Table Manners

 <Seafood and chicken jambalaya, truffle fries and grilled asparagus with bacon>

For lunch, they serve combos in which you can choose from a variety of "Fibre" and "Protein". I chose the above combination as it attracted me the most. But how wrong I was! I didn't expect the portion for this combination was going to be that little. The asparagus was actually just one stalk cut into 3 portions... T_T Aright, it was quite tasty. But what could possibly go wrong when paired with bacon? The truffle fries tasted just like any other ordinary fries too. The jambalaya was not too bad, a little spicy but overall quite delicious. But the portion was equally as small.

 <Pan seared fish fillet with pesto sauce, sauteed mushrooms and aglio olio>

Well, the portion for this combination was way..way.. bigger! The taste overall was alright, nothing spectacular and nothing disastrous. Just so you know, they serve other combinations as well with the largest being 2 proteins and 2 fibre.

 <Sea salt chocolate caramel tart>

The chocolate filling was a little too sweet for my liking as I'm more of a dark chocolate lover. The tart was also too thick and hard. You really have to use some strength to cut through it.

<Basil lime strawberry tart>

This was a much more balanced dessert in terms of sour and sweetness. But similarly, the tart itself was too thick and hard. Also, it wasn't buttery enough for my liking. Overall, Table Manners is a good place to chill out if you are not too picky about what you put in your mouth.

Verdict
Ambience - Good
Food - Average
Cost - $10+
Overall - Worth a try

Address
5 Changi business park central 1, Changi City Point – The Oasis , #01-68/69, Singapore 486 038

Opening Hours
11am to 12mn
http://www.tablemanners.com.sg

Wooloomooloo Steakhouse

A steakhouse originating from Hong Kong, they pride themselves for serving up good steak. They get their beef mainly from Australia and some from USA. They serve Angus, Black Angus, USDA and their signature Wagyu Tomahawks. My friends and I, being steak lovers just have got to try it out. So how did it fare as compared to our favourite - Mortons so far? Read on to find out!

 <Focaccia Bread with Caramelized Onion>

It was fragrant but a little too chewy for my liking. My friends felt that it tasted like pizza dough and I agreed. Overall, it was alright, but incomparable to Mortons' version of onion bread. Oh, did I mention that this was complimentary?

 <Cream of Forest Mushrooms>

To be honest, this wasn't what I had expected for something worth $18. It was definitely creamy, but it totally lacks the taste of mushroom. It had a weird taste to it too, which I had no idea what it was.

<French Onion Soup> 

This was alright. Beefy, comfy and warm. A decent rendition of the "Oh so famous" onion soup. But I had much better in at least 3 other restaurants I went. So unless you are really craving for soup, I'd say skip it totally.

<Beef Wellington> 

Australian filet mignon with mushroom duxelle, wrapped in Parma ham, topped with Foie Gras & wrapped with puff pastry. Served with red wine Madeira sauce. This was my good friend's order. And she mentioned that it was really good. The steak inside was moist and full of flavour.

<Pan Seared Barramundi Fillet>

Served with lime, over crushed Idaho potato & tomato sauce with olive oil & capers. This was my wife's order as she isn't really a meat lover. It was decent as described by her. But wasn't her favourite fish dish so far.

<Black Angus Ribeye> 

The steak was really flavourful and done to what I requested for. However, it was a little too chewy for my liking. I guess it won't really be fair to compare it this way, since what I had from Mortons was USDA steak. But this steak does not even come close in comparison to the tenderness of the steak from Mortons. However, if I had not tasted Mortons before, this could be one of my favourites.

<Chocolate Souffle> 

Wobbly, is how my wife would describe her dessert. But I had a scoop of it for tastings. It was okay I suppose. The chocolate wasn't as intense or in-depth as I would have preferred. But it was really fluffy and baked to perfection though.

<Creme Brulee> 

Served with fresh mint, strawberries & blueberries. It was decent but not the best as mentioned by my friend. From the looks of it, it probably needed to be infused with a handful of vanilla pods.

<Lemon & Lime Pie>

Topped with Italian meringue & served with orange chips & vanilla tuile. A beautiful dessert and tasty too. It was my first time trying a pie like this. I was pleasantly surprised by how balanced and intriguing this dish was. It had all kinds of texture and flavour to it. Velvety, buttery, sour, sweet, crispiness and fruity. *Thumbs up!*

Verdict
Ambience - Great
Food - Average
Cost - $100+
Overall - Try it if you must

Address
2 Stamford Road, Level 3, Swissotel The Stamford, Singapore 178882

Opening Hours
Lunch: Daily 12pm to 2:30pm
Dinner: Daily 6:30pm to 11pm
http://www.wooloo-mooloo.com

Absolute Thai

<Grilled Chicken with Pandan Rice>

First of all, I'm not sure why the heck they called it grilled chicken when it is so obviously fried. That aside, it was fried to perfection. Not too oily, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The pandan rice was somewhat fragrant, but I've had eaten better. The highlight for me was the gravy drizzled all over the chicken. It tasted similar to satay sauce and it was slightly spicy too.

Verdict
Ambience - Average
Food - Average
Cost - $9+
Overall - Worth trying out

Address
2 Tampines Central 5, #01-19/20/21/22 Century Square Shopping Centre), Singapore

Opening Hours
11.30am to 9.45pm

Awfully Chocolate

<Banana Chocolate Cake>

Well, after trying out its signature chocolate cake for the first time. I was eagerly gearing up to get a taste of this. The banana taste is quite strong, but somewhat a little artificial in my opinion. (I could be wrong.) But what it really did was that it made the cake much more moist in the centre.

