Tandoor North Indian Restaurant

Not exactly a die0hard fan of Indian cuisine, I would have never known about the existence of this restaurant if not for the popular deal.com website, in which i saw a $50 voucher for Tandoor going at 50% discount. After reading a few reviews online commenting that this place is not too bad, i bought the voucher and went ahead to give this place a shot.

a posh Indian restaurant

As both me and my friend a relatively smaller eaters, its our 1st time here, and the prices here aren't exactly very cheap, we decided to share the cheapest non-vegetarian Set menu which was going at $55/head consisting of about 10 items with tasting portions for a start. After ordering, we were served with 3 different dips, a mango/apricot chutney (the orange colour one in front), a spicy pumpkin relish kinda dip, and a spicy herby dip (green colour one at the back). I only liked the chutney which goes pretty well with the crackers below.

bowl of Indian crackers for the dips - pretty addictive!

Starters - Tandoori chicken, Tandoori fish, some kind of indian flatbread that tastes like naan

The tandoori items were pretty flavourful, just a little too over-cooked for my liking, resulting in very charred (and charcoal tasting) surface. The fish was softer and more moist than the chicken, but sadly, it was abit too salty. But the flatbread helped to complement the salty fish. And it went pretty well with the chutney above too!

Thali rice items at a glance, consisting of:

Prawn marsala - my favourite of all, with fresh plump prawns

Chicken something - my 3rd favourite, chicken was very tender

Mutton Curry - my 2nd favourite, mutton was tender, reminds me of roti prata curry

Aloo gohbi (cauliflower & potatoes) - my least favourite, bland tasting, looks like leftover

Dhal (lentils curry) - 4th favourite, not too bad, but i am not really a dhal person

Saffron rice to go with the thali items - long-grained basmati (i think) rice, pretty fragrant, good accompaniment to the curries.

Fresh naan - fresh and piping hot covered with a cloth to keep warm, this was really great with the curries too, much better than the rice!

Indian fruity ice-cream - this was the most unique ice-cream i ever had, the milky flavour was different from the western ice creams, the bottom part was icy and creamy like an ice cream, but the top layer had a mousse-like texture, and both layers didnt look like it was made separately at all! very interesting, but very rich and sweet (as with all other indian desserts).

Overall, the standard is not too bad, and the portions are very filling (we were so glad we shared 1 set only as we were all stuffed after the meal). If you are there for the 1st time and you want to try various items, the set menu is a good start to share, as the ala carte dishes are a little on the expensive side.

Tandoor North Indian Restaurant

B1, Holiday Inn Orchard City Centre

Le Chasseur

Finally had a chance to try this place after reading a few good reviews about it from famous floggers like ieatishootipost and Camemberu. Located just down the road from the Song Fa bak kut teh opposite The Central, you would never guess what food it sells just from its name. Only after reading its chinese name, then i know where did the english translation came from.

Luo Han Guo

Pig's trotters in black vinegar

Not bad, we liked the vinegary kick of the sauce, but the trotters could have more meat in it as we all do not eat the fatty portions of it.The egg is abit on the hard side though.

Toufu with century egg

So so only, but the beancurd is pretty smooth.

BBQ prawns

Pretty fresh, with a nice smokey flavour, although a little too small to satisfy our stomachs. 

Small kailan

Average tasting, not enough "wok hei", and the vegetables don't look very fresh.

Spring onion & ginger sliced fish

Average tasting, fish was a little overcooked, and the amount of fish slices given was much lesser than expected.

Claypot chicken rice

One of their specialities, i quite liked this dish, as the salted fish taste is very evident, and the rice is quite tasty, and dry enough for my liking. They are quite generous with the ingredients too. This, together with either a pig trotters in black vinegar or a crispy pork knuckle, and maybe a bowl of their boiled soups should make me very satisfied.

Le Chasseur 食乐轩

31 New Bridge Road

Sichuan Dou Hua Restaurant - revisited

The first time i ate here, was when i was still a young teenager, so the only memory i have of here is that it is high (literally), food is ok, and very expensive. Oh, and of course the infamous China guy pouring hot water from a teapot with a long sprout into your cup of tea leaves. Many years later, i am back here with a group of friends to try their Deluxe 60-dishes Ala-carte buffet to celebrate a friend's birthday. As there are too many dishes to be featured, i will just give a short opinion about the individual dishes.

