The Lazy Garden at City Square Mall

The Lazy Garden is a new comer at the City Square Mall dining scene.  Currently it offers a main course 1-for-1 promotion.  You need to order 2 drinks to enjoy this promotion.  There is a 1-for-1 for their dim sum too, but it is only limited to weekdays 2.30pm to 5.30pm.

Hot Chrysanthemum Tea, $3.50+

We ordered two hot chrysanthemum tea to enjoy the 1-for-1 main course promotion.  The tea came with the real dry chrysanthemum, not just some artificial flavoring, it was a surprise to me.  Although the tea was from the tea bag, the real chrysanthemum was a plus point.

Prawn Rice Roll, $4.90+

Crystal Vegetarian Pau, $3.90+

We ordered some dim sum as appetizer as well, although we didn't enjoy the 1-for-1 promotion.  The Crystal vegetarian pau was not bad.  The filling was mostly carrots and radish slices.  It wasn't greasy, and had a pleasant vegetable taste.

The prawn rice roll, or chee cheong fun, was ok, but the portion seemed to be quite small.  The prawns they used most probably were those deep frozen prawns so it wasn't the most fresh you could find.

Unagi Claypot Rice, $18.90+

Unagi claypot rice was our main order.  My friend and I both ordered this as our main, so for this dish, we kind of enjoyed a 50% discount.  The dish was simple, a piece of unagi on top of plain rice.  The unagi piece was thin, and of course can't compared with those from Man Man or Uya.  The whole dish was all right, but tended to be rather plain.

The service was ok, and the dinning environment was cosy, felt a bit like in Malaysia though.

Just in case you were not aware, actually they offer western cuisine such as pasta, steaks, etc.  It is quite a fusion restaurant, not just Chinese.  I didn't try their western dishes, so I can't comment on them.

Maria Virgin Chicken at Chinatown Complex Food Center

Maria Virgin Chicken, a famous stall hidden in the Chinatown Complex Food Center.  I decided to give them a try finally, because they came into news again recently.  The lady boss, who is already in his 70s, and would like to retire, now want to sell her secret recipe for her famed soy sauce chicken for $480,000.  Previously she asked for $680,000 but no takers, now she lowers the price hoping for a buyer.

When I arrived, it was still quite early for lunch, and it was a Sunday, a rainy Sunday, so there was no queue yet at the stall.  I ordered a $4.00 soy sauce chicken.

The chicken came with some leafy vegetables and bean sprouts, both covered in a thin layer of oil.  The part of chicken I got was chicken breast.  Oh my, that's the part of the chicken that I think is the most dry and tasteless.  However, this stall's version was actually not bad.  The chicken breast still managed to be tender and even with some juice.  It was pleasant to eat, and you could even have some hint of the freshness of the chicken.

I was happy that I could try this dish before the lady boss retires, and I wish her good health and wealth!

Uya Unagi (四代目菊川) at Wheelock Place

Uya unagi is another famous Japanese restaurant specialized in unagi (eel).  It is conveniently located on the 2nd floor of Wheelock Place, right in the center of the busy Orchard Road.  We arrived at the restaurant at 6pm, the moment the restaurant opened for dinner, without a reservation, on a Monday.  The place was quite empty, my friend and I were the only two customers at the time.  When we left the place at around 7.40pm, the place was still half empty.

There are some small private rooms available for business people to discuss their work while dinning, or for people who would like to have more privacy.  This is a very good point.

Sashimi Mori (Standard), $35.00++

We ordered a sashimi mori as appetitzer.  There are two options, standard and premium, we chose the standard version.  It consisted of swordfish, tuna, salmon, and I think mackerel, and then one unknown.  The crown jewel of this plate was definitely the swordfish.  I must admit I never had any high expectations of swordfish, as it is usually served cooked in western cuisine, and its flesh tends to be quite tough.  Served as sashimi, the swordfish was actually quite thick, firm and meaty, with an abundance of fish oil.  And it was really fresh, not a hint of stinky fishy smell.

Hitsumabushi  (Large), $48.00++

I ordered the large Hitsumabushi for my main.  The portion was huge, for both the unagi and the rice.

Both Man Man Unagi and Uya are famous for their unagi, so I naturally will compare the two.  The grilled unagi at Man Man is thinner, and soft, with some charred portions.  The unagi at Uya is thick and firm.  There is no hint of any charred portion.  The outer section is crispy, the inside is tasty solid.  I think Uya's unagi is like a muscular athlete, while Man Man's is more like a shy young lady.
I like Uya's unagi more than Man Man's.