Verdict
Ambience - N.A
Food - Good
Cost - $26+
Overall - Must try!

Address
Tampines 1 Shopping Mall, 3rd Floor.

Opening Hours
11am to 9.30pm
http://www.awfullychocolate.com/

New Ubin Seafood

 <Braised Pork Knuckle>

Super tender is how I would describe this dish. The meat just fell off the bone...Gosh! I wondered how long they had braised it for. The gravy was not too thick and had a hint of Chinese herbs to it, perfect for rice I'd say. They also have German Style Crispy Pork Knuckles. *Yums*

<Black Angus Ribeye Steak> 

This is something you wouldn't expect from a local " Zi Char" stall. If you did, you probably would have thought that it couldn't be good. Boy, are you so wrong! This was THE dish of the night! Served with caramelised onions and potato wedges. The quality of the beef was up there with some of the top steakhouse in Singapore. It was tender, juicy and full of beefy goodness. But it came at a hefty price of $62! A definite must-try!

<Nai Bai Chye> 

Somewhat overpriced at $15 for a meagre portion. This was definitely not worth it at all. I'd advise those who visit this place to simply focus on the meat and seafood.

<Heart Attack Fried Rice - sorry for the quality of the image> 

This dish came together with the Black Angus Ribeye Steak. You must be thinking, "Huh?!" Yup, this fried rice was cooked using the fats and oil of the ribeye steak. Pure sinful delight! The fat was cooked to crispiness, much like fried pork lard. Fragrant as it is, it didn't taste like beef fried rice though. Maybe it wasn't meant to be... Haha.

<BBQ Stingray>

This was quite different from what you would get from BBQ Seafood stalls. I suspect that they grilled this on the same grill that they cooked the steak. It really has a smoky taste. But what amazed me was how moist the fish was, inside. The chilli covering it wasn't too spicy either. To finish it off, the portion was huge. Full of meat. ^^

A word of advice. Remember to call for a reservation and if you are there during peak hours, order whatever you want at one go. Only have subsequent orders if you are prepared to wait ages compared to the first.

Verdict
Ambience - Average
Food - Good
Cost - $4 to $80
Overall - Go try it now!

Address
Block 27 Sin Ming Road (behind Block 26), #01-174
Sin Ming Industrial Estate Sector A, Singapore 575680

Opening Hours
Mon – Fri: 11am – 2pm, 5.30pm – 10.30pm (Last Order)
Sat & Sun: 11.30am – 2.30pm, 5.30pm – 10.30pm (Last Order)
http://ubinseafood.wordpress.com/

Awfully Chocolate

<Chocolate Cake>

They have 2 other players that are chocolate banana and chocolate raspberry with rum. But I chose the simple chocolate cake as I wanted to compare it to the one I had from Chocolate Origins. If you remembered, I wasn't entirely impressed with the cake from the other side. Thus, I was really eager to try this out. All I can say is that I totally preferred this hands down. Awfully Chocolate's chocolate cake was so much more moist that it literally melts in your mouth. The depth of the chocolate was good and luckily it wasn't too sweet. A must try for all chocolate dessert lovers!

Verdict
Ambience - N.A
Food - Good
Cost - $26+
Overall - Must try!

Address
Tampines 1 Shopping Mall, 3rd Floor.

Opening Hours
11am to 9.30pm
http://www.awfullychocolate.com/

Harry's Bar

<Harry's Burger>

Alright, I admit. I've totally forgotten the name of the burger. =.= But let's focus on the food here, shall we? The burger was huge, but the amount of fries was just over the limit. The burger had bacon, cheese and onions to elevate the taste. However, the star was the beef patty. It was surprisingly juicy and cooked medium-well. You can very much try out any dishes here, but remember... SKIP the Lamb Shank. It is super duper tough!

Verdict
Ambience - Good
Food - Good
Cost - $12 to $25
Overall - Worth a try!

Address
9 Tampines Grande, #01-19 Singapore

Opening Hours
11am to 12mn
http://www.harrys.com.sg/

Polar Puffs & Cakes

<Hokkaido Cake>

Can you believe it? Hokkaido Cakes seem to be popping up everywhere recently. It feels like anything related to Hokkaido or Japan will just sell well? I saw this and just had to give it a try. Just what was Polar Puffs trying to do selling Hokkaido Cakes... A box of 6 comes in 2 different flavours, strawberry and the good old vanilla cream. The sponge tasted alright, quite light and fluffy in fact. The cream was nothing special though. But at about $2+ a piece, I guess it is still worth the price.

Verdict
Food - Average
http://www.polarpuffs-cakes.com/

Eggs & Berries

Found a new decent breakfast and brunch cafe. Located at Changi City Point beside the Expo MRT station. They do serve lunch and dinner courses as well. But most people came for their all-day-breakfast meals. They have indoor and outdoor seats and the decorations are somewhat a little French.

<Corned Beef Hash and Eggs>

At $11.50 only, you get 3 butter-milk pancakes, a rosti, a bed of scrambled eggs and a pile of corned beef alongside some other side dishes. The food was great individually, but together it was just too heavy. If only the salad was dressed in Balsamic Vinegar, maybe it would have cut down the richness of the dish. The corned beef was also a little too wet for my liking.

 <Sweet Brioche French Toast with Sausage and Scrambled Eggs>

Served with pancakes and bacon as well, it was a commendable dish. A pity that the Brioche was not that good, it was just ordinary. At $13.50, I'd say it was decently priced.

Verdict
Ambience - Good
Food - Good
Cost - $10 to $20
Overall - Worth a try!

Address
5 Changi Business Park Central 1#01-37/38 Changi City Point

Opening Hours
8am to 10pm