IT Roo Cafe (Malaysia, Johor Bahru)

 Grilled Chicken Chop with Mushroom Sauce RM 16

IT Roo Cafe is widely known as the place to go to for chicken chop in Johor Bahru. Its concept is more of an eatery or coffee shop rather than a cafe. It is located 10 minutes away from the causeway and is in fact 1 minute walk away from its competitor;  Hua Mui Coffee Shop 华美茶餐室. 

The interior of IT Roo Cafe was simple and traditional with a mix of indoor and alfresco seating. There were many old photographs and articles put up against the wall showcasing its history. 

I visited at 12 noon sharp, which was the start of the eatery's operating hours and was surprised to see that there was already three customers sitting down and waiting to collect their takeaway order. I thought that I would be the first customer. 

Menu

This is IT Roo Cafe's menu. They sell a variety of food, other than western food, they also sell local cuisines such as fried rice and noodles which is again similar to Hua Mui Coffee Shop.

Grilled Chicken Chop with Mushroom Sauce RM 16 and Mushroom Soup RM 4.50

I ordered the Grilled Chicken Chop with Mushroom Sauce RM 16 and Mushroom Soup RM 4.50.

Mushroom Soup RM 4.50

The Mushroom Soup RM 4.50 was just average.  

Grilled Chicken Chop with Mushroom Sauce RM 16

As for the Grilled Chicken Chop with Mushroom Sauce RM 16, it was delicious! I appreciated the generous amount of mushroom sauce with slices of mushrooms and potato wedges. The sauce had a delicate mushroom flavour. They used a whole chicken thigh for their chicken chop and grilled it perfectly, resulted in a succulent chicken chop which retained the flavour and juices.

IT Roo Cafe serves two types of chicken chop; grilled or deep fried. The next time I visit, I will try their deep fried chicken chop as they are popular for both versions. During my visit, I saw many customers ordering the IT Roo Fried Rice which cost RM 7.50. It seems to be another item worth ordering. 

IT Roo Cafe (Malaysia, Johor Bahru) 
17 Jalan Dhoby, Bandar Johor Bahru
80000 Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Opening Hours: Daily from 12pm to 9.30pm

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Shang Pin Hot Pot 尚品火锅 (Rendezvous Gallery)

Tomato Soup and Mushroom Soup $12

I am sure most of us have heard of Hai Di Lao 海底捞火锅, the popular steamboat chain from China which has opened a few outlets in Singapore. But have you heard of Shang Pin Hot Pot 尚品火锅? I have heard from several groups of friends that the food at Shang Pin Hot Pot is as good as Hai Di Lao and its price is cheaper.

The steamboat restaurant is located at level two of Rendezvous Gallery next to Rendezvous Hotel. Given its location, I would have never known that there's such a place if not for word of mouth. This restaurant is located 5 minutes walk away from Dhoby Ghuat MRT station. If you are lazy to walk, you can take the Circle Line and alight at Bras Basah MRT station. The restaurant is located just 1 minute walk away from this station.

Condiments - Sauces and Fruits

There is a wide selection of sauces and fruits available for $3 per person. The sauces range from sesame, soya, peanut, leek flower, chilli, fermented bean paste, beef, mushroom to seafood. There are also sugar, salt, peanuts etc. Such a wide variety!

We chose the multi-flavour soup base consisting of of Mushroom Soup and Tomato Soup for $12. Personally, I like the Tomato Soup as it was well balanced in terms of sweetness and sourness. However, the tangy taste overwhelmed the sweetness towards the end of the meal. As for the Mushroom Soup, we found it on the salty side at the start. Towards the end of the meal, the it tasted more pleasant, complementing the Tomato Soup.

We also ordered the free flow drinks at $2 per person. The homemade barley was real thick and good. Totally justify the price tag.

Pork Slices $8, Shang Pin Beef $14

We ordered the Pork Slices and Shang Pin Beef for $8 and $14 respectively. The quality of meat was good and they were sliced thinly making them easy to cook via shabu shabu style.

Dumplings $5

Although the Dumplings $5 consisted of just chives and meat, it was surprisingly delicious!

