I came with my best friend to celebrate my birthday because we love to eat Japanese food in a non-crowded place. Oceans of Seafood is at The Grandstand located in Turf City. It is rather troublesome to reach the area if one does not drive. There are a few shuttle bus pickup points from the MRT stations and the bus stops that can pick up people to The Grandstand.

For sashimi lovers, we indulge in Sashimi Salad ($14.00) as a starter which a variety of fresh raw fishes and salad titillate our taste buds.

Salmon Oyako Chirashi ($28.00) which means Salmon on a Sushi Rice Bowl had six thick slices of salmon and a generous serving of fish roe. The menu online reflected the price to be $20.00. The restaurant charged us $28.00 when we foot the bill. Have they increased 40% of the price or did they make a mistake that we paid for it without checking? I think that $28.00 is way too pricey for this dish. $20.00 is reasonable.

Chawan Mushi ($7.00) is a must to complete the Japanese meal. Their Chawanmushi had a lot of ingredients as you can see from the photo. The steamed egg was smooth and delightful.

We placed an order for the sushi which came in a single piece – Unagi Sushi ($ 3.40), Salmon Sushi ($ 2.50) and Maguro Sushi ($ 2.80)

We also had Lychee Frizz ($ 4.50)drinks and Salmon Avocado ($ 7.00). The total bill was $95.00 (inclusive of GST and service charge) which was rather expensive especially Salmon Oyako Chirashi. I still felt that it was not worth the price of $28.00. Nevertheless, I will patronise this Japanese restaurant again if I have the chance.

We dined rather early at 5 pm so there was no customer at this time. We sat in a cosy corner, looked at the menu and were ready to pick the food. There was a wide selection of main courses to choose from – local and western food.

 As a starter, Barley Salad ($12.50) was very appetising. It reminded me of the Burmese Salad, Lephet Thoke (Fermented Tea Leaf Salad) which I have tried one time. This dessert is a must order food because the sauce and the taste are unique.

Kids Mini Meatballs ($ 9.90) was for my niece. I have never taken a fancy on tomato sauce. Eating too much of tomato sauce makes me repulsive. I tasted the food nonetheless. There was nothing special. Even the meatballs were not that tasty.

Chix Curry Rice ($16.50) must be avoided at all cost if you are expecting the same standard of the authentic local curry. Overly sweet curry sauce was another failure to this dish. The ingredient was little too.

 I did not try Bakerzin Burger ($17.90). The burger was rather small. My brother remarked the taste to be so-so. I guessed the standard was decent.

I did not try New York Coney Island Dog ($18.90) either. A piece of hot dog with meat sauce and some potato wedges.

The first thing that came to my mind about Thai Pork Rice ($17.90) was the amount of sugar that had been put in. It was too sweet. I did not think that it was delicious at all because all that I tasted was sugar.

Voila, it was mine! This Salmon Penne ($18.90) was the most delicious main course of all.  The creamy sauce was appetising and leave me wanting for more with each bite.

Finally the long awaited dessert, a slice of Pumpkin Chiffon ($ 5.00) in anticipation. It is the “Cake of the Month” for June. The cake had the flavour of pumpkin. Unfortunately, it was too sugary to be able to enjoy the pumpkin fragrance. It had somewhat failed in my expectation.

Chocolate Cake with Vanilla ($ 8.80) was an expensive dessert to indulge and not worth the money. It was attractive to look at but not pleasurable to eat. The taste was not distinctive and yet very sweet. Sweetness once again overpowered the flavour.

We were pleased with the service. The friendly waitress informed us on the promotions and gently reminded us at times so that we would not miss out the offer.

I would not recommend Bakerzin at Garden by the Bay because the standard of the food was not high. The chef had added too much sugar in many of their dishes. Even their signature desserts failed to make the mark in my opinion.

DBS card holders enjoy a 15% discount on the bill. Remember to check with the staffs and show your credit card when you foot the bill.

