Jack's Place (Woodlands Civic Centre)

 NZ Ribeye Steak with Mushroom Brown Sauce 

Jack's Place is one of my favorite restaurant for a decent and affordable steak set lunch. I have been patronising Jack's Place for a long time, since the 1990s. 

Jack's Place was started by a Chinese man (i.e. Mr Say Lip Hai) from Hainan island. He joined the British Army as a cookboy and learnt how to cook steak and Yorkshire pudding. With the skills, he opened his first restaurant called Cola Restaurant in 1967 at Sembawang. This was the very outlet which I used to visit. Today, it has evolved to include several concept restaurants such as Eatzi Gourmet, Seafood Harvest, Brewbaker's, Hoshigaoka and Jack's Place under the JP Pepperdine Group.

Daily Set Lunch Menu

The reason why I always visit during lunch time instead of dinner time is because of their daily set lunch which is available day from 11am to 3pm. The Set Lunch is affordable as it comes along with Wholemeal Garlic Bread, Soup of the Day, Day's Dessert and Coffee / Tea.

They have revamped their menu and the N.Z. Ribeye Steak with Brown Sauce (which used  to cost $16) has been removed from the Executive Set Lunch and placed under Main Course instead with a different sauce.

I visited on a Monday and ordered the N.Z. Ribeye Steak with Brown Sauce (by replacing the Onion Demi Glazed with brown sauce at no extra cost). Price wise, it is now $19.90.

Wholemeal Garlic Bread, Lobster Bisque and Cream of Potato Soup

They now use Wholemeal Bread for their Garlic Bread to promote healthy living. As for the soup of the day, it was the Cream of Potato Soup. It was surprisingly delicious. 

We upgraded one of our soup to Lobster Bisque by adding $2.30. Ever since I tried the Lobster Bisque Soup, I could not resist the temptation to order it again. Great soup, rich in flavour and great balance in taste. In addition, there were several chunks of lobster meat in the soup. The Lobster Bisque Soup is one of Jack's Place house specialty.

Curly Truffle Fries Topped with Parmesan Cheese $8.80

The Curly Truffle Fries Topped with Parmesan Cheese $8.80 is a new dish that was introduced recently when they revamped the menu. The fries were essentially fried curly fries with truffle oil and topped with parmesan cheese. It was delicious and not overly oily. It was a tad too salty towards the end. 

 NZ Ribeye Steak with Mushroom Brown Sauce 

The NZ Ribeye Steak arrived on a sizzling hotplate along side with carrots, baby corn, french beans, onions and baked potato. The brown sauce on top complement the steak perfectly. I love the brown sauce! so much that we would always request for extra serving of the brown sauce (kudos to Jack's Place for not charging extra for such request). Anyone knows how I can make the brown sauce?

The baked potato deserves a mention too. It was well baked, not dry not powdery. Topped with Sour Cream Sauce, Chicken bits and Spring Onions, it was yummy!

Day's Dessert and Coffee & Tea

They should bring back the desserts which they served in the past such as the cakes or tarts. The current dessert that they serves are terrible.

In summary, other than the desserts, this is still my favourite restaurant for an affordable yet good steak. Definitely will be back for more!

Jack's Place (Woodlands Civic Centre)

#02-05/06 Woodlands Civic Centre

Tel: +65 6363 4803 

Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 1030pm

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Park Inn Hotel's Three Course French Meal (France, Nancy)

Park Inn Hotel, Bar, Restaurant

We had our dinner, a three course French Meal at Park Inn Hotel's restaurant in Nancy. The hotel by Radisson Nancy is located opposite the train station in central Nancy. The restaurant is know for its traditional French cuisine. It was 830pm and there were no one in the restaurant except for the group of us. 

We were all waiting early waiting for our food as it was late. Service was extremely slow. 

The bread was served first. We polished them off although they were cold and hard. Supposed to be taken together with the soup.

Vegetable (Pumpkin) Soup

It seemed ages before the first course was served. Vegetable (Pumpkin) Soup! The soup was wonderful! Thick, robust and full of flavour. Heart warming dish, a perfect start to the meal.

