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Tim Ho Wan (Singapore)
my experiences with Tim Ho Wan had always been in Hong Kong. from the original stall at Mong Kok to the current flagship at Sham Shui Po, we loved their dim sum because it lived up to its name as the cheapest michelin star restaurant, delicious and value-for-money. nonetheless, we've moved on to other dim sum joints when we visited Hong Kong since, as local names such as One Dim Sum and Dim Dim Sum proved to be equally good.. as for the local version, the long queues when the first few outlets opened kinda put us off, and somehow, we didn't bring ourselves to try it.. until now.
it was only during a recent trip to Hong Kong when a friend, between mouthfuls of cheong fun, congee, mala-ko and har-gao, kept proclaiming.. "this one, Singapore better; that one, Singapore also better". curious, we decided to give Tim Ho Wan (Singapore) a try when we got back. Plaza Singapura is like the proxy for their flagship store here, so we went to pay that outlet a visit. 
the local version comes with most of the standard offerings that Hong Kong has, albeit prepared with a slightly local twist to adjust to our palette. and hence you'd have dishes that are a tad saltier, and accompanied with chilli sauce that has alot more kick. we tried their cheong fun with pig's liver, braised chicken feet with abalone sauce, the must-try baked bolo-buns with BBQ pork, steamed egg cake, har gao, siew mai and a few special dishes that we didn't find in Hong Kong.. we're still quizzical about the "Singapore better" part to date.. 
on to the special dishes, and we liked this shrimp dumpling with mushroom & century egg. we don't really see this in our local reviews, so it could have been for a limited period only. another interesting one was this dace fish-balls with Chinese sausage. they all come in small quantities of two or three, so they become very convenient add-ons. 
even more recently, the fifth Tim Ho Wan outlet opened at Aperia Kallang, and it is a 24-hour joint to boot! they've came up with a supper menu (served between 10 pm till 6 am daily) with a few interesting selections which we liked very much. i guess it was not only us, because there was seriously a queue even at 11.30 pm. this lobster congee with prawn and scallop looks very photogenic, the porridge is indeed very smooth and well-cooked, however beneath that lobster shell was a not-so-generous serving of lobster meat. on the contrary, we thought that the sliced fish congee with garlic fried fish skin and century egg was alot better. 
special mention to this steamed egg-cake or mala-ko, because many people just love it. quite amazing certainly that a caramelized sponge cake makes the list for the "4 Heavenly Kings" on Tim Ho Wan's menu. Another supper dish that we enjoyed was this dumpling in spicy sauce, very much like sichuan dim sum. in all, i'd say that Tim Ho Wan's dim sum is good, and its a wonderful thing that this Hong Kong favourite is brought over for us to enjoy. however, just like Abercrombie and many other imports, things somehow gets a whole lot pricer when they come to Singapore, so do be prepared to pay quite abit more to have the same dim sum here.. if you ask us, Hong Kong is still better and certainly more value-for-money. 
Tim Ho Wan (Singapore) 68 Orchard Road #01-29A Plaza Singapura Singapore 238839 Opening Hours: 10 am to 10 pm (daily) 12 Kallang Avenue #01-01/02/03 Aperia Singapore 339511 Breakfast Menu – Monday to Saturday, 6 am to 10 am Normal Menu – Monday to Saturday, 10 am to 10 pm / Sundays & PH, 6 am to 10 pm Supper Menu – Daily, 10 pm to 6 am (closed Mondays 5 am to 10 am for maintenance) In you come in a group, everyone has to be present before you can be seated.. Ishinomaki Grill & Sake
Located on the fringe of Orchard Road, Palais Renaissance is home to many popular cafes and restaurants. It's interesting to note that despite its low natural footfall to the building, many people somehow find their way there to patronize these eateries. the latest kid on the block is Ishinomaki Grill & Sake - located at the basement, the people who've brought you Kai Sushi & Grill (at Plaza Singapura), is attracting quite a following with this new concept..
specializing in fresh seafood, many of their dishes are either done Robatayaki style (grilled) or prepared as finely sliced sashimi. either way, the selling-point is the freshness of their catch, prepared only upon order by the house chef. Ishinomaki is also popular with the lunchtime crowd as they offer value-conscious set lunches and a wide ala-carte spread. we tried the Saba shio yaki above, essentially a saba fish marinated in sea-salt, grilled to perfection and served with lemon & radish. 
we have a thing for cold food and hence assorted sashimi would always be on the agenda. we ordered the Sashimi Ishinomaki, which is a selection of raw seafood hand-picked by the chef. on that day, we were served with salmon, tuna, swordtail, prawn and sea bream. good sashimi is not only fresh, but should also taste somewhat sweet and flavourful. those served here is of that standard, and we enjoyed it very much. 
these dishes go very well with japanese rice, so we specially ordered a bowl of Gohan, or japanese styled white-grain rice to accompany the food. another value-for-money offering at Ishinomaki is their yakitori or skewered dishes. we tried their Tsukune, Shiitake and the Jagaimo bacon maki amongst others. most of the skewered dishes are in bite-sized quantities, allowing you to go for greater variety. 
something a little different, some really minute squids called Hoshi Hotaruika, deep fried and immersed in a special teriyaki sauce. they are really small and probably equates to Japanese fine-dining perhaps? Nonetheless, this is overall a fine Japanese grill and sashimi place, with a wide selection of fresh seafood, good pick of sake (wine) and a great Japanese ambience. we'd certainly come back here for a good Japanese feast at a real affordable price soon. 
Ishinomaki Grill & Sake 390 Orchard Rd, B1-02/02A/03 Palais Renaissance, Singapore 238871 Opening Hours Daily: 11:30 am to 3:00 pm & 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm There's also a 7-course Omakase dinner set and Lunar New Year Yusheng for corporate dining.. |
..ThE lEgEnD..
Last Movie: Ad Astra
Golden Village, Singpost Centre 
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