Hyang-To-Gol Korean Restaurant

Honestly, i never liked Korean food, so i will very rarely opt to have Korean food for meals, especially when there is a wide array of other more interesting cuisines available in Singapore. However, just for the sake of giving this "A-to-Z Food List" some variety, i decided to throw in a Korean restaurant for "H".

There was many mixed reviews from various floggers about this restaurant, ranging from "the best and the only Korean restaurant i would ever go", to "....totally under-rated and disappointing...will never go back there again...", so i decided to try it for myself.

As with all authentic, self-respecting Korean restaurant, they must always have an array of complimentary free-flow side dishes before you start your meal. In Hyang-To-Sol, they have 10 different kinds, which i shall not take the trouble to name one by one.

With most of it involving kimchi (or its by-product) and vegetables and garlic, the only 1 i do not mind eating (and actually finished nearly the whole portion) is the potato salad. Basically mashed potato mixed with chopped raw carrots and cucumbers, its pretty refreshing and not too rich. Shall not comment on the rest, coz i dun like any of them.

Korean seafood pancake with spring onion ($22)

One of the symbolic "starters" for Korean cuisine, we chose the Korean seafood pancake out of all the other starters to try. Other than the portion being humongous (probably for 3-4 people), and the pro-active waitress automatically cutting up the pancake into slices for us on the table, it is a very oily pancake and nothing interesting at all. And did i mention that i couldnt find much seafood in it??

Ingredients for the beef hotpot: beef, mushroom, veg and noodles

all-in-1 beef hotpot ($33)

As we didnt want to end up smelling like the residue of a BBQ dinner (and the BBQ items are not cheap), we went for a hotpot instead. As usual, the same pro-active waitress did everything for us, from lighting the stove, cooking the food, flavouring the soup infront of us and even wanted to serve us individually! But being accustomed to helping ourselves to our own hotpot (which includes cooking our own ingredients), we politely declined the offer to serve us, and hinted that we can manage ourselves very well. For the 1st time, we actually felt the worthiness of the service charge!

Generally, the beef slices were very tender, mushrooms (shitake & oyster) and veg were pretty normal and the noodles remind me of a typical Korean ramen. The soup is pretty flavourful, although i wun mind if it was a little less oily. Nevertheless, definitely much better than the seafood pancake.

I don't know if i would come back here again, for the simple reason that i still am not very interested in Korean food. But for those who likes Korean food and likes kimchi (they have alot of kimchi-related dishes here) and likes to be served, you can definitely give this place a shot.

Hyang-To-Sol Korean Restaurant

Lev 2, Amara Hotel

http://singapore.amarahotels.com/dining/#hyangtogo

the Greenroom Cafe

For "G", we have something new to excite this blog a lil bit, and of coz, for the benefit of non-meat eaters - vegetarian food! Located amidst lush greenery, this place would be a nice option for an afternoon tea for couples or small families wanting some family-bonding time.

Outside dining

Open-concept kitchen

Roasted cauliflower & truffle risotto

To be honest, among all the risottos i have tried, this is the worst! I do not taste any of the earthy truffles at all, and the parmesan cheese they used gives a very stinky smell that makes it very unpalatable for me (food is all about look, smell, taste right?). The only redeeming thing about this dish is the roasted caulliflower, which i feel is not too bad. Overall, a bad dish, with small portions and not very small price.

Portobello mushroom burger

Well, definitely better than the risotto, but the portobello mushroom used is too thin (bearing in mind that as you cook mushrooms, they will shrink even further), thus failing to provide a "compact" texture that is supposed to be a substitute for meat. The burger bun is also not freshly baked, probably better off having store-bought. Tomato salsa is very compatible with the accompanying taco chips. Overall, nothing too interesting about it.

Sticky Date Pudding

To make up for the not-appetising mains we had, we decided to try their desserts, and this Sticky Date Pudding with Vanilla Ice-cream is one of their signatures. Well, the pudding is dense and pretty moist (reminds me of a Western huat kueh) and a little sticky, as it should be, but i have definitely had much better ones elsewhere (like Marmalade Pantry and another place which i cant remember the name offhand).

After a cuppa Flat white to round up the meal, we decided that this would definitely not be on our list of Vegetarian restaurants to return.