The dessert presentation in the menu was very attractive and looked appetising. We wanted to try as many desserts as we could. I dislike desserts that were overly sweet. A skilful Tim Sum chef can control the amount of sugar added into the dessert. Sheng Kee Dessert is capable in this aspect.

The Handmade Mushroom Pau 手工蘑菇包 ($ 3.30) for a plate of two pieces were creatively made and looked very cute. The bun was moulded to look like a mushroom. The mushroom was the main filling. It is not fundamentally sweet. That was what I like. It had a unique taste that I have never experienced before.

Yolky Custard Bun 香滑流沙包 ($ 3.30), a basket of two pieces was another sweet delight with a mixture of savoury fillings of Salted Egg Yolk and Sweet Custard. One has to be careful when handling and eating them. Do not eat when it is too hot. Do not split it into two as the molten lava will leak. We divide the bun. The filling flowed all over the plate. It was a messy sight.

I insisted on ordering Mango Glutinous Roll 芒果糕劵 ($ 7.50) which had four pieces because I love mango dessert. Mangoes are usually very sweet but with the combination of the glutinous roll, the sweetness mellowed and combined perfectly with the roll. The fragrant mango flavour aftertaste lingered in the mouth with the dripping mango cream.

The jelly series of the desserts were virtually eye candy. We ordered all the three varieties that were available on the menu. Osmanthus Jelly 桂花糕 ($ 3.90) used dried osmanthus flowers which gave a mild flavour. It is not easy to distinguish the fragrant from eating them.

Osmanthus flowers have medicinal properties like antioxidant activities and help to promote beautiful skin. Coupled with the natural goodness of wolfberries, it is a healthy dessert to savour. Eat more.

Who can resist the temptation of Mango Combination Series 辎肩香恽阚语 and Signature Combination Series 辎肩三鲐秦 just by looking at them without ordering? These desserts made one drool. It is popular for people who want to try three different desserts at one time for the price of $ 7.50 per plate.

Green Lime with Plum Juice 青柠酸梅 ($ 3.90) was the ideal drink to select on the drink menu. It is a drink blended with the right level of sweetness and sourness.

Hong Kong Sheng Kee Dessert in IMM Building undoubtedly has one of the best desserts around. The staffs were friendly, making sure that we enjoy the desserts as much as they do. I will return as a satisfied and sweet customer.

In IMM Building, it is not possible to have the same kind of underwater environment. They could assimilate a similar concept of Resort World Sentosa and introduce a smaller aquarium in the restaurant of IMM Building. Diners have a more relaxed environment with the presence of water.

Shu Jiang Grilled Fish Restaurant originates from Sichuan. The folks in Sichuan are fond of hot and spicy food. Most of their dishes are spicy. The restaurant signature dish, Shu Jiang’s Grilled Fish 蜀江烤魚, is cooked in specially made ovens to the right doneness and then overlaid in the sauce which the customer has chosen.

There were four types of fish to choose from at IMM and six types of fish at RWS. We selected a Regular Sea Bass 金目鲈 @ $ 42.80 which the promotional price was $ 38.00 at that time. The Large Sea Bass cost $ 48.80. The Regular Sea Bass in RWS cost $ 42.00 which was $ 0.80 cheaper.

The price of the fish cost lesser in RWS when making a quick comparison online. It was rather unexpected as RWS being a high-end location, had a fish menu that was priced lower than IMM Building.

There were six choices of sauces to pick for the grilled fish. Out of the six, four sauces were spicy. We selected Special Chef Spicy Sauce Served with Dried Chilli, Soya Bean & Peanut.

We had to make two more selections of vegetables out of nine vegetables on the menu that were part of the dish. We chose a unique one, Mung Bean Vermicelli 绿豆粉条 and Cabbage Long 大白菜.