After the waiter cleared the bowls, we had to wait eagerly (again) for the second course. We waited so long that, I had the time to causally walk back to my room to charge my phone before coming down again. It was nearly a 20 minutes wait from the time our bowls were cleared to the second course being served. 

Pork Loin with Plum, Tomatoes and Potatoes

The second course was the Pork Loin with Plum, Tomatoes and Potatoes which was outstanding. The portion might seems small, but after drinking that bowl of soup it was just nice. The pork loin was well-flavoured and surprisingly tender. The sauce which had a unique plum flavour was so impressive that everyone were trying to use their meat to soak up as much sauce as possible. The slices of potato that were served as a side nearly stole the show as well. They were soft and were coated with a immense buttery fragrant aroma.

Now that the second course was completed, we had to wait for the third (final) course. 

Ice Cream (Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry)

We were shocked when the third meal was served. It was Ice Cream! 3 Scoops per person consisting of Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry. Why were we shocked, well because it was winter during the time of visit, below 0 degrees celsius and it was snowing the day before. My personal favourite was the chocolate ice cream as it was made of thick bitter chocolate.

Overall, I quite like the food I ate although ice cream was served during the last course. The only issue I had was the slow service.

Side track to recommend one of their local tradition product which I quite like after trying: When you are in Nancy, I would recommend that you buy the Bergamots Nancy. The Bergamots is a small citrus fruit which is inedible when it is raw. In the 1850s, a candy maker in Nancy succeeded in creating the Bergamots Nancy Candy by extracting the essence from the Bergamots and mixing it with cooked sugar to form the candy.

Bergamots Nancy (in yellow boxes on the right)

It was a pity we purchase 2 boxes of Bergamots Nancy. The candies were pale yellow in colour and transparent just like a greased marble. The candy had a unique taste; a mysterious sweet flavour. Not overly sweet, just nice.

The shop owner, an elderly man told us that the photo shows a screen grab of the candy being featured in a French Movie called 'Amelie'. Not sure how true this is. If you are in the area and interested in purchasing such a candy, you may refer to the map appended below. (I am not receiving any benefits/commission, thought that its good to share as it was real good and unique.)

Park Inn Hotel's Three Course French Meal (France, Nancy)
Park Inn Hotel, Bar, Restaurant
11 Rue Raymond Poincaré
54000 Nancy, France
Tel: +33 3 83 39 75 75
Website
Location

A: Location of Park Inn Hotel by Radisson Nancy
B: The shop which I bought the Bergamots Nancy from

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Jack's Place - Administrative Professionals Week (Woodlands Civic Centre)

Another trip to Jack's Place at level 2 of Woodlands Civic Centre. As I have done a few posts on Jack's Place, I shall not do any introduction on this chain of restaurant. You can read more about Jack's Place in the previous posts.

Signature white and green checkered table cloth and menu. All branches in Jack's Place looks and feel alike.

Administrative Professionals Week - Set Lunch Menu

We decided to order the Executive Set Lunch - N.Z. Ribeye Steak with Brown Sauce ($17.90) and were ordered that. As we were informing the staff that we wanted to upgrade to Lobster Bisque Soup (+$2.30), we were informed that we should order from the Administrative Professionals Week - Set Lunch Menu which would be more value-for-money as it comes with a choice of Lobster Bisque Soup or Cream of Fresh Shiitake Mushroom Soup. In addition, tempura prawns were served with the steak.

The staff was right. We were so glad that she made that recommendation! We both ordered the Grilled N.Z Ribeye Steak & Tempura Prawns. The staff kindly accommodated to our request for it to be served in the hot plate instead of a normal ceramic plate. Nothing beats eating steaks out of a sizzling hot plate! I am impress with the service! Thumbs up! 

Garlic Bread

Garlic Bread was served together with the soup. One piece for each person.

Cream of Fresh Shiitake Mushroom Soup

As usual, being mushroom fantics we had to order the mushroom soup - Cream of Fresh Shiitake Mushroom Soup. A hearty bowl of soup was filled with lots of small chunks of shiitake mushrooms and mushroom flavour!