Baby Cabbage $4, Fresh Tofu $4, Mushroom Platter $14

These were the other dishes (i.e. Baby Cabbage $4, Fresh Tofu $4, Mushroom Platter $14) we ordered.

We also ordered the Shang Pin Kongfu Noodle $3 which we waited a very long time for ... more than half an hour. It was essentially a flatter version of ban mian and more expensive considering the portion. The two of us had just 4-5 short strands of noodles each. If you come in a big group, be prepared to eat just 1 to 2 strands. I would advise that you cook the noodles for a long period of time for it to become soft. The texture of the noodles was surprisingly smooth and slippery. In terms of taste, it was like the good old days when qui lian ban mian noodles taste awesome! 

For the record, I have visited Shang Pin Hot Pot twice. The first was during dinner on a Friday. The restaurant was fully booked. Thankfully, we made reservations. The second visit was during lunch on a weekday. During lunch time, the restaurant was not full. But in terms of service, it was way better at night when they had full staff strength. The post content and photos are all based on the second visit. 

As for the question whether Shang Pin Hot Pot 尚品火锅  or Hai Di Lao 海底捞火锅 is better? Well, I am in no position to compare as I have not tried Hai Di Lao before. So far, I like the food at Shang Pin Hot Pot =)

Shang Pin Hot Pot 尚品火锅 (Rendezvous Gallery)

9 Bras Basah Road

#02-02 Rendezvous Gallery 

Singapore 189559

Tel: +65 6238 7666

Opening Hours: Daily 12 pm to 12 am

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Molly Roffey's Irish Pub (Bras Basah)

Irish Butter Baked Salmon

Molly Roffey's Irish Pub was first established in 2010 to provide quality Irish Pubs in Singapore for dining and entertainment. The pub's first outlet is at the heart of Singapore; at Bras Basah. In fact, this outlet is just opposite Singapore Management University (SMU) and is in front of Exit D of Bras Basah MRT station. Today, Molly Roffey's Irish Pub has a total of three outlets, the other two locations are at Esplanade and Dorsett. 

Its outlet in Bras Basah serves an extensive variety of draft and bottled beers, house pour and premium wines and spirits, Western food and traditional Irish cuisine. 

The pub with its wooden interiors and Arsenal banners and flags on the walls, shows live telecasts of sports matches. If you are wondering why the Arsenal banners and flags are there, it is because Molly Roffey's Irish Pub at Bras Basah is the Arsenal Supporters Headquaters in Singapore. 

For the record, I am not an Arsenal fan.  

Dinner Specials

Molly Roffey's Irish Pub at Bras Basah offers Dinner Specials (Dinner Set Meal) daily from 5pm to 10pm, including weekends. The Dinner Specials consist of Soup, Main Course (choice of Molley Roffey's Ribeye Steak, Fish & Chips, Chicken & Mushroom Pomodoro, Golden Roast Half Chicken or Irish Butter Baked Salmon), Dessert of the Day and Soft Drink (choice of Coke, Sprite, Ginger Ale, Soda or Tonic) for $18.80++. 

We both ordered the Dinner Specials. I ordered the Molley Roffey's Ribeye Steak which is their bestsellers while my partner ordered the Irish Butter Baked Salmon. 

Mushroom Soup and Ginger Ale

For our choice of drinks, we both ordered the Ginger Ale.

Mushroom Soup

The Soup of the Day was the Mushroom Soup. It was decent, fully of mushroom flavour with lots of grind mushrooms bits in it.   

Molly Roffey's Ribeye Steak

The signature Molly Roffey's Ribeye Steak is served with potato wedges, salad and madeira sauce. 

Molly Roffey's Ribeye Steak

My Molly Roffey's Ribeye Steak was overcooked, arriving well done instead of medium. During my previous visit, I ordered this same dish which was cooked perfectly; medium. Nevertheless, the steak was still delicious despite being tough (due to overcooking during this visit), it paired off well with the madeira sauce.

Being fans of potato (wedges), we polished this off although most people would find the wedges normal - nothing to shout about. 

Irish Butter Baked Salmon

The partner orderd the Irish Butter Baked Salmon in homemade egg-yolk sauce served with wedges and mixed salad. Found the salmon average only.  

