319. Manhattan Fish Market

Garden salad with citrus dressing

Salads...have always loved salads, easy to make but always have the whole lettuce plant to myself and I couldn't finish it. What a waste. Sometimes, it will be better off to just have it outside. So, my friend and I decided to try something different, instead of the usual fave-caesar salad. Citrus dressing was just citrus juice with olive oil. So, the salad was not really special in anyway.

Shrimp Soup

So you thought that this was the bosch or tomato soup? No, it wasn't. It was shrimp soup. I asked the waitress because it did not taste like any of the two. I thought it tasted a bit weird. It was pulpy but the shrimp taste was very bland.

Country Mushrooms

Grilled Platter for One

The grilled platter was good. I liked the garlic rice which was mixed with cream sauce drizzled onto the grilled prawns. The rice was sticky and chewy like having had mixed with coconut milk like the Thai glutinous rice dessert. The fries were fat and crispy. We added $4.90 to the dish to make it a meal with the shrimp soup and a tall glass of ice lemon tea.

My friend and I paid about $15 each with her $10 voucher for the food we shared. It was a long wait to get a table. It is just like the second Fish & Co. Although there were many young waiters and waitresses, service was not as prompt. I requested water for my friends at the point of order and requested again for another 2 times before I got my water. It was minutes after we finished our food.

Manhattan Fish Market
68 Orchard Road #06-07
Plaza Singapura
Tel: 6835-9300

300. Minds Cafe

What do people do on the weekends other than shopping? Minds Cafe? I think the games at Minds Cafe do not appeal to only the adolescents but even mummy(s)-to-be. I can't imagine what if they got too excited and their waterbag burst.

A few of us gathered at the branch at Prinsep street on Saturday for their WOW! promotion which comes with free-flow drink at $8.90 per pax. With every 4 pax comes a free bowl of premium munchies and snacker (we had potato chips). Add on a main course for just $6 which I felt was very worth. Well, a main course for $6, what more could you expect?

We played 3 games - Ticket to Ride, Citadels and XXX (a memory game, forgotten the name) and I felt "Ticket to Ride" was the better-to-play game among the 3.

Premium munchies-Calamari

Beef Lasagna

Fish & Chips

Black Pepper Pasta

Chicken Platter

297. Marche

A group of us had a gathering at Marche, Vivocity. Many said the previous outlet at Heeren (already closed) was much bigger. I still remembered that we were given a card each and for every dish we ordered, they will mark it down. Now, Marche has gone paper-less. It is using card system like our ez-link. Tap the card and your ordered dish will be recorded in the card.

There were clusters of cooking stations serving salads, savoury crepes, fried vegetables, thick soups, spanish paella, handmade pastas and rotisserie chicken and meats grilled on applewood-fed flames. Also not to miss are the dessert stations like sweet crepes, cakes, movenpick ice-cream and also there's a wine bar near the cashiers.

Ice Apple Tea @$17/jug

We ordered 2 jugs, iced apple tea and lemon tea. I liked the apple tea. The apple taste was mild and had a tea fragrance.

Mushroom soup (small) @$4

Add the croutons and sprinkle some pepper. The mushroom soup was mediocre. Could be made a tad richer.

Salad (medium) @$8.90

I was surprised when my friend came back with this plate of salad. She was walking so carefully lest the greens dropped and marked her trail. Shouldn't these greens be put in a bowl? Putting salad on a plate is so wrong. And, from the quantity of greens that the plate contained, I personally felt it was a plate of overpriced salad.

Chicken Crepe @$10.90

The crepe smelled like popiah and tasted like one. It was an oversized popiah. Whipped mushroom cream sauce was given to complement this crepe.

Spanish Seafood Paella @$15.90

Paella's (aka paella de marisco) my favourite! When I saw the paella station, I ordered one without hesitation. "10 more mins", the lady cook said. The big blackboard wrote "3pm-6pm". Wow, if I had been there earlier, I would have miss my paella, I thought. My heart beamed.

One of the reasons I loved paella was because it was a very flavourful dish. Having added herbs like thyme, cumin, rosemary, saffron and etc. Ah, also not to forget the seafood juices, wine and chicken/vegetable broth that was absorbed into the rice. And when the paella was ready to serve, the aroma assailed the nostrils and the taste was simply mama-mia!

Marche's paella was delicious, well-flavoured and slightly moist. Must-try!

Grilled Chicken Breast @$6.95

The grilled chicken was a tad too salty. The sauce was oil-ladened and didn't earn any points for the dish.

Pork Knuckle @$18.90

The meat was quite dry and because of the loss of moisture, the meat was hard. The sauce was the same as for the chicken breast. It's not getting the 'wow' from me.

Pizza @$7

Come back 10 mins later for your pizza, the chef told my friend. Freshly made pizza was a plus but the pizza was oily. Too much butter, eh? But the dough was soft and fluffy. Toppings could be made more flavoured.