The sauce of the fish was spicy and hot but flavoursome. The grilled fish certainly lived up to its reputation. I am an average eater of chilli. Towards the end of the dish, my tongue was burning hot from slurping the delicious chilli fish sauce as I could not help myself.

Despite the spiciness, I could still taste the sweetness of the fresh fish. I loved to eat the Mung Bean Vermicelli as they were thick, smooth and soft. They always slipped out of my spoon. I had a hard time scooping them.

Dining in a Sichuan food restaurant, one must remember to try their Hot and Sour Seafood Soup 海鲜酸辣羹 @ $8.80. The soup was yum-yum and piquant.

My friend also ordered Pan-Fried Iberico Pork 香煎西班牙黑豚肉 @ $ 24.80 which I had never eaten before. The Iberian pig is either red or dark in colour. The Iberian pork is more expensive than the usual pork due to the higher grade of meat. The Iberian pork was so heavenly and tender that it might make any pork haters change their minds. Even if you do not like to eat pork generally, this dish must not be missed.

I could not recall whether Braised Bee Hoon with Crab Meat 珍珠螃蟹焖米粉 @ $ 18.80 was tasty or not as the spiciness of the fish sauce numbed my burning taste buds which drowned the taste of any food that was milder in taste.

The customer service levels of the servers and manager were excellent. They asked for feedback on their food frequently and put on a lot of smiles. The manager even gave out name cards to all their patrons asking them to come back again. It was an enjoyable dinner surrounded by good food and friendly staff who took pride in their job.

The array of choices of their fish and sauces is a selling point for fish lovers to return and experiment with more cooking varieties. On the downside, the cost of the food is a bit expensive considering the small serving.

Tip:

“Like” their Facebook and show the page to the staff when you place an order. You will get a free dessert for it. The lifts inside IMM Building has affixed this advertisement. We did not see it so we did not have any.

Sometimes it was a bit dull to eat Chinese food frequently so we wanted to eat something else for a change. I also want to introduce my mum to some other types of cuisines which she would never try on her own. She went along with my idea.

It was not easy finding a North Indian restaurant out of the blue without planning. Right after I gave up the search after checking the shopping directory display board, we walked past a nice looking restaurant, Zaffron Kitchen, on the first floor.

I stopped to see the menu curiously. To my pleasant surprise, it was an Indian food menu. After confirming with the waiter that the restaurant served North Indian food, we quickly walked inside. Bingo! That was what I wanted exactly!

It was 2.15 pm and left with only one table of ladies chit-chatting. It did not look like a typical Indian restaurant which was the reason why I could not recognise it from far.

The interior was classy and had dim orange light. The restaurant had a British Indian-inspired interior design. It had won one of the International Property Award Asia Pacific 2014 and was a highly recommended leisure interior.

I was very impressed when a waitress handed us an electronic menu in a classic wooden frame. I had never seen such a design of menu selection before. The waitress showed us how to select a dish and place order on that electronic device.

She said the last order was 2.30 pm and we had only 15 minutes left. I asked her whether she would drive us away if we could not finish the food when the restaurant closed at 3 pm but she said we could stay as long as we want.

To be honest, I did not want to place my order so quickly because I was so attracted to that lovely electronic device which was an iPad. I wanted more time to read the menu since I am not familiar with Indian cuisine recipes.

We ordered just three dishes and did not order any rice or naan to go with it so we could eat again at home. I chose Papdi Chaat, Chana Masala and Raita for two people although I wanted to order much more but was afraid of not finishing the food.

Papdi Chaat @ $6.50

Crispy, tangy, hot and sweet all in one with fried dough wafers made from refined white flour, served with sweet yoghurt and topped with mint chutney

Papdi Chaat is a light starter that I will give my two thumbs up for being so delicious and leave me wanting for more. I could just eat many plates of this dish alone.

The crispiness of the wafer, the right combination of yoghurt and mint chutney not only titillate the taste buds but also attractive in the presentation. You must not walk out of this restaurant without trying this dish. Finger licking good and yummy.

