Singapore #020 - 海底捞 (HaiDiLao) Hot Pot

We went to HaiDiLao Hot Pot at Clarke Quay on Boxing Day to celebrate mummy's birthday.

I tried to call on Christmas Eve to make reservation but it was already full. They told me to call 30 mins before coming down to take queue number so I did at 6pm, hoping to get a table by 6.30pm.

When I reached at 6.30pm, they told me my table was not ready so I went to walk around. After 30 mins, they did not call so I went back again. My table was still not available, I was told to have a seat and enjoy some snacks first. Alright… service was good… they took stools out for us to sit and served us with tea, popcorns and longans. At a corner, there was also free manicure service but there was a queue for it since only 1 person at a time -.-"

Finally after 1.5hr of waiting (starting from the time i called), we managed to get a table! 

We ordered our food thru the iPad given, sounds cool ya.

We ordered the yuanyang (choice of 2 soups) pot - Mala (Spicy) & Black Chicken Soup.

First: Choose your soup base. Yuanyang Pot (S$20)

Black Pork (S$12)

Wagyu Beef (S$56)

Luncheon Meat (S$8)

Pork Belly (S$14)

Cuttlefish Cake (S$14)

Soon Hock Fish (S$26)

Prawn (1/2 portion, S$4)

Crispy Meat (S$10)

Pork Intestines ($10)

Crown Daisy/Tang-O (S$6)

Golden Mushroom (S$6)

Black Fungus (S$6)

Fried Rice (S$3)

Prosperity Noodel (S$2)

I must say service is definitely excellent! My mum accidentally spilled the drink and immediately 2 of the waitress attended to us with towels and clearing up the mess. They refilled our soup without us requesting and changed our plates for a few times. Of course, unlike those steamboat buffet (that is cheap), the ingredients served are very fresh. This is why I think it's more worth the money to pay a little more and get good quality of food.

Note: Free flow of selected drinks are charged at $3 per person and free flow of sauces/fruits/desserts at $3 per person. Also, if you are having additional orders, you need to inform the waitress as the order cannot be sent directly to the kitchen after the 1st order.

2nd Floor, 3D Building,
River Valley Road, Clarke Quay
Singapore
10:30 - 03:00
Tel: +65 6337 8626/ 6337 8627

Singapore #019 - Cups N Canvas

Before heading to PlayNation last night, we planned to have our dinner away from the usual weekend crowd in town and I googled Cups N Canvas that is right in Selegie Road.

Cups N Canvas

This place just gives a cosy and still chrismasy feeling… Tables were all taken up but the place was spacious during dinner time which was what I wanted to look for… somewhere to enjoy coffee and able to chat (and not shouting to one another).

I think this is the first time I found sweet potato latte selling in Singapore. Sweet Potato latte was my love and a drink that I will order each time when I'm in Korea. 

It tasted quite different from Korea; Korea still has the best sweet potato latte. The one in Cups N Canvas was not bad though, it has a light sweet potato taste and there's also sweet potato puree.

Sweet Potato Latte

Lobster Pasta

Breakfast Canvas

Smoked Salmon Sandwich

Cheesecake

They also have very interesting fruit beer like Apple Beer and Mango Beer. I will definitely try them during my next visit.

139 Selegie Road
Singapore 188309
Tue - Thu 10:30 - 22:00
Fri - Sat 10:30 - 23:00
Sun 10:00 - 20:00
Tel: +65 6884 6855

Singapore #018 - The Sushi Bar

Often I passed by this sushi shop after getting my nails done at Daisy Shop in Far East Plaza.

At night, it always has very long queue. Today, I had to wait 1 hour to get my nail fixed at Daisy Shop.

I gave it a go and queued for some sushi… I queued for close to 1 hour to get myself a seat at the sushi bar counter. The waitress was telling me that in future if i'm dining alone, i could just go up to them to ask if there's a seat before queuing up...