The soup that came with the Hitsumabushi was good too.  It was clear and fragrant.  Together with the unagi, it was like mom's tender hand gently massaging.  A good complement to the unagi.  And if you run out of soup, you can actually re-fill.

Service-wise it was good.  We ordered a number of dishes, including dessert, and they asked us whether we would like everything come together or one by one.  We chose one by one.  When we finished one item, they would clear the table first, before serving the next dish.

Overall, the dining experience was good.  The food was excellent, and environment was conducive.  It is more like a proper restaurant where you can talk business, or leisurely enjoy your meal, while Man Man is more like a fast-food outlet.  In addition, they accept reservations, you can give them a call if you worry about long queues.

Sik Bao Sin Eating House at Geylang Road

Spotted this Sik Bao Sin Cantonese eating house along Geylang Road the other day and decided to give it a try.  The place is open for dinner from 5.45pm, we arrived at around 6.20pm, the place was already almost full.  Luckily there were only the two of us, and we were warmly ushered in immediately.

We were given a menu to order, but there was no price tag on the menu, so you have to be a bit thick-skinned to ask them for the prices.  There are not many items on the menu, so almost every item on the menu is their recommended dish.

Black Chicken Herbal Soup, $26.00

My friend wanted the black chicken soup, so we ordered one.  When it arrived, it gave us a shock.  Usually the soup is in a small bowl, and you get some body parts of the black chicken, and some tiny amount of herbs, but the black chicken soup here came in a giant bowl, with an entire black chicken in it.  There were generous portions of Chinese herbs of YuZhu (玉竹), BeiQi (北芪）, QiZi （杞子）, etc.   The soup was excellent, 真材实料, boiled for hours with authentic ingredients.  The sweetness of the soup came from the ingredients, not some added sugar or artificial flavouring.  As the portion is quite big, I think it can be shared by at least 3 persons.

Steamed Song Fish-head, $26.00

We also ordered their signature dish, the steamed Song fish-head.  When the dish came, we got another shock.   When I ordered the steamed Song fishhead in another local restaurant, the fishhead was of palm size, but the one here again was of giant size.  It was steamed with preserved vegetables, and deep-fried pork lard, topped with spring onion and then finally hot oil was poured on it to spark off the fragrance.

Cantonese like to eat fishheads, as it has lots of collagen, which is tender and smooth, full of nutrients.  The fish head was done just nice.  The meat was still tender but fully cooked.  The collagen was still juicy.  It was good!  However, there was something I didn't like.  Somehow they use fermented tofu (豆腐乳) as part of the sauce.  Fermented tofu's flavor was too strong for such a delicate dish, it grossly dominated the entire sensation system.   Well, it is just my opinion, maybe many other patrons like the strong taste.

We also ordered a vegetable dish, together with two bowls of rice and two teas, in grand total we paid $68.00 for the entire meal.  No GST and no service charge.

I think I will go back for their soup, but with more people.  Their soup is simply too big for just one or two persons.

Curry Times at Westgate

Curry Times is a subsidiary of the well-established local delight franchise Old Chan Kee.   They pride themselves in serving up good local food at affordable prices. 

I visited their branch at Westgate at a Sunday morning.  The place was just opened and not many customers yet.  The interior decoration is very 60s or 70s, reminding you of the days of guys with long hairs. 

Prata with egg, $2.00

My first dish was an egg prata. The curry, and the prata, were both quite decent.  The curry was not very spicy, probably to cater to the patrons who can't take very spicy food.  Prata is just a piece of bread, except that all that flip flopping makes it very elastic, and the frying of the prata on a hot plate with generous portion of oil makes it sinfully fragrant and people mouth-watering.  In Indian, prata is the favor mostly by the working class, especially truck drivers, who have to work very hard but with pathetic pay.  Prata's social status in India is kind of low.  However in Singapore, the early Indian immigrants passed down their favorite food and it is almost a national delicacy here.  If you have never had prata before, you can't say you have ever seen the multi-racial, multi-cultural side of Singapore. 

Sambal Chicken Drumstick with rice, $8.50

My second dish was sambal chicken drumstick with rice.  It was served in a plate, well. probably dated before my birthday.  The sambal was not bad, but it was on the sweet side, rather than the spicy side.  The pickles added additional flavour to the chicken and the rice. 

Overall, I think they serve decent local food in an air-conditioned environment, at affordable prices, but then you know for the many hygiene standards to meet in order to operate as a restaurant, so flavors are lost.  I most probably will still go back from time to time, just for some nostalgia sensations.