Chana Masala @ $ 12.00

Chickpeas cooked in a tangy mélange of freshly roasted spices and rich tomato gravy

I would never have enough of chickpeas. Chana Masala cooked with chickpeas was fairly dry and spicy with a sour citrus note. This tasty dish is ideal to eat with naan and rice.

Raita @ $ 5.00

Side dish of yogurt containing chopped vegetables and spices

The yogurt taste of Raita is flavourful and sour which is well-liked by yogurt lovers. The serving came in a small bowl which was just the right size. Otherwise, the taste would be overpowering for those who are not used to eat too much yoghurt. Have a try for it.

Overall, I would like to patronise Zaffron Kitchen again and savour their other delectable speciality like Butter Chicken.

I would not hesitate to recommend this restaurant. It is a pity if you have not tried Zaffron Kitchen at least once in Westgate or its East Coast branch to relax in their elegant decor and try the famous Papdi Chaat!

Indulging in the pleasure of the fishes swimming close to the glass tank while dining was a gastronomic adventure. The food was fabulous but with a miserably small serving. The service level was excellent particularly a male staff named Colin. Indeed a Paradiso!

***

We went on a Saturday afternoon. It was packed and noisy inside the restaurant. We had a 3-Course Set Lunch that cost $ 55.00 per person which you can pick and choose from the Starter, the Main Course and the Dessert.

The food was delicious but not enough to fill up the stomach which was the reason why it was called “fine dining”. When the portion was meagre, it is tough to say that the food was not tasty. I tried my friend’s steak. It was average. I ordered salmon. It was delectable.

Before you have enough time to decide whether the food tasted good, it was already in the stomach. Never to go there famished expecting the portion served to perk you up. You pay to dine in a cosy and memorable ambience and not just for the food.

The aquarium in the restaurant was part of the Underwater World in Sentosa. When you walked out of the other door, there were many people taking photographs at the Underwater World. You have to pay to go inside but by dining in this restaurant, you get a part of the luxury.

Negative Food Review of Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant

Other Things to Note

• Parking
• Translucent Door in Ladies’ Toilet
  
• Corkage Charge
• Prima’s Dim Sum

The Worst Dining Experience Ever!

What you are going to read is discouraging and negative food review of Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant | 百龄麦旋转酒楼 at Keppel Road because I had a degraded impression about the food and the customer service level. It was the worst restaurant with below average food standard and the most disappointing dining experience in Singapore that one should avoid.

My two best friends had their birthday in July. I bought them dinner in Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant next to Vivo City because two years ago, I went for a corporate dinner there and the food was excellent and unforgettable.

Not only that, one will get to see a panoramic view from the silo of the tower around the Vivo City and a glimpse of Sentosa, the sea and the PSA Harbour while the tower revolved slowly in 360°. That was cool, isn’t it?

Prima Revolving Tower Restaurant is a high-class restaurant with a beautifully decorated interior. It is a top-notch restaurant for flaunting to business associates, foreign guests or important people in our life to show their importance. That was the impression formed. I would rate Prima Revolving Tower Restaurant as the most beautiful Chinese restaurant in Singapore.

The exorbitant price that one has to pay for dining in such an elegant restaurant with a panoramic unblocked scenery was a turnoff. Since I have decided to pamper my friends with a memorable dinner, the price was the last thing to consider in my mind.

The Captain or Manager of the restaurant was not happy when my boyfriend and I arrived at 6.10pm. He told me coldly that the restaurant commenced its business at 6.30pm. He said I could sit at my table to wait while they prepared their things and there would be some noise.

I replied that it was not a problem as all my other friends would arrive much later. There was not a smile of welcome or reciprocation in that short conversation. He made me feel that I was disturbing their work by turning up early. His facial expression clearly spelt it out.

