Kim Dae Mun Korean Food (Concorde Hotel)

Spicy Beancurd Soup (Soondubu Jjigae) 순두부찌개 $7.50

Kim Dae Mun Korean Food is located in Concorde Hotel; previously known as Le Meridien Hotel. If you are wondering where is Concord Hotel, it is located along the Orchard Shopping Belt, in between Dhoby Ghuat (Plaza Singapura) and Somerset (Orchard Plaza) MRT stations.

Menu

As it's name suggest, Kim Dae Mun Korean Food specialises in serving Korean cuisine. They order quite an extensive variety of dishes ranging from soup, meat, rice, ramen and side dishes. In a short time span of 4 years, the eatery has shifted located 3 times times; from the food court at level 1 to level 2 and then back to another standalone bigger unit at level. I doubt they will move further as the sitting capacity that they have now is huge!

The kitchen and counter is manned by Koreans. This is the Ahjumma who always takes the order at the counter. After taking the order, she would always relay the order to the kitchen through a mike.

Although there is always a queue, they are perfectly trained to handle the crowd. They moved with clock work precision. I waited just 10 minutes and the food was ready. Upon collection of the food, customers could choose between kimchi, anchovies or cucumbers as sides.

Spicy Beef Soup Set $8

The Spicy Soup Set is one of their most highly raved dish online. This time round I ordered the version that comes with beef; Spicy Beef Soup Set $8. The set consisted of a big bowl of spicy beef soup served with a bowl of rice and a side dish.I chose anchovies.

Spicy Beef Soup $8

The Spicy Beef Soup Set was filled with generous amounts of ingredients such as slices of beef, beancurd, vegetable, Korean (thick) vermicilli, spring onion, egg and onions. The soup was spicy and tasty - not salty (I doubt MSG was added). The combination of soup with rice was perfect. In terms of the price, it was reasonable considering the quantity and taste of the food.

Bibimbap 비빔밥 $8

The Bibimbap 비빔밥 $8 was served in traditional stone bowl.

Bibimbap 비빔밥 $8

This is the Korean's version of mixed rice, that comes with a variety of vegetables, an egg, rice, meat (in this case I had beef) and the hot chili pepper paste (also know as gochujang).

Bibimbap 비빔밥 $8

Give it a good mix to ensure that each grain of rice is well coated with  the hot chili pepper paste. With each mouthful, you would be able to to experience different texture and taste due to the assortment of vegetables (some are crunchy whereas some are soft).

Spicy Beancurd Soup (Soondubu Jjigae) 순두부찌개 $7.50

This is the Spicy Beancurd Soup (Soondubu Jjigae) 순두부찌개 $7.50. It comes in two versions, with or without the spiciness.

Spicy Beancurd Soup (Soondubu Jjigae) 순두부찌개 $7.50

Personally, I thought that the taste was just average. It was spicy but lacked flavour.

Tender Sliced Beef $10

The Tender Sliced Beef $10 is their most expensive item on the menu. This dish is also highly raved about.

Tender Sliced Beef $10

The beef was well marinated and tasty. However, certain pieces were hard and tough. At $10, I thought that the price is on the higher end (i.e. not so value for money).

Did you know that their hotplates items are cooked with water instead of oil? Yes, you heard me right!

I will certainly be back at Kim Dae Mun Korean Food to try out other dishes. I have been wanting to try their ramen. Their food is quite the tasty and authentic. Moreover, it is now no longer tough to find seats!

Kim Dae Mun Korean Food (Concorde Hotel) 

100 Orchard Road #01-03D

Concorde Hotel And Shopping Mall 

Singapore 238840 

Tel: 9112 5910

Opening Hours: 11am to 8.30pm

                           Closed on Mon

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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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Northern Thai Restaurant 泰北 (Peace Centre)

Traditional Clear Tom Yam Soup $4

I still remember my first visit to Northern Thai Restaurant 泰北 in 2011. Back then, this eatery was located in a coffeeshop along Tyrwhitt Road at Jalan Besar area and everyone at this coffeeshop was patronising this stall. I wanted to visit the eatery a couple of years back, but got to know that it shifted out from Tyrwhitt Road to Upper Paya Lebar Road. Hence, I was surprised to find see this stall at Peace Centre when I walked past it recently.

