Saizeriya Ristorante E Caffe (Liang Court)

Saizeriya restaurant, a Japanese chain of Italian style family restaurant well-known for its low prices first opened in 1968 in Japan. Today, it has expanded to over 750 stores world wide, in Japan, China and South East Asia. 

In Singapore, Saizeriya has 4 outlets in Liang Court, City Square Mall, Bukit Timah Plaza and Toa Payoh Central and is known as Saizeriya Ristorante E Caffe. Similarly, it has made a name for itself in Singapore as a place for affordable (value-for-money) Italian food. 

Made a visit down to their outlet in Liang Court, near Clarke Quay for dinner on a weekend. The restaurant was packed. In terms of ambience and decoration, it was simple and causal.  

Drinks Station

Drinks Station, where you can have free flow of drinks for just $2.80 per person. A very good deal as there is a wide variety of drinks available ranging from Cappuccino, Coffee, Tea (Earl Grey, Green Tea, Peppermint, Camomile), Lemon Barley, Orange Juice, Pepsi, Ice Lemon Tea, Mug Rootbeer, Mountain Dew to H-TWO-O!

Menu Cover

The food on the menu cover looks so appetising.

Garden Salad (small) 

Alternatively, instead of paying $2.80 for free flow of drinks, you can pay $3.90 instead for a Garden Salad and free flow of drinks.

Grilled Spicy Chicken Wings (4pcs) $3.90

Grilled Spicy Chicken Wings served on a hotplate is one of their best sellers and has garnered many positive reviews on the net. They were very well marinated and tasty. However, it arrived on a hot plate with a layer of oil that resulted in the exterior (of the wings) being soggy.

Oven Grilled Escargot $5.80

The Oven Grilled Escargot (cooked snails) cooked in their own recipe of special garlic butter sauce. It may not be the best, but it was pretty good and yummy with the sauce. At $5.80 nett, the price is ridiculously cheap affordable. (I do not know where else can one get such decent half dozen escargots at such prices!) If  you have not tried this before, and do not want to burn a hole trying it out, this is the place for you. If you have been craving for esargots, this is also the place to have a quick and value-for-money escargot fix.

Focaccia with Garlic Butter $2.20

We were torn between ordering the Original Focaccia or the Focaccia with Garlic Butter. Following the recommendation of the staff, we ordered Focaccia with Garlic Butter. Focaccia is a flat oven baked Italian bread. Saizeriya version looks similar to a naan or prata. Nevertheless, it was delish! A must order. We were so tempted to order another one.

Chicken Bolognese Doria $4.40

Chicken Bolognese Doria another best seller, is white sauce baked rice with their special recipe of chicken meat sauce. Well-executed dish with lots of creamy cheese on top complementing the baked rice at the bottom. If only more meat sauce and some meat was given. But at this price, I can't complain.

Black Pepper Chicken Steak $6.90

Black Pepper Chicken Steak served with corns, wedges and black pepper sauce on a hot plate. The corn was very sweet, while the wedges were a tad too soft. The chicken was decent but the oily was not drained off properly. It was saved by the black pepper sauce which was complemented it perfectly.

All prices quoted on the menu are nett and there is no service charge. Despite there being no service charge, the service was prompt and efficient, from seating, ordering, serving, clearing of dirty plates to paying the bill. Each staff knew their role and everything went like clockwork. My first dish was served within 5 minutes after I have ordered. Needless to say, I am impressed by the efficiency of the staff and also the food. There were hits and misses, but taking into consideration the prices, its pretty reasonable. I will definitely be back! 

Liang Court is now having the Gourmet Journey event in the mall till 29 July 2012. (Its hard to miss it out. The posters are all over the mall). There will be several challenges held during the two upcoming weekends. Some of the events that caught my eyes are the Tamago Peel-Off, Kraze Time and Cooking Demonstration.

Gourmet Journey Poster (Source: Liang Court)

I used to Liang Court just for my Tampopo fix. During this recent visit, I saw more restaurants such as Nirai-Kanai, Shin Yeh, Marutama Ramen, Mazazu Crepe, Trung Nguyen Cafe and Shabu No Koya. On my next visit, I will aim to try Shin Yeh.

Meidi-Ya Supermarket

Of course, a visit to Liang Court is not completed without a visit to Meidi-Ya Supermarket! It is a supermarket well-known among the Japanese community for its authentic Japanese products directly imported from Japan.  