We ordered a Special Set Menu 精美套餐5 @ $ 288.00 for six people even though there were only five of us. The first dish served was Shredded Scallops with Fish and Egg White 赛螃蟹 which was one of the menu highlights. It was nothing fantastic but acceptable among all other food there. My friends didn’t have a high opinion of it either.

Fish Maw & Seafood in Thick Soup 鱼鳔海鲜羹 was rated higher than the first dish. Almost all the food sucked big-time. Be warned again of the complaints that were shared below as they were not going to be positive. It would be the last time that I was going as a paid customer.

Authentic Barbecued Peking Duck 烤北京填鸭 was another signature dish that Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant boasted. It was over-rated. One could only taste the sweet sauce that was spread too much inside the wrap.

I could not relate this signature dish to the typical taste of Peking Duck because it was a complete failure in the cooking. I made the comparison to the Peking Duck in Malaysia that I had eaten one week ago. The Peking Duck in our neighbouring country tasted so much better than the premium duck over here.

Deep-Fried Soon Hock 油浸顺壳 was too old. The fish had no sweetness of what a fresh fish would be. The sauce was tasteless too. A real disappointment indeed.

The sauce of the Stewed Pork Ribs (Served With Buns) 京烤骨皇 (代花卷) was starchy, thick and sticky. The pork was not delicious and tasted utterly disgusting when it turned cold. The starchy sauce made the swallowing of the pork seem nauseating.

The name of “Superior Broth” didn’t befit the dish – Chinese Spinach with Whole Garlic in Superior Broth 上汤蒜子灼苋菜 since it did not taste like special broth at all and more like the usual oyster sauce used to cook Chinese Vegetables. It tasted bland and diluted. The vegetable was stale too.

We asked the remaining duck meat to fry with ‘Yi-Mee’ 伊面. Needless to say more, after so many rounds of lousy food and criticisms among us. We would not expect the standard to be any higher.

Our dessert was Toffee Banana 拔丝香蕉, fried banana coated with malt. It was failed proof because the bananas were very sweet. It was the best consolation dish here as agreed by all my friends. Please note that the crust is hard due to the malt syrup coating which hardens it. Some people may not like that the sticky malt can stick around the teeth.

Despite paying for a high price, the food was served consecutively like a high-speed train similar to attending a local banquet Chinese wedding whose aim is to make you finish the food as quickly as possible rather than let a patron take the time to savour the already not-so-nice food and to indulge in the chit-chatting session with friends.

We requested the waitress to slow down the food. She gave a helpless expression indicating that there was nothing she could do. The following dishes served were still like lightning speed indirectly urging us to finish the food quickly before they turned cold. One friend claimed that the aim was to finish serving the food when the tower revolved one round.

Not sure how true the claim was. I had forgotten to take photographs of the rest of the dishes because they served the food so fast that our focus was shifted to gobble up the food, make more space on the table for the next plate to come while they cleared away the finished plate.

In a good quality Chinese restaurant that has outstanding service, the service staff would usually change the dirty plates every few rounds of food especially after the prawn or fish were served without the customers asking. The server changed the plates only when we asked for them.

Most of the food had 50% leftover as none of us could finish the lousy food despite trying hard to stuff them into our hungry stomach.

All the staff left at 10.15 pm sharp on a Friday night and was considered early for a typical Chinese restaurant closing at that time, considering it was full-house on that night. The desire to knock off earlier explained why they served the food in a rush so we could finish faster and they could go back earlier.

I empathised that they worked long hours in F&B industry and would love to go back early. They should not compromise on their food quality and service level at the expense of customers paying a much higher price than other better restaurants out there which deserve more recognition.

Nearly $90 per person for the dinner, it was a severely disappointing dinner in Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant. I had a corporate dinner there in 2013. The delectable food and the grandiose interior there was the reason why I brought my precious friends to have a grand birthday celebration.

The fundamental value of a restaurant is the quality of food as people tend to associate expensive dishes with higher quality such as freshness and a good service level all within the expectation of every dollar and cent of a paying customer.