NB: For non-vegetarian diners, they also have another "normal" menu under the name of Canopy Dining, which shares the same premises. So both vegetarian and non-vegetarian friends can come together and eat as a group.

The Greenroom cafe

Bishan Park 2

1382 Ang Mo Kio Ave 1

http://www.greenroomcafe.com.sg/

Everything With Fries

One of the newest players to join the ever-growing list of fast-food burger joints like Macdonalds, KFC, Mos Burger, etc, Everything With Fries (EwF) is started by the same boss behind Awfully Chocolate. It first started with a cafe in Joo Chiat area, before it expanded to open 1 more branch in Holland Village, and finally ventured into a slice of the fast-food pie with this newest branch in Orchard Central.

Ordering here is very straight forward, you first choose the burger you want, then decide if you want to upsize it to make a meal which comes with your choice of flavoured fries and your choice of drinks for only $9.90. If that is still not enough, you can choose from 3 side dishes, and 4 desserts to add to your meal.

Har Jeong Kai Burger with Sour Cream & Onion fries

Chicken Tandoori Burger with Curry fries

Nutella slice

The har jeong kai burger looks like a alternative version of KFC crispy chicken stuffed between 2 burger buns, and tastes nearly similar to that, just that it is not spicy and slightly saltier. The sour cream and onion fries is lightly flavoured with a blend that reminds you of sour cream and onion flavoured potato chips, and the fries are nicely fried without a soggy piece in sight.

The chicken tandoori burger gives me mixed feelings, as the chicken, although tender to the bite, lack the flavour of spices that accompanies tandoori meats and that indian "oomph" factor. The curry fries reminds me of a powdered version of the Macdonalds curry sauce, sprinkled over a large heap of crispy fries. 

Back in their first 2 branches, the Nutella tart is the best-selling dessert, so i definitely have to give a smaller version of that, Nutella slice, a try! True to the fact that they share the same boss as Awfully Chocolate, the dark chocolate used in the Nutella slice is thick, smooth and chocolatety, and the cake portion is soft, whcih is a good match for the crunchy cookie base. The whole feeling of it is like eating a not-so-sweet chocolate brownie, but i really don't taste the Nutella in it??

All in all, it is nothing much to rave about, but it is a good change from the usual fast-food players, or if you want an affordable meal that makes you satisfactorily full.

Everything with Fries

1st floor, Orchard Central

Da Dong Restaurant

After having cuisines from the West for the past 3 times, its time to return back to some Asian cuisine, and what can be better than the most popular Asian food of all - Chinese food!

Da Dong Restaurant is a Cantonese restaurant with many years of history, and is part of the Fatty Weng Group.

Soup of the Day - Watercress with Pork Ribs Soup ($5/serving)

1 of their specialty - Da Dong Roast Duck ($12 - small)

Butter Prawns ($16 - small)

Yangzhou Fried Rice ($8 - small)

Once you step into a Cantonese restaurant, there are a few staple dishes you have to try in order to gauge the standard of the chef's cooking. Double-boiled soup, roast meats, dim sum (if any) and stir-fried dishes. Any self-respecting Cantonese woman will definitely know how to boil a good pot of soup for her family (ok maybe it doesnt apply to younger women these days who cant even cook a dish properly), as soup has became one of the yardstick dishes to measure any rising Cantonese restaurants. I would say the soup here is not too bad, considering we ordered the most common soup of all, the Daily soup. It is flavourful, but yet has very little MSG, so you will not be left gasping for water after drinking a whole bowl of it. The watercress and pork ribs are also cooked till soft and tender, and you do not need to use too much effort from your gums to chew at all.

As 1 of the famous dishes of Da Dong restaurant is the roast duck, how can i give that a miss? True enough, the duck is meaty and tender. Although it can be juicier, the sauce accompanying it makes up for it by adding the much-welcomed moisture in your mouth while you chew the meat. The only bad thing i can think about, is that towards the end of the plate, i started to feel that the duck was getting a little salty, i don't know why. And when left out for too long, the skin started to get softer and not crispy anymore. The prawns and the fried rice were pretty normal cze char dishes, and nothing to rave about. I think the salad prawns seems a nicer choice for my next visit though.

Lastly, the other famous dish which i didnt get to try, Peking duck!