Chicken Wings (1/2 dozen) $11.00 – 9/10
Damn good chicken wings. They are so crispy, juicy and flavorful but the bad point is that they are oily too.


3. Grilled Halibut $15.50 – 6/10
The halibut fillet is tender but a bit “fishy” smell.


Total bill came up to $49.11.



Overall Verdict: 8/10


Address:
Marina Bistro
10 Tuas West Drive
Raffles Marina
Singapore 638404
http://www.rafflesmarina.com.sg/clubhouse_bis.htm

For reservations, call Tel: 6869 2299

Operating Hours:
Daily: 8.00am to 10.00pm (last order 9.30pm)

PastaMania, Cathay Cineleisure

PastaMania is Halal..

I held a farewell lunch for my temp staff with my team at PastaMania at Cathay Cineleisure. I chose this place as one of us is a Muslim and I already ran out of ideas where to bring my team for Halal lunch next time. Sigh..

This was their menu. They were 3 types of Combos to choose. Their full Combo Set A comes with Soup of the day, Garlic Bread and a drink.

The Toasted Garlic Bread was not bad and crispy but slightly oily. It could be due to the generous garlic butter spread. – 7/10.


Since there were six of us, I ordered additional BBQ Chicken Wings for all of us. The Chicken wings were disappointing. The texture was tough and lack of flavor. Worst, they had a strong frozen smell. – 2/10.


My main is Spicy Crayfish Spaghetti. – 5/10.
It was sweet and not spicy enough. The crayfish was mushy.



Total bill came to $99.20. I don’t find it value for money.



Overall Verdict: 4/10

I will still give this place a chance if I have craving for pasta and am looking for a cheaper version.


Address:
PastaMania - Cathay Cineleisure Branch
8 Grange Road
#02-23
Cathay Cineleisure Orchard
Singapore 239695

Tel: 6737 1379

Operating Hours:
Sun-Thu: 10.30am - 10.30pm
Fri-Sat: 10.30am - 3.00am

Manchester United Café Bar, Boat Quay

Chu’s Birthday Celebration at Boat Quay..

Last night, the seven of us celebrated Chu’s Birthday at Manchester United Café Bar at Boat Quay. This café bar was newly opened last December 2008.

This is the outlook of the Manchester United Café Bar.

It was a Thursday night and there wasn’t much crowd compared to The Penny Black Bar and Harry’s Bar, which were merely few doors away.

We started off with 6 full-time Hoegaarden beers and 2 of us don’t drink.


Look at Bee the gulper below.


Most of my friends were already very hungry when we reached there around 7pm as they either skipped their lunch or had a very light lunch. Therefore, we ordered quite a lot considering we are all females.

Look at our orders below:

1. Devils' Wings $13 x 2 – 7/10
The chicken wings were crispy and well marinated. Some of us prefer these Devils’ wings to Timbre’s Buffalo wings.


2. Manchester Combo Platter $28 x 2 – 6/10
It consisted of veal sausages wrapped with chicken bacon (also known as horseback), devil’s wing, beef short rib and onion rings. It can serve 2 to 4 persons. The veal sausage was not that fantastic. I prefer Scottish sausage instead. The devils’ wing as shared earlier was very good. The beef short rib was tender but lack of flavour.


3. Old English Mixed Grill $28 x 2 – 6/10
It consisted of grilled chicken, beef short rib and sausage with homemade BBQ sauce. The grilled chicken was ordinary. The beef short rib tasted the same as the one in Manchester Combo Platter. The sausage tasted like chicken. There’s no pork in their menu?


4. Fish N Chips $17.90 x 2 – 3/10
I was so disappointed with their Fish N Chips. Since it was stated as Traditional English Battered fillet of fish , I expect their fried fish was crispy and chunky. However, it turned out to be so soggy and soft.


Look at the flesh of the fish. The batter was thicker than the fish fillet inside the batter. OMG! Also, their chips (fries) were so ordinary.


5. Champions Burger $16.90 x 1 – 6/10
The beef patty (burger) was a little too dry, not juicy enough but the caramelized onion was good. Chicken bacon and the melted cheddar cheese were not too bad.


6. Miniature Chocolate Amer Cake from Bakerzin $19.15 – 8/10
We bought Chu a miniature Chocolate Amer Cake from Bakerzin. It was a flourless chocolate sponge layered with bitter chocolate mousse. Luckily, the cake was very small. Else we might not be able to finish the cake after a hearty meal. This cake was very delicious and appetizing.


Chu was making her wishes..


Is she Chu or Goldfish? Hmmm..


The total bill for last night’s dinner amounted to $208.65. Thanks to Chu for giving us this treat.


Considering the 20% discounts given, the café bar’s good service and the happy moments we had, it still worth the money spent.

Overall verdict: 5.6/10


Address:
Manchester United Café Bar
32 Boat Quay
Singapore 049821
Website: http://www.manutd-cafe.com/

Tel: 6533 5880

Operating Hours:
Sun to Thu 11am to 1am
Fri, Sat & eve of public holiday 11am to 2am

Timbre @ Substation, Armenian

Clare’s Birthday at Timbre @ Substation

This Timbre hideout at The Substation Garden is quite well-known and always become crowded especially after 9pm. Their live band usually starts at 10pm+.