Lobster Bisque Soup

Ever since I tried the Lobster Bisque Soup last year, I could not resist the temptation to order it again. Great soup, rich in flavour and great balance in taste. In addition, several chunks of lobster meat were in the soup. So affordable! The Lobster Bisque Soup is one of Jack's Place house specialty.

Grilled N.Z Ribeye Steak & Tempura Prawns

For our main course, we both ordered the Grilled N.Z Ribeye Steak & Tempura Prawns. The staff kindly accommodated to our request to serve it in a sizzling hot plate instead of the norm which is to serve in a ceramic plate. As usual, Jack's Place never disappoint me. Their steaks were good. It may not be the best, but its way above average. Their baked potato and vegetables were good too. The tempura prawns on the other hand was forgettable.

Brown Sauce

We always request for extra brown sauce. We both polish off the sauce off by complementing the sauce with the steak. So yummy! If only, I know how they made the brown sauce. The extra brown sauce was enough to make me satisfy me. Funny, how simple/trivia things can make a big difference. 

Day's Dessert and Coffee & Tea

We ended off the meal with the Day's Dessert and Coffee & Tea.

Cherry Cake

The Day's Dessert was Cherry Cake. It was not bad; not dry. Dense and well-flavoured cake.

For $18.90++ this meal was so value for money. In addition, I like their service. Staff are well trained, attentive and prompt. It was great that they made recommendation which was relevant to our needs wants. Great Job Jack's Place! I will be back! Nom Nom Nom.. 

I wonder how their other affiliated company - Eatzi Gourmet fares. Eatzi Gourmet serves similar food, the difference is that it is certified halal.

Jack's Place - Administrative Professionals Week (Woodlands Civic Centre)

#02-05/06 Woodlands Civic Centre

Tel: 6363 4803

Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 1030pm

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Jack's Place (Marina Square)

Back to Jack's Place again. Jack's Place a restaurant chain specialises in serving affordable western cuisine such as steaks. The restaurant first start back in 1966 and now has 15 outlets in Singapore and evolved to include restaurants with other concepts such as Eatzi Gourmet, Seafood Harvest, Brewbaker's Kitchen & Bar, Hoshigaoka and Jack's Place under the JP Pepperdine Group. It's newest concept restaurant is the Kkongdon Korea BBQ, that offers Korean BBQ cuisine. 

Exterior

The exterior of Jack's Place restaurant at Marina Square. All their outlets have the same similar exterior with the same corporate colours. 

Interior

Even the interior is consistent. Same type of furnishing decoration. Classy modern furnishing and ambience with its signature white and green table cloth. Nostalgic! 

Kudos to their marketing and branding team for keeping a consistent image at all 15 outlets. Makes me feel so comfortable despite being at a different outlet. 

Spotted something new among their decorations. Nice touch. Cute design of animal cut outs in their corporate colour.

Daily Set Lunch Menu

Before we stepped in, we already know what we would be ordering. Its the N.Z. Ribeye Steak with Brown Sauce ($16) from the Executive Set Lunch which comes along with Soup of the Day, Garlic Bread, Day's Dessert and Coffee/Tea. 

Garlic Bread

Two slices of Garlic Bread, one for each of us. 

Soup of the Day

The Soup of the Day was carrot, potato, leek and chicken soup. It came piping hot. The soup was filled with the natural flavours of the ingredients. The chunks of potatoes, carrots and leeks were well cooked; soft yet retaining the flavours. The chicken chunks in it was surprisingly tender. Souperlicious Soup of the Day! 

Executive Set Lunch: NZ Ribeye Steak with Brown Sauce $16

The steaks at Jack's Place are served sizzling on a hot plate. Hence, whenever we hear the sizzling sound coming out from the kitchen, we will turn and keep a look out (anticipating) for ours. 

As expected, the piping hot sizzling NZ Ribeye Steak with Brown Sauce was served on the hot plate with seasonal vegetables and a baked potato. Do note, the hot plate is well... hot, touch the wooden parts instead if you need to shift the plate. 

Executive Set Lunch: NZ Ribeye Steak with Brown Sauce $16

I requested for my steak to be cooked 'medium' so that it will be soft and somewhat firm. The brown sauce was 'darn' good and complemented the steak perfectly. 