One friend had severe gastric pain in the midst of the dinner. She had no medical history of it. Another friend had two diarrhoea. I was not blaming their sickness with the food that we ate because I had no proof.  However, I am highly doubtful about the freshness of the food and the way they handle the cooking.

Other Points to Note

Parking

I parked in Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant around 4.30 pm and walked over to Vivo City to pass my time. When I went back to the site at 6 pm, my car was wheel-clamped. I approached the security guard. He said that the guests could park there only after 6 pm.

He would release the wheel clamp only if I produced the receipt from the restaurant to prove that having dinner in the restaurant was real. I complied and did what he said. He released my wheel clamp after the dinner at around 10.30 pm.

From my experience, if you are going to arrive before 6 pm, go and inform the security guard first that you would dine in Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant later to avoid the embarrassment of being wheel-clamped and the shock of everyone upon returning.

Translucent Door in Ladies’ Toilet

The Ladies’ toilet door located one floor below the restaurant was translucent. You could make out the silhouette and every movement of the person behind it.

Corkage Charge

You have to pay $20 if you bring your alcohol.

Prima’s Dim Sum

Several friends left feedbacks on my Facebook reviewing that their Dim Sum was good. I could only say that I might return to Prima Tower Revolving Restaurant many years later when only if they change their current poor management and chefs to never return there again.

I reiterate that if the dinner is more costly than others, it has to be justified. You decide whether to take the risk to pay for the possibility of lousy food and rushed service or to try another restaurant of the same attribute. Good luck to you.

My brother recommended East Ocean Teochew Restaurant | 东海潮州酒家 as one of the recent visits that he had. He was full of praises for its dim sum. Although East Ocean is a Teochew restaurant, it serves Hong Kong Dim Sum. Four of us went to the restaurant.

Diving down to the first dish served to my utmost satisfaction. Mini Egg Tart 酥皮鸡蛋挞 was my all-time favourite. It was also a dish that different restaurants would bake it differently. The taste would vary from restaurant to restaurant, shop to shop.

It requires the chef to have a high standard of making the crust and to make the egg yolk smooth and tasty. Some of the egg tarts that I have tried in the past added too much sugar into the egg yolk.

I was wild with excitement when I had my first bite. The crispy pastry and the palatable made the egg tart perfect. The Mini Egg Tart 酥皮鸡蛋挞 was so heavenly that I had plans to order the second round. Please remember to order the Mini Egg Tarts when you go to East Ocean Restaurant.

Having a marvellous start with the appetising Mini Egg Tart 酥皮鸡蛋挞, I was filled with anticipation to try out the next second dish which was the Three Kinds of Roasted Meat Assorted 烧味三拼盘 – Roasted Duck 烧鸭, Roasted Pork 烧肉 and Char Siew 叉烧. The assorted meat was well-presented and appetising.

The next dish, Pork Stomach Soup with Pepper & Salted Vegetable 胡椒咸菜猪肚汤, was another favourite food of mine. I ordered it frequently in the hawker centres and coffee shops. I was curious how the standard of cooking would differ from those eating houses as I have never tried the soup in a restaurant before.

The soup was very delicious, strong in flavour and distinctive that it certainly made all the others paled off in comparison immediately. It was no doubt the most delicious Pork Stomach Soup that I have ever had in my life!

Even my foreign friend who had never tried this soup before was sharing and fighting with me till the last drop of it. He was singing praises of them too. I could attest that the restaurant used high-quality ingredients to brew this soup.

Next to the soup was Steamed Prawn Dumpling 水晶鲜虾饺, more commonly known as ‘Ha Kau’ in Cantonese. The Prawn Dumpling was so-so only as I had eaten strong flavoured food earlier which rendered the dumpling tasteless.

Steamed Shrimp Rice Roll 鲜虾肠粉 was also another dish that was average in rating. It tasted as bland as the Prawn Dumpling even though it had some sauce to go with it but the combination was nothing remarkable.