Marble Butter Cake

The Dessert of the Day was Marble Butter Cake which was CMI (cannot make it). It was cold, hard, dense and dry. It was so bad that we both just tried one bite only. 

Hazelnut Cake

Their Dessert of the Day on a previous visit was the Hazelnut Cake. The Hazelnut Cake was fantastic... way better than that marble cake. They should just stop serving the marble cake.

During my visits at Molly Roffey's Irish Pub (Bras Basah), there were hits and misses. I will certainly come back if I am looking for their Ribeye Steak despite the screw up during the last visit (overcooked steak). After all, with the set dinner its quite value for money and has a great atmosphere.

ps: Molly Roffey's Irish Pub at Bras Basah offers daily Lunch Specials from 12pm to 3pm too. The prices range from $12.80++ to $15.80++. 

Molly Roffey's Irish Pub (Bras Basah)
51 Bras Basah Road
#01-02A Manulife Centre
Singapore 189554
Tel: +65 6238 0989
Opening Hours: Daily 12pm to 12am
Website

Molly Roffey's Irish Pub (Esplanade)
8 Raffles Avenue
#01-13E Esplanade Mall 
Singapore 039802 
Tel: +65 6238 1875
Opens Hours: Sun to Thur 3pm - 1am
                       Fri to Sat 3pm - 2am

Molly Roffey's Irish Pub (Dorsett)
313 New Bridge Road
Dorsett Residences #01-04 
Singapore 088764
Te: +65 64445313 
Open Hours: Daily 12pm to 12am

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Buddy Hoagies at Nee Soon South Community Club (Yishun)

Buddy Hoagies is a restaurant cafe specialising in western cuisine. I did not call it a restaurant became it has a friendly and relaxed ambience which is child friendly too. Moreover, the photo frames of English oldies singers and environment gave a unique warm comfort country feel. I visited Buddy Hoagies on a weekday evening for dinner at Yishun. They have two other outlets at Bukit Timah and Downtown East.

During my visit, I noticed that there were quite a number of children in the cafe. After walking around, I knew the reasons. Buddy Hoagies was a children friendly cafe! They had plastic utensils (spoon, forks, plates) for kids (not those disposable ones) and a corner filled toys for children to play. Some children even brought the toys to their tables where they could play while waiting for the food to be served. Not bad, I did not notice any children playing with ipad or any mobile devices! 

There was an option to upgrade the main course to a Buddy's Set Meal for $4.50 which would include soup & garlic toast, coffee/tea/ ice tea and ice cream.

We ordered a Fish and Chips and upgraded it to a Set Meal ($13.40), followed by a Western BBQ Chicken ($8.90) and Cheese Fries ($3.50). 

Tea

Cream of Mushroom & Garlic Toast

The Cream of Mushroom was average. It was too thick for my liking while the Garlic Toast was a tad too hard. 

Cheese Fries $3.50

The Cheese Fries $3.50 tasted quite good when it was still warm. When it cooled down, the cheese became hard and the fries at the bottom were soggy. 

Fish and Chips

The Fish and Chips $8.90 served with fries fared better. Though they could be more generous with their servings, both items were not overly oily. In addition, the fish was slight moist in the interior (not hard and dry). In fact, I like this fries better compared to the cheese fries. 

Western BBQ Chicken $8.90

The Western BBQ Chicken $8.90 was essentially grilled chicken in barbecue sauce with vegetables and baked potato. Initially, I thought that the portion was very little. But come to think of it, for the ambience and price, I really should not fault it too much as the operating cost of the F&B industry have gone up.

The chicken was nicely grilled and the interior was juicy and tender. There was a slight hint of smoky flavour. If the smoky flavour could be intensified, this would have been wonderful. There was a big chunk of butter in the baked potato. Needless to say, I took out most of the butter before they had the opportunity to melt. This main course was not bad and quite value for money. 

Ice Cream

The vanilla ice cream was well, simple and ordinary.

There were hits and misses at Buddy Hoagies. But generally, their main course seemed to fared better. They did quite well in creating a warm cozy ambience with a children friendly environment.