Calamari @$9.95

Pop, pop, pop....one by one we popped them into our mouths. Wait! Don't forget to dip them into the tartar sauce!

Chicken Wings @$1.50 ea

Chicken Sausage and Garlic Sausage @$6.90 ea

Ok, I didn't expect the sausages to be so expensive. They were nice but maybe you want to spare a thought for your pocket first?

Movenpick ice-cream @$4.90/scoop

Chocolate Fudge Cake @$4.90

Mediocre. It was slightly dry. What is a fudge cake without the moisture?

Strawberry Cake @$3.90

Strawberries! That generous topping of strawberry fruits on the cake was already worth the money. The sponge cake was soft and fluffy. The cake was so good because the strawberries were sweet. Awwww.........can I have one more, please.

Crepe of the week - Mango Caramel Crepe @$7.50

The crepe was crispy, topped with fresh fruits, what more can I say? Yum Yum. But, I personally felt mango with caramel tasted a little weird. What's your say?

Let me add on for the sake of rosti lovers. We had one but it was 'attacked' even before I managed to snap a picture of it. I'm not a lover of rosti. In fact, the mention of the name made me think of grease. I felt rosti is greasy and to eat one by oneself is definitely 'overdosage'. I tried Marche's. Well, it was crispy on the exterior and eating it with sour cream was delicious for some. Sorry, I'm still unable to appreciate this dish.

8 of us chalked up a total of $181. Marche is a great place for gatherings and also with the wide variety of food available, dining there was fun and interesting. The food was good, just that I find some food were slightly overpriced.

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Marche
Vivocity
#03-14
Singapore 098585
Tel: 63768226

287. Santa Fe Te-Mex Grill

Stewords Riverboat, Santa Fe Grill, Tex-Mex cuisine, was previously at Boat Quay but shifted to Sentosa and then finally to Marina South Pier. First of all, thanks to Mr. Eric Saw (Chief Executive Steward), Mr. Daryl Saw (Chief Operating Steward)(22 yr-old COO who has already taken over the helm of the business) and Mr. Leonard (Media Consultant) for the invitation to Santa Fe Grill's Media Preview on 2 July 2009. This special event was held in celebration of Santa Fe Grill's 10th Year Anniversary. Santa Fe Grill will be carrying out a 10 days celebration which has already started from 1 July 2009 and will last till 11th July 2009.

What's in there for the diners?

1. A different theme for each night.

2. 10 choices of their specialty Tex-Mex Main Courses such as BBQ Baby Back Ribs, Tex-Mex Grilled Chicken, and Chicken Fajitas, all going at a special price of just $10nett!

For more details on the celebration activities and promotions, check here!

Experience dining on a boat, afloat at the pier. It's definitely a new experience for me, for I have never dined on a baby rocking chair. Take the time to marvel at the sea view, listen to the singing of the chopping waves and enjoy the gentle caress of the sea breeze if you are seated at the top deck. Live band performances on the weekends will surely pull your stress away.

Exclusive!

To kill two birds with one stone, visit Santa Fe Grill on the 11th July for their Rodeo Feast and NDP FIREWORKS!

Adult: $40nett, Child: $25nett

10% disc for early birds purchase by 8 July 2009.

Apple Summer Salad

It is said fruits are best consumed before the proper meal. I think this salad is best eaten after the meaty feast. The crunchy green apple slices were great with the greens. Hmm....more melon seeds or pine nuts, please?

BBQ Baby Back Ribs (usual $21.90++)

Their signature, baby back ribs with BBQ sauce, served with corn & old-time fries. The meat slid off the rib bones at the slightest touch. It was very flavourful and the thick bbq sauce was just nice, not too sweet. I liked the crispy fries. (Pss....if this is going for $10, what are you waiting for?)


Buffalo Wings

Buffalo wings are traditionally deep fried. Santa Fe Grill's buffalo wings were crispy fried and the exterior was coated with hot pepper sauce (maybe tabasco sauce?). Not to worry, only mild spiciness and a slight tinge of sourness to keep the grease away. Accompanied with cheese dip. Hah! And all of us wanted more after one.





Chicken or Beef Fajitas

Fajitas, a classic Tex Mex. Eric taught us the pronunciation, fah-hee-tas. It's never an unglam feat to use your hands when eating fajitas. Sizzling sound heard from far and the aroma travelled faster than the dish was served. Grab a tortilla, dump your guacamole, salsa, sauteed onions, grilled chicken or beef strips and sour cream together. Pak! Roll them up, you have your fajita. Yum yum.

Turkey Quesadillas

Quesadilla, toasted tortilla with melted cheese in it. In addition, some other ingredients like Santa Fe Grill has had minced meat and probably some greens (other than the speck in the middle of the dish) which I couldn't really make out because the melted cheese "shut-the-tortilla-up".