Saizeriya Ristorante E Caffe (Liang Court)
177 River Valley Road
#02-22 Liang Court
Tel: 6337 9001
Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 10pm
Location 

Saizeriya Ristorante E Caffe (City Square Mall)
180 kitchener Road
#B2-55/56 City Squre Mall
Te: 6834 4877
Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 10pm

Saizeriya Ristorante E Caffe (Bukit Timah Plaza)
1 Jalan Bukit Anak
#02-24C Bukit Timah Plaza
Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 10pm

Saizeriya Ristorante E Caffe (Toa Payoh Central)
Blk 190 #02-514
Tel: 6253 8001
Opening Hours: Daily 11am to 10pm

Nanxin Shuang Pi Nai 南信双皮奶 (China, Guangzhou)

Shuang Pi Nai (双皮奶) or Double-Skin Milk is a speciality in Guangzhou. When I asked the locals, where was the best Shuang Pi Nai. They all gave me the same reply, Nanxin Shuang Pi Nai 南信双皮奶 along Shangxiajiu Street near to Taotao Ju. I knew that I had to give this a try

After my dinner at Guangzhou Restaurant 广州酒家, I thought that it would be a good opportunity to visit Nanxin Shuang Pi Nai since it was in the same area. Just need to walk down the street (about 10 minutes walk).

Had a hard time finding this shop. In fact I walked all the way to the other end of the street before realising that I have missed the shop. Hopefully this photo will prove useful for anyone trying to find this place.

The shop was fully packed despite it being 9pm. Luckily, there were more seating capacity at level 2. But guess what? Level 2 was full too. We waited a while before getting a table and due to the crowd, we had to share it with two local ladies. They overheard us talking about our dinner at Guangzhou Restaurant. And they told us that the food there was expensive and lousy!

Part of the menu

Nanxin Shuang Pi Nai 南信双皮奶 (Cold) RMB10 ($2)

Nanxin Shuang Pi Nai 南信双皮奶 is a dessert made from a mixture of milk (water buffalo to be exact), egg white and sugar. Apparently, water buffalo milk is used because only water buffalo milk can coagulate when cooled. 

The Nanxin Shuang Pi Nai 南信双皮奶 had a layer of covering (milk skin) on top, hence the name  Double-Skin Milk. It was white in colour and the top layer was smooth. In terms of texture, it was semi-solid (not jelly-like, not pudding-like) and soft. Taste-wise it was sweet with a unique fragrant (was it because of the water buffalo milk? I have no idea as I have never tried water buffalo milk before. But this was unlike other milk I have tried.) This is my first time trying such a dessert and I love it. It reminds me of the Steam Egg White Pudding with Milk at Australia Dairy Company.

I also tried the Jiang Zhuang Nai 南信姜撞奶 or Ginger Milk Curd RMB10 ($2). No picture as they look exactly the same. The Ginger Milk Curd is made by pouring milk into ginger juice at a certain temperature. Once this is done properly, chemistry reaction (between the milk and ginger) takes place and the milk (liquid) starts its transition and becomes solid (pudding like). Well, to be frank, I did not like this. The taste of the ginger was overwhelming. Hence, this is also partly why it is best taken in winter and is known to help get rid of cold.

I would recommend you to try Nanxin Shuang Pi Nai 南信双皮奶 if you are in Guangzhou. You will not know what you are missing till you try it. This place is similar to a Hong Kong cha chaan teng. Please do not come in expecting good service. I did not mind the bad service I have encountered (asking for the waitress for my dessert three times after waiting for over 20 minutes. The replies I got was 'coming' and 'wait' in mandarin..). To me, it was well worth the wait and service. 

Nanxin Shuang Pi Nai 南信双皮奶 (China, Guangzhou)
47号 Dishifu Road, Liwan
Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

Tel: +86 20 8138 9904 

Location

Directions: Take MTR to either Huangsha or Changshou Lu station. Both stations are around 15 minutes walking distance away from Dishifu Road. If you are not familiar with Guangzhou, take to Changshou Lu instead, it is easier (and brighter) to walk over.

Location

A - Location of Nanxin Shuang Pi Nai 南信双皮奶 

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Baskin-Robbins Singapore: 1st Anniversary Deals (till 31 August 2012)

Source: Baskin-Robbins Singapore 

Baskin-Robbins Singapore: 1st Anniversary Deals (till 31 August 2012) 
a) Free Topping
b) 50% off 2nd Regular Scoop
c) Buy 1 Get 1 Free Chocolate Blast
d) $8 31 Yogurt Smoothie
e) Free Upgrade to Classic Sundae Regular Upon Purchase of Regular Scoop
f) Free Waffle Upgrade Upon Purchase of Banana Royale
g) 10% off Ice Cream Cake
h) $10 Handpacked Pint

- Valid till 31 August 2012
- Download, print and cut coupon to redeem
- Valid at all Baskin-Robbins Singapore outlets