Vienna International Buffet

we've seen how Pariss fell... from several outlets to one.
we've learned how Vienna survived with one and only.

there must be a reason why.

My mum's a buffet-guru who claims to have tried almost all the buffets in Singapore, even multiple times for some of her favourites (especially nyonya peranakan). If only she could be more critical and knowledge-armed about evaluating food, publishing a buffet-review book would be her major source of income LOL.

A pity she isn't, and all she can say is "nice lor" or "not nice lar".

Rated NICE by buffet-queen-mummy is Vienna International buffet at United Square, where she had brought me for a treat. Strong crowd on a friday night. Full house. No reservations, out you go. (i mean to the seats outside)

Gloriously dressed food sections, sashimi cuts... and whole sliced cakes- not the petite bite-sized squares of typical buffets.

You begin by spooning upmarket ingredients from your bowl of 'gem soup'. Mushroom, abalone piece, ginseng... strictly ONE BOWL each. A choice of juice is on the house too , refillable, provided the waitress cares to top them up.

crayfish, cold prawns, salmon tuna yellowfin sashimi

tako sashimi, smoked salmon, seasoned baby octopus, prawn salad, chasoba

more sashimi, more prawn salad, chawanmushi

Sashimi! What not a way to kickstart my meal. I had a few helpings of those thick salmon sashimi slices, which completely overshone its salty smoked cousin. The chuka lidako (seasoned baby octopus) were deliciously plump and i was especially keen on that thai-chilli drizzled prawn salad.

herbal poached prawns, unagi, scallop with bbq sauce

tempura prawn, satay, roast duck, fried yam & fried durian

The hot food section had a mind-boggling variety prepared the vienna-way. Chefs were constantly on duty for repeated productions as the diners cleared out the unique dishes. I took a japanese style baked crayfish, only to unwrap a foil of half a crayfish doused in blackpepper sauce. Puzzling. Oh, and i was hoping for a wamer unagi kabayaki.

corn soup with puff pastry

teppanyaki salmon

teppanyaki vegetables

A-la-order stations included teppanyaki and pasta, we only went for the former. Raw fish cuts and a mix of veggies are placed in access to diners for choosing their preferred fillets and portions. Glady, our orders of salmon and vegetables came thinly coated in oil, not drowned in pools.

There were more than sufficient desserts to fill. Asian to western, plus a small chocolate fountain for the chocoholics. I'll highlight the desirably-textured new york cheesecake and their white fungus, papaya & harshma soup, both worth going for extra helpings. I had 3 servings of the latter!

The final bill came close to $80 for two, which was a price only worth paying for any stamina-eaters. I would add an extra word to mum's remark...

QUITE NICE.

heh, hits & misses, like any other buffets.

Vienna International Seafood & Teppanyaki Restaurant

101 Thomson Road

#B1-01 United Square

6254 6686

Thai Fiesta

Sawadeeka, immediately gave away to my family that i had prepared a thai dinner. Thai fare isn't our kind of daily bread (give me italian everyday~) but we do enjoy entertaining our Canadian relatives at Yhing Thai Palace (Purvis Street).

They've got dishes like the green mango salad, stuffed chicken wings, fried fish with thai sauce, and killer tom yum soups which impresses me a great deal.

Here's my take on the Thai cuisine, with much conscientious research and efforts.

I lamely named it LingThai.

(ling for manling)

"Khao Phat Supparod Talay"

Pineapple Rice. Cooked with elaine's self-made fresh pineapple paste, real pineapple chunks, fragrant dried shrimps and fried shallots... all seated in a pineapple shell, surely pineappley enough. This was a success!

"Kanom Pang Na Kung"

Prawn Toasts. This crisp bread spread with a smooth homemade prawn paste is used in Thailand to keep royal children quiet during solemn state ceremonies. Dad liked this dish best.

"Kung Hom Pa"

Prawns in Blankets. Crispy rolls each encasing a whole prawn and special marinated meat paste. Deepfried hot and served with a sweet chilli dipping sauce.

"Tom Yum Gung"

Tom Yum Soup. The classic hot, sour and real spicy soup! Made from scratch with authentic spices and ingredients such as lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and chili padi. Prawns, squid and mushrooms added.

"Khao Niao Mamung"

Sticky Glutinous Rice Dessert. Sweet glutinous rice infused with pandan and coconut, mango cubes, elaine's honey avocado mousse and a drizzle of lemak coconut milk.

I came to realise how taxing it is to make Thai food! The ingredients were difficult to gather and the preparation methods precise. Was extremely satisfied with what i produced (:

More cuisines to venture into soon~

Shokudo Pasta & Pizza

Cineleisure one Tuesday night, time to spare for a slow/draggy dinner before humble Wall.E took the stage. I was ready for some japanese-western fusion at Shokudo, which sadly, was not a blockbuster.

Hot Green Tea ($2)

Ocha is a must-have for me at japanese restaurants.

Teriyaki Chicken Pizza ($11.80)

Teriyaki Chicken Pizza, scrimping all over, really failed as a first scene. A tiny finger of fatty chicken sat on each of the eight vanguard-thin crust that were neither soft nor crispy. Italians would have mocked at it like a joke.