Blackened Beef Burger (usual $17.90++)

The big guy out there with its big pound-er. Blackened - black pepper crusted. I say its SHIOK! to hit on the big guy. But can I have more pickles (personal preference)? Crispy onion rings added texture to the burger. I doubt one can finish a whole by himself, not to mention herself.



Seafood Chimichangas

Deep-fried burritos but I preferred to describe it as breaded popiah. What triggered my curiousity was the mint-dip. It's quite unique.


Brownie with ice-cream

Not homemade ice-cream, not too sure about the brownie but we just wanted the desserts for our sweet cravings. The waiter was nice enough to have it cut into 6 for us.

Chocolate Overload

The following dishes were those which I did not get to try so I'll have my comments reserved.

Nachos

Tex-Mex Grilled Chicken

Southern Golden Fish & Chips

Blackened Salmon Veracruz

Chicken Chimichangas

Santa Fe Grill is a very family-oriented business. Heard that they are well-known for their margaritas but none of us tried it that night. Aww...next time, then. We got on a boat trail, specially chartered for the event, a ride to Boat Quay, where Santa Fe Grill used to be. Mr. Eric is a humourous restaurateur. I felt I was on an excursion, like a kid listening attentively to the old singapore stories Mr Eric said and enjoying the Malay song he sang though I have no idea what it meant. There were magic performances which was entertaining. Santa Fe Grill makes a good family dining place.

The only hindrance will be getting there. If you do not own a vehicle, you can wait for the bus but there is only 1 bus (SBS: 402) going to the area and I'm told one may need to wait approximately 30 minutes.

Check out the other floggers: Ho-Chiak, Thehungrycow, Jencooks.


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Santa Fe Grill
Stewords Riverboat
31 Marina Coastal Drive, Berth 1,
Marina South Pier Singapore 018988
Tel: 6278 5775
www.riverboat.com.sg

274. Earle Swensen's

TGIF! (Thank God It's Friday!) Everyone wants a night out on friday, be it indulgence in food, desserts, alcoholic beverages and da da da. The headache comes when it is dinner time. Every restaurant has a queue, even for some which are not as popular, just that their queues are a tad shorter. This was what happened at Vivocity last night. In celebration of a friend's birthday, we met up for dinner. Turned off by the long queue over at Sushi Tei, we made a turn to the other end for Earle, which we didn't have to wait for long before we got our table.

Earle Swensen's at Vivocity has a salad bar. Some of the main courses comes with free-flow salad and so we got our 'rojak' salad. Else, get a free-flow salad for $11.90. I think mine didn't look that bad actually. It's good that greens are available at free-flow amongst the oily grilled and fried foods.

Fish and Chips @$17.90

All-time favourite, that's what they have stated on their menu. Golden-fried fish fillet with fries and served with tar-tar sauce. Tar-tar sauce is a must have for fish and chips. Fish was soggy on the interior. Lacked the oomph. I preferred Fish & Co's over theirs.

BBQ Chicken Burger @$15.90

Charbroiled giant chicken thigh on a layer of tomato slices, topped with fresh mushrooms and slathered with BBQ sauce in a grilled bun and potato wedges. The portion was a tad too big. LIC said burgers could look sexy. I think that's because they had managed the art of seduction. I would say here's a novice. Comments reserved for taste.

Fried Chicken Delight @$18.90

waiting.....waiting....waiting....Finally here.

"The chicken is fresh."
"Ya, they just managed to catch the running chicken and slaughtered it."

Golden-fried chicken cutlet, treated to secret marinade, served with U.S. fries, garnished with jackfruit salsa. I noticed the fries came a tad oil-ladened, not those crispy fried. The breaded chicken was crispy on the interior and tender on the interior though. The secret marinade added a mild flavour to the chicken. Chicken won the fish in the race on the dining table.

( L -> R): Sticky Chewy Chocolate, Frosted Chocolate Malt, Chocolate Crunch @$8.30 ea

A meal is never satisfying without the desserts. On a general statistics count, Singaporeans' top favourite flavour is chocolate. Not a surprice, we got the 3 sundaes under chocoholic cravings on their menu. Frosted chocolate malt triumphed over the other 2 as the best sundae. Chewy chocolate was a tad too sweet with the hot fudge. Chocolate crunch had loads of crunchy morsels (rice crisps) which added texture to the ice-cream. But not shiok enough. Frosted chocolate malt was coupled with chocolate balls which gave a bigger crunch and more importantly was I felt it was not very sweet. Don't live like there's no chocolates tomorrow.

Overall bill worked out to be about $91 for 3 pax. I didn't quite like the dining environment, having had to walk out with 'smoked' clothes. Service was prompt and friendly.

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Earle Swensen's

Vivocity

#02-117

Tel: 6272 3306