The waiter there took my order was quite nice and friendly. He asked if I would like to try something new that is not in the menu. If the waiter doesn't inform you, do ask him/her.

Tonight's special was Monkfish Liver, Ankimo

It tasted quite similar to Foie Gras. It comes in a plate of 3pcs.

Very affordable price, fresh and authentic (tasted exactly the same as the one I tried in Tokyo)!

Ankimo (S$14.90)

Unlike the usual thin slices of fish, the sashimi here are sliced thicker.

The fish served is fresh and chewy. I think they are much nicer than the ones I tried in Tsukiji Fish Market. 

3-Kind (S$14.90)

Lastly, the highly recommended Salmon Aburi Roll by many blog reviews.

I was googling for blog reviews on this shop when I was queuing.

The fish is tender that it kind of melts in your mouth without much effort to chew.

Salmon Aburi Roll (S$14.50)

Note: They do reservations only for weekday till 7.30pm. And the most important thing, they only accept cash so do bring enough cash and enjoy cheap (no GST & service charge) and good food!

14 Scotts Road, Far East Plaza
#03-89 Singapore 228213
Mon - Fri 12:30 - 15:00, 17:30 - 21:00
Sat 12:30 - 21:00

Singapore #017 - Tsukada Nojo Bijin Nabe

You just long for a pot of simmering soup on a rainy cold day…

That's what I crave for the past few days and finally I got to satisfy it on Sunday.

Its decoration and small shop area reminds me of those nabe restaurants in Shinagawa, Tokyo.

If you want to eat Tsukada Nojo, you need to come and queue early otherwise their waiting list will be full by around 6.30pm. We queued around 5pm and still had to wait till 6.45pm before we got our seats.

We ordered nabe for 4pax (S$25++ per pax).

It was served in jelly form and under the stove, it would slowly melt and becomes the soup base.

Before

After

The set comes with big chunks of chicken, prawns, enoki mushrooms, chicken paste (to make into chicken balls), noodles, watermelon radish, fried bean curd (known as taupok) and variety of veggies.

We also ordered onigiri (rice ball) and chicken salad.

Onigiri (S$3.80++ each) - Chili and Yuzu flavored

Chicken Salad with Sour Plum Sauce ($5.80++)

To welcome our second visit, we are all promoted to Manager! And there's complimentary Edaemame and french fries.

After your meal, they will also serve you complimentary dessert.

There's another outlet in Chinatown and they do accept reservation before 6pm. Not only that, I heard from the staff that there's another outlet opening in the Westgate this month. Can't wait for its opening since it's near to my work place!

Plaza Singapura #03-81 68
Orchard Road
Singapore 238891
17:00 - 22:00
Last Order: 21:00
Tel: +65 9129 0244

Singapore #016 - Cake Spade

Popped by Cake Spade last night after our girls night out for chicken buffet at Chicken Up.

We went around 8plus but many of the cakes were already sold out.

In the end, we got the last piece of Red Velvet Cake and Brownie Bottom Cheesecake.

Red Velvet Cake (S$5.90)

The Red Velvet cake is moist inside and fluffy cream on its outside. 

Brownie Bottom Cheesecake (S$6.20)

The cheesecake is rich and dense yet it is easy to swallow.

Since there were 8 of us, we went for another 2 more cakes.

Molten Cake with ice cream (S$7)

Nutella Fudge Crumble (S$4.20)

I always believe that the most simple food is the most difficult food to make it delicious. The deliciousness of the Nutella Fudge Crumble (served warm) just made us happy kids again.

Although I think coffee will compliment the cakes, we went ahead with these artfully packaged tea bottles. I tried the Arizona Green Tea with Ginseng and Honey. I couldn't taste the ginseng! In fact, I like the light, little sweetness taste of green tea and honey. I'm going to find these teas from the super marts and store them in my fridge!

1 Tras Link
#01-06
Orchid Hotel
Singapore 078867
Tel: +65 6444 3868