At that moment, I felt that Char Siew 叉烧 inside the Rice Roll would enhance the dull taste of rice roll better than having shrimps as the main ingredient.

The three deep-fried Dim Sum plates below never failed to titillate the taste buds of many people as fried food scored points effortlessly. A lot of skill is not needed to know how to deep-fried.

Deep-Fried Crispy Chives 脆皮韭菜角 did not meet my expectation, however. I ordered this plate because I liked chives and expected some taste of chives in it. It didn’t have the taste of the strong chives which I was looking forward to as the distinctive flavour of this vegetable diminished in the pot of oil. It might be overcooked.

Deep-Fried Beancurd Skin Prawn Roll 鲜虾腐皮卷 might taste better when steamed. Fried food was not my ideal choice for this dish.

Deep-Fried Salad Shrimp with Mayonaise 沙律明虾角 dipped with mayonnaise was another fried food craze of all times liked by many of us.

We also had Steamed Teochew Dumpling 潮州蒸粉果, Steamed Siew Mai 家乡烧卖皇, Steamed Spare Ribs 鼓汁蒸排骨 which was not in the photos.

The Steamed Spare Ribs that my father made at home tasted better than what East Ocean had because he is a Dim Sum chef and always makes for my family to eat. In summary, the taste of their Steamed Pork Ribs was not that flavoursome and could give it a miss.

Steamed Custard Layered Cake 奶皇千层糕 looked very tempting and a recipe to get fat. It was sweet and suitable to eat near the end of our hearty brunch.

Steamed Custard Bun 黄金流沙包 was another sweet delight that was mouth-watering and on the must-order list.

Finally, to round up our sumptuous Dim Sum in East Ocean Teochew Restaurant, we had Chilled Honey Dew Sago 密瓜西米露 and Chilled Mango Sago with Pomelo 杨枝甘露 as desserts.

On the top right of the photo was the second round of Mini Egg Tart 酥皮鸡蛋挞 which lingered in my mind throughout the meal. I ordered it for the second time because it was simply unforgettable.

Overall, the Dim Sum in East Ocean Teochew Restaurant was worth the go as the food was delicious and the service level was commendable.

The menu of the food was included below, both for the daily Dim Sum and their Weekend and Public Holiday Special Menu.

Click on the icon below to redirect to my Dropbox page where I have uploaded two sets of the East Ocean Teochew Restaurant food menu where you can read without any download

Daily Dim Sum Menu

Weekend & Public Holidays Special Menu

We decided to take our dinner and try out Dee Mak Mookata. It was an authentic Thai BBQ and steamboat cuisine. It was probably the wisest decision to eat on a cold rainy day.

There were many varieties of food to choose from on the menu.

We selected nine dishes for two people. There were two types of meatballs on the top left-hand side of the container which we placed together to take a photo – pork meatballs and cheeseballs.

There were two choices of soup base – spicy and non-spicy. We chose the spicy soup base for the steamboat which was a Tom Yum flavour concocted by Dee Mak Mookata. That is to say that you would not get the original Tom Yum taste that is familiar to us. The other non-spicy soup that they offered was corn soup.

I was surprised to know that the steamboat pot was extremely shallow as compared to the typical steamboat pot which had a deeper base. I was somewhat paranoid and doubtful whether the food that was half-submerged in the soup would cook properly. Ricky, who was the Manager at Geylang Branch, clarified my doubts.

For the BBQ base, I was given butter and lard (also known as pork fat). Ricky explained that the fat had to be placed on the BBQ base first for it to melt slowly and to coat the surface. Subsequently, add the butter on top of the BBQ base and then on the food. The method would enhance the taste when more flavour was released.

On the left-hand side of the photo above, there was a jug of soup on standby. It was used to pour into the steamboat anytime when the soup amount was little. Thumbs up to the box of tissues provided by them for their extra service.