Miso Cod Wafu Pasta ($19.80)

The timely arrival of my not-too-cheap Miso Cod Wafu Spaghetti saves them from entering the boycotting-billboards. At least the fish slab came affable in portion, alluringly baked, and strands coated in subtle wafu sauce.

Certainly more to try out from their menu (i'm eyeing the Seafood Soup Pasta already) but i'm sure that if i'd ever return, pizzas would never cross my mind.

Shokudo Japanese Pasta & Pizza

8 Grange Road

#02-06A Cathay Cineleisure Orchard

6736 0971

Waraku Japanese Restaurant

welcome to wa-ra-ku!!!

Greetings come in the warmest here, where waraku's staff training meets with no identity crisis. Every minute is voice-filled with welcomes or chains of japanese sentences. To some it could be noise, to some it may be heartfelt attentions.

Thr giant menu also required some careful attention.

I swore i flipped over and over multiple times, all because choosing from that BIG BOOK was a frowning chore.

Hokkai Salad ($9.80)

We went for a regular Hokkai Salad together- silvers of salmon tuna & squid sashimi laced over a wasabi-soy salad bed... and a final touch of salmon roe. Those that pops and pricks, shiok.

Gyu Yanagawa Wazen ($16)

The double-carbo component of this Gyu Yanagawa Wazen set was best to please Samantha's soba+rice craving. Egg's self-service, she had to beat, slide it onto the sliced beef pan, and risk lifting that hot lid to check on its doneness.

It ended up overcooked but she still loved her beef anyways.

Seafood Miso Kaminabe ($9.80)

Flaming hot with pieces of raw seafood, i had to endure the streaming steam off my Seafood Miso Kaminabe throughout the meal. Soup was miso-rich but i wanted to yell... more seafood please! Just one each of prawn, scallop and salmon belly slice and that was it.

We came in with a big bang and left with one.

Waraku Japanese Restaurant

6 Eu Tong Sen Street

#03-89/97/98 The Central @ Clarke Quay

6327 8860

Bravissimo

Awarded: Yummilicious Gelato!

Baileys & Wild Strawberry Yogurt Gelato

yummmmi-leee-cious!

Bravissimo

1 Harbourfront Walk

#B2-K13 Vivocity

White Dog Cafe

Avoid this place if you are an office staff hurrying up a quick non-fastfood-lunch. Slow sums up everything. But if all you are craving for is a lazy afternoon lunch cum catching-up session with a girlfriend (like me), come test your patience.

Samantha and i were at Vivocity when the youthful vibe of this quirkily-named restaurant drew our attentions.

The set lunch sounded awfully pleasing at $10.80++ with over 28 main courses offered for selection. Not until i realised NO DESSERTS were excluded.

It takes another $3.50++ for a slice.

Chicken Consomme

To begin with, the Chicken Consomme Soup had really tiny cubes of chicken sunk below. They were so dry that Sam claimed it literally resembled "bah kut".

Then, you know how i hate it when menus report the wrong cooking methods either by accident (i hope) or on purpose. Many love having the word grilled printed on them to boost popularity hits but do not justify themselves truthfully.

Somewhat like this one.

Japanese Pan-fried Glazed Salmon Fillet

Least hoped for, my Japanese Pan-fried Glazed Salmon Fillet had clearly emerged from a deep sizzling oil pool. Fortunately for them the deepfrying sealed in moisture for juicy innards. Very average still, including the butter rice and shredded salad.

Grilled Pork Chops with Brown Sauce

Sam's Grilled Pork Chops with Brown Sauce didn't fare any better. A stench was found in the pork and the wedges required a dollar top-up.

We had very unexciting cakes too.

Chocolate Truffle Cake

Mango-Passion Cake

Chocolate Truffle Cake was nothing more than a richer-than-mousse cream sandwiching chocolate sponge and Mango-Passion nothing passionate to boast about. Mediocre sponge, incompatible biscuit case and a mousse too sour.

Service was lousy. Be prepared to wait.

White Dog Cafe

1 Harbourfront Walk

#02-131/132 Vivocity

Bakerzin

It was a very incidental reason why dad and i ended up here. We needed dinner real quick and Bakerzin was apparently the closest choice we could find.

Seafood Pasta ($15.80)

I skipped the clams and mussels. Here is a marinara Seafood Pasta dish at its normal-est standards with an overly sweetened tomato sauce and a 'plethora' of large prawns and squids, clearly not at their freshest.

Spaghetti Vongole ($14.80)

Dad's Spaghetti Vongole was far more mediocre. The white wine stock had a unbearable dusty aftertaste and was nothing to compare with the many quality versions he had. Like seriously.

"i wonder how they can survive", was his remark.

Ispahan & Arabella Macarons ($1.50 each)

Thankfully, Ispahan and Arabella were hits. These macarons, named after their parent desserts, adapted close feaures... mine was a lovely rose-scented shell endearing lychee pieces.

Skip the main courses and go for desserts. This is the only way to leave happily.

Bakerzin

1 Harbourfront Walk

#01-207 Vivocity