Northern Thai Restaurant is now located at level 1 of Peace Centre. It is located together with Isle Cafe. As its name suggest, the eatery serves Northern Thai cuisine.

The menu is pasted on the facade. Generally, they now focus on offering a fewer variety of dishes due to the difficulty in getting manpower. They no longer sell dishes such as Stewed Pork Leg, Spring Rolls and Fried Kang Kong.

Phad Thai $3.80 and Northern Thai Special Tom Yam Soup $4

I visited the stall on several occasions to try their food. During the first occasion, I ordered their Phad Thai $3.80 and Northern Thai Special Tom Yam Soup $4.

Phad Thai $3.80

The Phad Thai which is the Thai version of fried kway teow cost $3.80. It was fried with egg, beansprouts and prawns, and served with grounded peanut, chilli powder and lime. They were generous with the ingredients and this is a relatively cheap plate of Phad Thai as a similar portion elsewhere (e.g. other thai eateries - note not restaurant) would have easily cost $5.50.

While this plate of Phad Thai was quite well fried and decent in terms of taste, if I may compare, it lacks the taste (wok hei) and fragrant of the Phad Thai at Ah Loy Thai. However, for $3.80, I should not be complaining too much as its so value for money.

Northern Thai Special Tom Yam Soup $4

I remember that this is one of their signature dishes - Northern Thai Special Tom Yam Soup $4. This was quite a unique bowl of tom yam soup. It was cloudy and orangey in appearance and was served with fish slices. The fried fish soaked up all the essence of the soup!

Phad Hoon Sen $3.80

On another occasion I had the Phad Hoon Sen $3.80 and Traditional Clear Tom Yam Soup $4. Both were quite well executed.

The Phad Hoon Sen $3.80 is a Thai stirred fried glass noodles dish. This is a dish that is not easy to execute and fire control is essential to ensure that the glass noodles are cooked to the right texture and not overcooked. This was delicious as taste wise, it was just nice and cooked just right too. The plus point was that it was not oily at all.

Traditional Clear Tom Yam Soup $4

The Traditional Clear Tom Yam Soup $4 was not bad. Just that I found it a tad too sour. Could have been a little more spicy. 

Generally, the food here was not bad. Price wise, it was so value for money. During lunch time, it can be quite crowded and hard to get seats. If you intend to come on a Saturday, do give them a call as some of their popular items could be sold out as early as 1pm.

Northern Thai Restaurant 泰北 (Peace Centre)
#01-46 Peace Centre
1 Sophia Road
Singapore 228149
Opening Hours: Mon to Sat 10am to 5pm (or sold out)
                          Closed on Sun and PH
Tel: +65 9851 6386
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Skinny Pizza (Plaza Singapura)

The English Breakfast Pizza $24

Skinny Pizza is a restaurant chain specialising in thin crust pizza. Owned by the Spa Espirt Group, it first started in 2008 and currently has a total of 5 outlets in Singapore.

There was a short queue when we visited its outlet at Plaza Singapura on a Friday evening.  

We ordered 3 sides since doing so would cost just $18. We ordered the Truffle Fries, Grilled Prawns with Cauliflower Couscous and 1/4 Metre Pork Sausage.

Truffle Fries $9 (a la carte price)

For the first side, we chose the Truffle Fries $9. As it name suggests, it was essentially fries with salt and truffle oil. It arrived piping hot and crisp. With a hint of truffle on every single piece of fries, this was so irresistible. This is something that I will always order when I am at Skinny Pizza. 

Grilled Prawns with Cauliflower Couscous $9 (a la carte price)

For the second side, we ordered the Grilled Prawns with Cauliflower Couscous $9. The cauliflower couscous; fine shredded cauliflower was good. Wish that they had given more of it. Other than that the rest of the items were a let down.