All the food was very fresh. There were already several reviews online raving about this factor. Dee Mak Mookata certainly lived up to their reputation.

My favourite food was their spicy chicken marinated with Tom Yum sauce and their yummy cheese balls! I would highly recommend anyone to try out these two food.

You could taste the fragrant Tom Yum sauce from the chicken as it was full flavoured. Anyone who worships cheese like me would be delighted to have it oozing out from the cheeseballs when you chew them inside your mouth. I love them very much!!

I was lucky to get two packs of complimentary instant noodles from Ricky to try. He said they would be very delicious to go with the soup. He was right.

The slow cooking of the noodles in the shallow soup base somehow retained the crispiness of the noodles and did not soften them quickly. You have to be patient to enjoy the crunchy instant noodles.

As there were not many customers on the day that we went, Ricky demonstrated his friendliness and excellent customer service by helping us to barbeque the meat for quite some time while all of us chatted.

This restaurant was the second outlet that they had opened recently on 4 July 2015. The first outlet was in Jurong West (see address below) and was tended by another partner, Michael.

He also stated that there would be more local dishes coming up such as Zi-Char (wok-fried dishes) or fried rice to accustom to the taste of the regular elderly customers in the coffee shop in future. They were more reluctant to try out “non-local” cuisine which proved to be more adventurous for them. As expected, customers who patronise Dee Mak Mookata are mostly young people.

I was pleased with the quality of the food. For the consumption above, the average cost for one person was $ 15.00. I would recommend others to go for a try at such a reasonable price. It was a very relaxed place to hang out in the coffee shop and not too noisy for me.

At the buffet line, the selection of vegetable was little. There were a lot of meats, marinated and non-marinated. I am also not a beef eater and thus had to skip on the offers of variety of marinated beef.

The BBQ food was to my liking. I find the marinated meat and prawns delicious to eat. I was taught by my friend to eat the BBQ meat together with the lettuce and garlic.

We had quite a lot of food apparently for almost 2 hours, eating slowly and talking. The free flow of drinks provided by them was horrible. It was supposed to be ‘some juice’ but ‘the so-called juice’ tasted like water. Too much water was added and diluted the concentration of juice tremendously.

Towards the end of the meal, my friend had a migraine suddenly. The BBQ food might be overly ‘heaty’ for her as we did not drink enough water. I did not have the same side effect as her at that time.

In the middle of the night when I slept, I woke up with a painful sore throat and deduced that it was just too heaty for some people to eat BBQ food.

After that meal, I would likely not eat Korean grill BBQ again just for the marinated meat because it was nothing special although it tasted nice like how all marinated meat would taste. I would prefer to try out cuisines that require cooking skill to gauge the standard of the restaurant.

I also thought that operating a Korean Grill BBQ was ‘easy money’ to earn literally. Nevertheless, Ssikkek Korean Grill BBQ Buffet | 食客 is still one of the cheapest Korean BBQ restaurants in Singapore. The usual price is $ 24.00/pax without any promotion.

When I travelled to Korea many years ago, the Taiwanese local tour guide criticised that Koreans were the worst cook in history as they did not know how to cook. Most of their food were preserved (腌).

Still, I am sure no matter what critics of Korean food are, there will always be people who appreciate the way it is prepared especially for meat and Kimchi lovers!

After the heavy lunch in Ssikkek Korean Grill BBQ Buffet | 食客, my friend suggested somewhere for coffee and a place for us to cut the birthday cake that she had brought for me.

I recommend the café outside the restaurant for its coffee but could not remember the name of the café. Their coffee was very aromatic. Not only that, the staff consented our request when we told him that we would like to cut and eat a birthday cake even when they sold cakes themselves. Outside food is not allowed to be brought in and consumed in any eating outlets in usual practice.

The ambience was simple and quiet. The most important factor was to have a lovely friend celebrating my birthday for me! Thank you, my dear friend, for putting in the effort for my birthday celebration!