Buddy Hoagies at Nee Soon South Community Club (Yishun)
Nee Soon South Community Club
30 Yishun Street 81
Singapore 768455
Tel: 6752 8722
Opening Hours: 10am to 10pm daily
Website

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Manhattan Star Platter at The Manhattan Fish Market (Northpoint)

Most of us would have heard of The Manhattan Fish Market before. But for those who don't, here's a short introduction. Manhattan Fish Market is a leading seafood casual dining restaurant with presence in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Singapore. In Singapore, Manhattan Fish Market has 14 restaurants outlets with 2 more outlets opening by the end of September.

We visited The Manhattan Fish Market at Northpoint Shopping Centre (opposite Yishun MRT station) for lunch.

There's plenty of seats in The Manhattan Fish Market as they occupy two units in the shopping mall.

The modern, classy environment which gives a big hint that its a seafoodish restaurant.

The menu cover.

Left to right: Tropical Breeze Mocktail, Cala Cala Mocktail

We ordered two mocktails; the Cala Cala and Tropical Breeze. The Cala Cala Mocktail, a combination of calamansi, lemonade and spirit was refreshing. It was accompanied by a citrusy fizzy sensation which was in a way - appetizing. The Tropical Breeze Mocktail, a Hawaiian fruit mocktail had a sweet fizzy sensation.

Soup of the Day - Cream of Mushroom Soup

The Soup of the Day was Cream of Mushroom Soup. There was plenty of fragrant mushrooms bits in it.

Manhattan Star Platter

The main reason why we came to The Manhattan Fish Market.

Well.. The Manhattan Fish Market had just launch its new creation; The Manhattan Star Platter $39.95.

Manhattan Star Platter $39.95

The Manhattan Star Platter consisted of 5 different seafood cooked in 5 different ways. The Garlic Herb Mussels were poached, the Oysters fried, the Calamari grilled, the Prawns were flamed and the Fish was baked! Besides these, there was vegetable and rice.

Manhattan Star Platter $39.95

The Garlic Mussels cooked in their signature Garlic Herb sauce was delectable. We were scrapping off whatever sauce there was and slurping it. The Grilled Calamari was surprisingly well executed (I have always gone for fried Calamari and thought that I will not fancy this). It was cooked perfectly, was soft and well seasoned. It was neither rubbery or hard.  It was grilled till some parts of the exterior had a slight crisp texture with a hint of charred taste which made it just so irresistible. Well done! The Fried Oysters was average while the Garlic Herb Rice underneath the seafood was a tad too hard and dry.

The vegetables consisted of carrots and broccoli. These were most probably boiled - healthy! We thought that it would be hard (not fully cooked..). But it turned out to be a pleasant surprised as it was soft, just the way we preferred.

Manhattan Flaming Prawns

The signature Manhattan Flaming Prawns would need no introduction if you have been to Manhattan Fish Market before. Its bound to attract your attention even if you did not ordered this, as long as someone in the restaurant orders this.

The Manhattan Flaming Prawns was flamed right in front of us. The thick, tasty melted cheese on the prawns complemented the prawns well. Unlike other restaurants or eateries, eating the (prawns) Manhattan Flaming Prawns was a breeze. It was just so easy and there was no need to use hands to peel the shells off (which can be a messy affair). This was because, the prawns were partially deshell (the little details that matters, taken to pamper and enhance customers' experience). I must add that the prawns were fresh and came off the shells easily.

Mediterranean Baked Fish

The Mediterranean Baked Fish; dory fillet baked in a blend of spices, herbs and coriander in a foil was superb. The fish was fresh and well coated with immense flavours from the blend of spices and herbs, resulting in a tantalizing aroma and flavor. The both of us love this.

To sum up, the Manhattan Star Platter was awesome. As you have read, we liked several items in the platter. Do note that this is available till 31 October 2013 only. I wonder if the management will make this a permanent dish on the menu in the future. I can foresee myself coming back and ordering this. Service-wise, the staff were prompt and attentive. In addition, the staff were also knowledgeable; able to describe the taste of the food and were able to recommend the drinks to go along.

Manhattan Star Platter at The Manhattan Fish Market (Northpoint)
#02-06/07 Northpoint Shopping Centre
Yishun Avenue 2
Singapore 769098
Tel: 6257 5507
Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 10pm
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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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