Russian Food? @ Borshch Steakhouse (勃资西餐)

The question mark is there for a purpose. 

For a person who identifies most ang moh food as western food, i have absolutely no idea how Russian food should even taste like; hence, no way of comparing!  

My second time since the unimpressive virgin visit five years ago, the Gang of Four was supposed to dine at Chomp Chomp but it was so bloody filled with people who took pleasure in taking a long time to have their meals!!!

Borsch was decided for three main reasons; one, with the exception of me, no one has tried it yet. Two, the set dinner was a steal at only S$14.80 for a weekend dinner with appetiser, soup, main, dessert and drink! Three, Kon wanted to try the Shashlik of Lamb!

Now, let's have the pictures (two set meals) narrate the story!

Appetiser

Caviar with Egg

I really don't know how to appreciate caviar, despite the luxury tag! It was quite a petite appetiser and we were not complaining since this was our second meal for the day!

Shrimp Cocktail

Normal salad; i have tasted fresher prawns.

Soup 

Fresh Mushroom Soup

With too few actual mushrooms for that marvelous fungi sensation, this is considered a fail dish.

Borsch Soup

Savoury without being extraordinary; i thought this was comparable to the ones i had in Kim Gary!

Main

Grilled Fish

With a soft batter surrounding that thick chunk of fresh fish, this was surprisingly good!

The meat was fresh and juicy with a really good bite to it!  

Shashlik of Lamb

For the man-eaters, don't you love the look of this male anatomy (penis) lookalike!?!  

The overpowering garlic taste was initially a big turn off to an otherwise very tender and succulent piece of lamb! 

However, as you took your time to slightly chew and let the meat essence fused with the pungent garlic, the final result was really unique... and tasty!

Dessert

Peach Melba

Normal full stop.

Fancy Pancake

Nothing fanciful visually but taste wise, this was a very light plain dessert with very light seasoning as if to tell us that in life, simplicity is still a must amidst the richness.

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The price is really a big draw if i need slightly different Western cuisine! Problem is; it's located in Serangoon Gardens, the place with loads of nice nice makan!!!

Location

58, Serangoon Gardens Way

Price

S$14.80 per set dinner! And i cannot remember whether GST or Service Charge is added!! I think i lost the receipt!

Additional Information

To reach Serangoon Gardens, please drive, hail a cab or take a bus! Jolly well walk or cycle if you want.

The decor for Borshch can most likely be described as weird; a mix of jack's place in the old days and Chinese restaurants back in the 70s.

Local dishes are available, opening more options for senior citizens (like my parents) who are generally not keen with Western cuisine. 

Yesterday

The title is as succinct as it should be.

It all started in the morning with insufficient sleep, resulting in a grumbly personality, followed by multiple screw-ups at work that really put a dent on my professionalism!

You thought that will be all?

C'mon, that's a normal and common situation for some people!

The bad day continued when i found out that the family's most senior resident (in terms of relative age) was practically immobile (reasons unknown)!

Xiaolun, our home-bred chinchilla of over 13 years old (average age in Singapore was supposedly 8 years), was found lying on the hard bedding and though alive, was trying desperately to get on her feet!

Xiaolun in her youth!

Thankfully, my sister brought her to see a vet and Xiaolun is currently recovering! It's a long story for her long suffering predicament and i shan't destroy my mood trying to explain in detail.

As the saying goes, the day can only get worse!

I received a phone call informing me that a friend whom i have not contacted for the past three years has died from an acute asthma attack....

Thinking about him before i attended the wake, i realised how much i learned and how much i enjoyed his companion when he was a caring groomer to my rubee and later, a truthful customer when i was working in sales for pet food and accessories, and lastly, as a friend...

  His quirky laughter, his unexpected jokes, his informal heck-care persona were all deeply etched in my memory.. 

Forever missing you, Wen Jun....

And i am sorry....

Steamboat (Again) @ House of Steamboat (火锅之家)

Without regurgitating what i wrote in my past three entries on the steamboat restaurants in Bugis (aka Liang Seah street area), my latest experience told me i have finally found a winner at House of Steamboat!

For one, service was great and unlike my first visit, the establishment was really packed at 7.30pm! 