Most of us are virgin to this place. First-timer may have difficulty finding this place as it is situated behind The Substation main building near the Old National Library site. Do check out the location map before you lost your way.

Below is the location map extracted from Timbre website: http://www.timbre.com.sg/location.htm.

This is the entrance which is also the exit of the restaurant and it faces the carpark.

Band Stage..


The seven of us..


Bee’s Shirley Temple..

My Lime Margarita..

1. All American Mini Beef Burger – 6/10

It came in 3 mini burgers per set. We ordered one set only as three of us do not eat beef. I did not try it this time. The one I tried was at Mount Sophia outlet. The beef patty was not very juicy but the mini burger looks cute and the presentation is good.

2. Louisiana Fries – 6/10

Most of them like this Cajun thick-cut fries which were topped with Tartar sauce. They were snapped up within the next 15mins.

3. Timbre Chicken Wings – 7/10

The wings were too dry to my liking. But most of my friends prefer this to the Buffalo wings.

4. Half & Half – Buffalo Chicken & Roasted Duck – 8/10

These two are their popular toppings. The roasted duck is fragrant and delicious. The pizza crust is so thin and crispy. You won’t feel the sinfulness of being over-carbohydrate.

5. Half & Half – Chicken Fajitas & Spicy Cajun Chicken – 6/10

Not too spicy.

6. Timbre Seafood Platter – 7/10

It came with fresh squid rings, prawns, mussels, fish fillet and potato wedges. They are served with tartar sauce and Thai chili sauce. I only managed to try the squid rings and wedges. The squid is Q-Q and the wedge is fat and thick. Nice!

7. German Sausages and Mash – 7/10

The sausage is cheesy. Cheese lovers, try it. The mash potato is not very creamy or I would rather say drier than expected. This is what I like the best. It means less butter – healthier.

8. Buffalo Chicken Wings – 7/10

The sauce is spicy sour. Shiok man! But most of them do not fancy it. Hmmm..

Look at the these ants on our table. These species are so different from what we commonly see. They are enjoying their food too.

Overall, the service is good and the staff, who are mostly non-Singaporeans, are friendly too.

Address:
Timbre @ Substation

45 Armenian Street
The Substation Garden

Singapore 179936

Tel: 6338 8277

Operating Hours:
Opens everyday from 6pm.

Sam's Cottage, Dairy Farm Estate - 2nd Visit

Nice snacks..

This is my 2nd visit within the same month. This picture shows the Dairy Farm Estate. This apartment block is just one of the block in this estate. Can you see Sam's cottage in the picture?



The restaurant is just opened with lights up.


Food ordered:
1. Heineken beer and Jack Daniel's on the rock

2. Chicken Drumlets - It still tastes as good as two weeks ago.

3. Chicken Nuggets - The usual nugget tastes.

Most imptly, these deep fried food do not have those kind of burnt smell as if the oil has been reused too many times.

Food: 8/10.

Address:

Sam's Cottage
17 Dairy Farm Road

#B1-09

Dairy Farm Estate

Singapore 679043

Tel: 6766 3907

Operating hours:
Daily 7pm - 12am

Happy Hours:
7pm - 9pm 10% off

Sam's Cottage, Dairy Farm Estate

English Style..

Sam's Cottage is located inside the Dairy Farm Estate. You can park your car at the Visitor's lot in the private Condo.

We reached there 10mins before 7pm on Sunday, 19 April 2009 and it was not opened yet. Just before 7pm, we saw the man (i supposed he should be the boss) came to open the door.

The front image of Sam's Cottage.


The bar counter with many selections of liquors.


This is their menu. There are only 3 selections of light snacks - Fish 'n' chips, Chicken Nuggets and Chicken Drumlets but these are good enough. We cannot expect much from a neighbouring cafe/pub. Most imptly, the ambience is good and the boss is friendly.

Three of us ordered the followings:

1. Jug of ice cold beer.

2. English Fish 'n' Chips - It was wrapped with paper. The paper-wrapped style is similar to the English Pub "The Old Brown Shoe" at Bukit Timah Road.

We combined two portions of Fish 'n' Chips into one as the table is too small. The deep fried fish were very good. They were not fishy and the flesh of the fish were thick (doesn't really taste like dory fish although the boss admitted that dory fish were used. We were served with malt vinegar and tartar sauce. It's wholesome. We used to eat fish 'n' chips with malt vinegar when we were in Edinburgh, Scotland. Such combination is so good. Afterwhich, we never use tartar sauce anymore.

3. Chicken Drumlets - These taste good. I find it nicer than many other cafes and pubs. It is slightly spicy.

This place is though small but cosy. It is a good place to chill out and for buddy's talk.

Address:
Sam's Cottage

17 Dairy Farm Road
#B1-09
Dairy Farm Estate
Singapore

Tel: 6766 3907

Operating Hours:

Daily 7pm - 12am

Happy Hours:

7pm - 9pm 10% off