The seasonal vegetables served consisted of slices of carrots, radish and french beans. The carrots and radish were soft but the french beans were a tad too hard. A healthy side dish as no oil was used. I believed they were blanched and cooked in hot water. 

Executive Set Lunch: NZ Ribeye Steak with Brown Sauce $16

Baked Potato topped with Sour Cream sauce, Chicken Bacon bits and Spring Onions. I like how Jack's Place executed this as the potato was moist and soft on the inside. Moreover, the chicken bits were fragrant. If I did not know, I would have thought that this was pork bacon bits. 

Day's Dessert with Tea

Concluded the meal with Day's Dessert and tea.

Overall, a fulfilling and satisfying meal. Still my favourite place for an affordable and decent steak. In terms of service, the waiter and waitress were prompt. In addition, one of the staff came over and asked if the steak was cooked to our expectations. I did feedback to her that the steak was to our liking and that the french beans were a tad too hard. A little softer would have been ideal. Furthermore, feedback to her that it was a great meal thus far. I noticed that she also did the like wise for other customers. It was a nice gesture and I was impressed with her service.

ps: I always ask for extra brown sauce. It comes with no extra charge! Yummy! 

Jack's Place (Marina Square)

6 Raffles Boulevard 

#02-138H Marina Square

Tel: 6338 8292 / 6338 6081

Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 1030pm

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Jack's Place (Woodlands Civic Centre) - New Zealand Feast Promotion

Jack's Place specialises in serving western cuisine has been around in Singapore for a long long time; 1966 to be exact! Today, there are 14 outlets island wide. Over the years, Jack's Place has evolved to include several concept restaurants such as Eatzi Gourmet, Seafood Harvest, Brewbaker's Kitchen & Bar, Hoshigaoka and Jack's Place under the JP Pepperdine Group.

I still remember several years ago, Jack's Place Woodlands Branch used to be situated in Causeway Point. Ever since Causeway Point started its renovation, Jack's Place has shifted to Woodlands Civic Centre just across the road. If Woodlands Civic Centre rings a bell, well.. that is where the Woodlands Regional Library is. 

Interior

If you are a regular, you will notice that the interior of all Jack's Place restaurants are similar. Signature white and green checkered tablecloth.  

New Zealand Feast Promotion (a) [Source: Jack's Place]

New Zealand Feast Promotion (b) [Source: Jack's Place]

The New Zealand Feast Promotion is back again for the month of April 2012 at Jack's Place, Eatzi Gourmet and Brewbaker's Kitchen & Bar. The New Zealand main courses includes Chunky Beef Shepherds Pie (Stewed Beef Chunkys with Peppercorn & Mushroom and topped with mashed potato and Assorted Green Salad), N.Z. Silver Fern Farms Lamb Shank (Slowly braised with Shiitake Mushroom Sauce, served with mashed potato), N.Z. Silver Fern Farms Beef Carpetbag Steak (N.Z. Beef Tenderloin stuffed with N.Z. Oyster) and N.Z Sliver Fern Farms Fillet Mignon with Creamy Green Peppercorn Sauce (Served with Baked Potato & Seasonal Vegetable). 

Customers can choose to top up: 

a) Set Meal:  $4.80 to the main course price to include Soup of the Day, Day's Dessert & Coffee / Tea

b) Big Saver Meal: $8.80 to the main course price to include a la carte Soup, choice from 3 daily Pastry / Dessert & Coffee / Tea

Useful Guide on Beef Cuts

We ordered 2 main course (1 Set Meal, 1 Big Saver Meal) along with an Appetiser.

Garlic Bread

Wish that the garlic and butter flavour was more intense.

Leek & Potato Soup (Set Meal - Soup Of the Day)

The Soup of the Day was Leek & Potato Soup. Tasty and flavourful with chunks of potato and leek in it. Very satisfying bowl of soup.

Lobster Bisque (Big Saver Meal - a la carte Soup)

Lobster Bisque Soup, was creamy, smooth and rich in flavour. There are pieces of lobster meat in it. It was delicious! No wonder it is their house speciality. 