That was a great contrast from the half filled restaurant throughout my duration for the first visit!  

The flavourful soup was a base for all your ingredients. Therefore, to be able to enjoy the best experience, soup is important!

Don't the drumlets look familiar?! First posted in HERE, the additional items were the deep fried scallops!

Unexpectedly, i love the curry puffs!!

See how thin the crispy crust was! And the curry potatoes within were delicious and not overly spicy!!

As opposed to other steamboat restaurants, most (if not all) meat ingredients were not frozen! Frozen meat is always a pain in the ass for cooking, especially in times of extreme hunger!

A plate of mixed stuff with cute fish cakes! It's little things like these that set the eatery apart from the others!

I love steamboat buffets that come with free drinks at no additional cost!!!

Ice cream with waffle cone to conclude the meal! And it made me damn full!!! 

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For my original post on House of Steamboat, please click here. For Xian De Lai Steamboat, please click here. For Zhong Hua Steamboat, please click here.

Location

7, Tan Quee Lan Street.

Opposite to Bugis Junction and,

Parallel to the famous Liang Seah Street

Price

S$15.80 nett per person for lunch.

S$18.80 nett per person for dinner.

Texas Chicken @ Singapore

It wasn't too long ago when Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) was THE place to go when the word "fried chicken" is mentioned.

Now, Singapore citizens are spoiled with choices like Arnolds Chicken, Popeye Chicken and the most recent, Texas Chicken.

Frankly, i did not hear nor read much reviews on Texas Chicken and when Ms Jenny Tan suggested this place for our dinner, i was all for it.

Never try, never know.

Not knowing what we should order, the Texas Sampler was a godsend with a portion of chicken, wing, tender, biscuit, side and drink!

Similar to Popeye Chicken, the disgust level of the biscuit is still as comparable and if you ask me, i don't understand why these two chicken chains could not use soft buns instead of this hard-soft thing!

With a pale, sickly outlook, the three different versions of fried chicken looked really pathetic! Ms Jenny and Hannah thought some parts could pass as banana fritters! Hahaha.

Well, looks can be deceiving!

The batter remained surprisingly crispy (for the hot and spicy) and the meat was in fact, really juicy! However, patrons accustomed to KFC may find these relatively tasteless.

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Would i be back? Let's put it this way, for Original Chicken, my choice is definitely Arnolds Chicken; for Hot and Crispy Chicken, i am undecided between Popeye Chicken or Texas Chicken.

KFC is no longer in my chicken list!!! Unless it's for their sinful Cheese Fries! Or when i am too lazy to travel (KFC has a branch in Northpoint)!

For promotions and location of outlets, please click HERE.

Fish Spa @ Qian Hu (千湖)

One comment i received in response to my post for the fish spa at Kenko was to try the one in Qian Hu, which offers an economical alternative. 

Back in Year 2008! Pictures were taken!

My first ever fish spa was actually from Qian Hu, back in year 2008. Qian Hu was then, one of the first few companies that brought in doctor fishes to de-stress the urbanised (aka smelly) feet.

In Kenko at Marina Square

To say the truth, i was not keen to try Qian Hu again as Kenko offers a lot more fishes in their tanks, a more relaxed, classier environment and a centralised location, despite charging three times more than Qian Hu.

That said, i chanced upon a blog (cannot remember exactly which one) that showed much, much bigger doctor fishes in Qian Hu!

My feet tingled with excitement as i can imagine how shiok the feeling will be; with mouths that can practically cover my big toe!!

Interest was piqued and soon, i made my way down to the tombstones-filled Tengah area.

With three areas segregated by the sizes of the fish, my main aim was definitely to try the biggest of them all, for that ultimate sensation!

Maybe it's the pool structure or maybe the fishes were just too full or.....

MAYBE it's my healthy feet; the aqua creatures congregated in the middle of the pool with few venturing out for pieces of delicious human dead skin!

Yes, they were indeed huge; the biggest was bigger than my foot!

However, an apt metaphor would be having a plate of my favourite char kway teow right in front of me without being able to eat all of it!!

The pig sister was much luckier!!!

With so many fishes scrambling to have a bite, it's not difficult to ascertain her feet condition.

Oopps!
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