1/4 Metre Pork Sausage $8 (a la carte price)

As for the 3rd side, we chose the 1/4 Metre Pork Sausage $8. It was served on top of a bed of rocket salad. We all agreed that this was the worst side. The pork sausage tasted weird and was too salty. Luckily for me, I love rocket salad and ate the sausage along with it to mask the taste. 

Squid Ink Pizza $29

Squid Ink Pizza $29 is another dish that I always order whenever I am at Skinny Pizza. This is my favourite and is probably the best pizza at Skinny Pizza! A must order!

It consist of prawns, squids, tomato salsa, onion, rocket salad, basil and parsley on squid ink crust (hence the crust is black in colour!). Grilled to perfection, this pizza tasted way better than it looks! The thin, crispy pizza base; a specialty of Skinny Pizza was executed perfectly! With its fresh ingredients, this tasted so good that I stopped the efficient waiter who wanted to clear the pan away as I had yet to scrap off whatever ingredients still left on the pan.

The English Breakfast Pizza $24 was a pizza with bacon, sunny side egg, roasted tomato, mushroom, rocket salad, basil and parsley. The crust was again thin and crispy. As the waiter cuts the pizza into serving slices, watch the egg yolk ooze out. A word of caution would be to eat this as soon as possible. This is because the egg yolk would soft the crust and make it soggy. Otherwise, this pizza also tasted quite good. 

Overall, the pizzas at Skinny Pizza was very well executed. As for the sides, if I had a choice, I would order all 3 sides as Truffle Fries (not sure if they allowed). 

Skinny Pizza (Plaza Singapura)

#03-79/83 Plaza Singapura

68 Orchard Rd

Singapore 238839

Tel: 6884 8381

Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 10pm

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Other branches
Skinny Pizza (100AM)
#01-03/04
100 Tras Street
Singapore 079027
Tel: 6444 2136

Skinny Pizza (Raffles City)
#B1-63/64 Raffles City
252 North Bridge Road
Singapore 179103
Tel: 6333 5069

Skinny Pizza (Westgate)
#01-03 Westgate
3 Gateway Link
Singapore 608532

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
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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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Kki Sweets ケーキ(SOTA)

Left to right: Tiramisu $9.80,  Antoinette $8.80

KKI Sweets ケーキ is a Japanese inspired patisserie bakery serving a variety of beautifully decorated cakes, freshly baked daily.

KKI Sweets ケーキ  previously located at Ann Siang Hill is now located at the second level of the School of the Arts (SOTA). The school is a 5-minutes walk away from Exit A of Dhoby Ghuat MRT Station or Exit D of Bras Basah MRT Station.

We visited KKI Sweets ケーキ during a Friday evening at 730pm. The wooden theme furnishing was simple yet modern and elegant. Most of the items were sold out except for just the Tiramisu $9.80 and Antoinette $8.80. Hence, we just ordered both cakes.

Tiramisu $9.80

The Tiramisu $9.80,  cylindrical-shaped was topped with a layer of bitter cocoa powder.

Tiramisu $9.80

The moose underneath the the cocoa powder was light and soft. At its centre was the sponge fingers soaked in Kahlua. This was decent but not fantastic. At $9.80, it is quite pricey for the small portion.

Antoinette $8.80

The Antoinette $8.80 consisted of white chocolate mousse with mango puree in the centre.

Antoinette $8.80

The mousse was again incredibly light and soft that it seems to melt in the mouth. The sweet and rich mango puree in the centre added a new dimension to the taste and complemented well with the subtle white chocolate flavour. This was divine and unique. But before you know it, you would have finished it in a few mouthfuls and wished that there was more.

The two cakes we tried were quite well done. Personally, I prefer the Antoinette. If you are keen to visit, do note the price as it is on the higher end. In addition, if you are dining in, there would be an additional 10% service charge. Lastly, try to be there earlier before 5pm if you do not want to be disappointed as their cakes might be sold out by then.

Kki Sweets ケーキ(SOTA) 

1 Zubir Said Drive 

#02-01 School of the Arts (SOTA) 

Singapore 227968

Tel: +65 6225 6650
Opening Hours: Daily 12pm to 8pm

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