Sharksfin #1: Braised Sharksfin soup with bamboo pith - not too bad, we had 2nd helpings of this to make our money more worthwhile. Sharksfin given is the smaller variety, not those huge ones you see in lavish dinners.

Sharksfin #2: Braised 8-Treasures Seafood soup - kind of misleading, we didnt expect to see a spinach soup base. didnt really count if there are 8 treasures though, but overall, a lighter soup than the 1st one. Non-vegetable lovers will not like this, as the spinach taste is quite evident

Deep-fried soft shell crab - not bad, not very oily, pretty light

Marinated jellyfish - i didnt try this, but friend said it was very spicy

Sliced pork with minced garlic and chilli sauce - didnt like this, garlic taste was too overpowering, quite spicy

Roasted crispy chicken with onion sauce - average restaurant-style roast chicken

Prawn dish #1: Prawns with cashew nuts and dried chilli - prawns were fresh and succulent, a little spicy

Prawn dish #2: Cereal prawns - prawns were nice and fresh too, but cereal lacked the fragrance

Fish dish #1: Steamed red tilapia with minced garlic sauce - fish was quite bland, but pairing it with the sauce is much better. friend feels that the "mud" taste of this fish is too strong, but i couldnt feel it as i grew up eating this fish so its fine for me. overall, not a recommended dish.

Fish dish #2: Crispy fried soon hock fish - a much better dish than the 1st one, fish was quite fresh, meat was softer. Clearly a more popular dish among my friends.

Stir-fried seasonal vegetables with crabmeat - didnt like this dish. vegetables were not very fresh, and slightly over-cooked. crabmeat was chunky, but no taste at all.

Braised beancurd with seafood - your normal cze char dish that you can find in many restaurants, pretty average, but at least much better than the vegetables.

Oriental fried rice - this is quite nice for those who like their rice grains separated and slightly drier (like me), quite flavourful too, but it fills up tummy space!

Dessert #1: Crispy fried sesame ball - i personally quite like this as it is not very oily, and has a distinct sesame fragrance, with the muah-chee-like filling providing a chewy and sticky texture to it. if not because i was too stuffed by the time dessert came, i would have taken more of it.

Dessert #2: Fine beancurd with wolfberries - one of their signature desserts (hence the restaurant name), the beancurd was smooth and silky, and the syrup was sweet enough to add taste, but not cloyingly sweet. a must try!

Dessert #3: Mango pudding - quite bland for a dessert, no evident mango taste

Dessert #4: Sichuan Red Bean pancake - maybe it is because i don't like red bean, i didnt really like this dessert, and found it a little more oily than the sesame ball, but not as oily as other restaurants elsewhere.

Overall, the standard of dishes are pretty ok, but i feel it is over-priced on weekends at $42++, the most i would pay for this standard would probably be their weekday (Mon-Thurs) price at $38++, considering the location, and that it is a fine-dining restaurant. I won't mind coming back again to try the rest of the dishes though.

Sichuan Dou Hua Restaurant

Lev 60, UOB Plaza 1

Shimbashi Soba

Soba, ramen, udon, which Jap noodle is your favourite? I personally rank Soba & Ramen among my top choices. When i finally had a chance to try this Jap place which makes their own soba noodles by hand after hearing about it for many years, i went in with rather high hopes of slurping up firm and chewy noodles with a cooling, slightly salty sauce.

Shokado Set A ($18.90)

My friend had this set, which consists of the main dish of hot soba noodles, and several side dishes as shown below:

grilled unagi

seared salmon

chicken kaarage

Shokado set B ($21.90)

I was craving for soba and sashimi, so decided to go for this set, with a cold soba as my main dish, together with side dishes below:

cold soba

sweet & sour chicken

salmon sashimi

mixed tempura

All-in-all, i quite like my soba noodles as it is done al-dente, firm to to bite. But my friend complained about her hot soba being too soft & over-cooked. Verdict? Soba should definitely be eaten cold. The rest of the side dishes are just so-so only, not worth mentioning. Sashimi is not bad though. I won't purposely make a trip there, but if i am around that area and craving for some soba, i will make a 2nd trip there.

Shimbashi Soba

#B1-02 nex

23 Serangoon Central
Tel: 6634 4786
http://www.sobaworld.com.sg/