Kiwi Fruits & Prawns Topped with Feta Cheese (Appetiser)

The Kiwi Fruits & Prawns Topped with Feta Cheese was unique. So many different flavours to excite the taste buds. The Kiwi and Tomatoes were sweet and not sour. The cubes of Feta Cheese that helped enhanced the taste was rich and creamy. Underneath, there were lots of lettuce. 

N.Z Sliver Fern Farms Beef Carpet Bag Steak $27

N.Z Sliver Fern Farms Beef Carpet Bag Steak $27 (Close-up)

N.Z. Silver Fern Farms Beef Carpetbag Steak (N.Z. Beef Tenderloin stuffed with N.Z. Oyster served with Baked Potato & Seasonal Vegetable) served in a sizzling hot plate. The Beef Tenderloin is the tenderest part of the beef as this part of the muscle does very little work. I ordered medium-well done for this piece of steak. It was topped with Asian Butter as seen in the close-up photo. Let it melt into the beef and savour it. It was very tender with no fats. In the middle, it was stuffed with oyster and mushrooms! 

The Baked Potato did not disappoint. It was not dry or powdery, topped with sour cream, chicken bacon bits and spring onions. Yes, I did not type wrongly, it is chicken bacon bits not pork! The seasonal vegetable consist of carrots, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, corn and onion. Healthy greens with no oil!

N.Z Sliver Fern Farms Fillet Mignon with Creamy Green peppercorn Sauce $26 

N.Z Sliver Fern Farms Fillet Mignon with Creamy Green peppercorn Sauce $26  (Close-up) 

N.Z Sliver Fern Farms Fillet Mignon with Creamy Green Peppercorn Sauce (Served with Baked Potato & Seasonal Vegetable) was served in a sizzling hot plate too. The Fillet Mignon situated at the smaller end of the tenderloin is considered an expensive tender cut of the beef. My partner ordered well-done for her steak. Despite this, the Fillet Mignon was extremely tender and soft with no fats in it; literally  melt-in-the-mouth. If you are observant, you may notice that there is something wrapped around the Fillet Mignon. Well, it is Chicken Bacon! Taste like bacon! This is the first time I heard of chicken bacon. Any one heard of this before or knows how it is made?

The green peppercorn sauce was savoury and aromatic. It was so nice that she had to ask for extra sauce! According to her, the best way to eat this is to cut the Fillet Mignon, add the green peppercorn sauce with a green peppercorn on top and enjoy! I tried this and it totally blew me away. Superb!

Tea (for Set Meal or Big Saver Meal - Coffee / Tea)

 Strawberry Cake (Set Meal - Day's Dessert)

The Day's Dessert was the Strawberry Cake. Too much cream and too little cake. 

Oreo Cheesecake (Big Saver Meal - Pastry or Dessert)

Looks mouth-watering?

You will be spoilt for choice when deciding on the Pastry or Dessert. After pondering for a while the partner decided to order the Oreo Cheesecake. She made the right choice! It was awesome! The cheese was very forgiving. Generous amount of Oreo cookies crumbles on the top and in the cheese. Moreover, below there was a layer of crispy Oreo crust base. What a way to end off the meal! If you know me, I am not a fan of cheesecake. Even I myself was surprised that I  find Oreo Cheesecake great! Credit to the partner for ordering this.

I am glad / lucky that we had the opportunity to try the New Zealand Feast. It was an amazing meal and interesting learning experience for us. The service provided by the team was wonderful. Drinks were refilled promptly and utensils were also cleared efficiently (not only for my table, but the surrounding tables too).

Try the New Zealand Feast before it ends! You will never know what you are missing till you try it. In addition, customers will be entitled to take part in the New Zealand Grand Lucky Draw with any purchase of the New Zealand Feast Main Course. Prizes include Complimentary Roasted Beef on Wagon (worth $480) or Tickets to Universal Studios Singapore!

Thank you Evelyn (JP Pepperdine) and Felicia (Jack's Place Woodlands) for invite and having us.

Jack's Place (Woodlands Civic Centre)
#02-05/06 Woodlands Civic Centre
Tel: 6363 4803
Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 1030pm
Website: 
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