Rabbit Brand Seafood @ Lucky Plaza

I had dinner with a friend at Rabbit Brand Seafood tonight. It is a little eatery situated at the second floor of Lucky Plaza, up the escalator behind Capitol Optical. Apparently this place has been there for a very long time, but I only knew about it recently!

What is unique about the place is that despite the interesting sounding name, it sells nothing related to any "rabbit" products. I am not referring to actual rabbit meat, but things like salad or carrots. Instead, it sells seafood, and cheap seafood at that, because the company is dealing with seafood products wholesale, hence their products are much cheaper than other restaurants.

 

For instance, one Buddha Jumps Over The Wall set, complete with the rice and dessert, costs only S$10.15. The abalone set that I ordered cost S$9.15, and it comes with abalone with mushrooms and vegetables stir fried in superior oyster sauce, rice, and a bowl of cool dessert.

 

Of course, one does not exepct the abalone to be a very big piece. What I had were just small pieces. The mushrooms are bigger. But the taste is really nice. And the chilli is their specialty. One must try the chilli, be it with the rice or just eat the chilli on your own! The chilli is made from shallots, dried shrimps and sambal. Delicious chilli!

 My plate of abalone

 

 The set that comes with the rice and dessert

 

My friend also ordered a spinach beancurd for us to share. Verdict? Delicious! The beancurd is soft, the sauce is just perfect and the spinach blends with the taste of the beancurd very well.

 



If only I have discovered this place earlier! I will sure want to come back again, to order the other things on the menu!

 

This is a good place to just chill out and hang out with friends, for a good dining of "luxurious" food at very good prices!

 

Food : 4 out of 5

Ambience : Just a normal eatery

Price : 4 out of 5

Service : As I said, a normal eatery

Lat's Place @ Puteri Harbour, Johor

I had fine dining Malaysian style tonight, courtesy of a package that includes a trip to Hello Kitty Town, complete with a dinner at Lat's Place, the restaurant next to Hello Kitty Town. To read more about the day trip and Hello Kitty Town itself, please refer to this and this.

 

The restaurant has a unique concept in that it honours the local cartoonist Lat, hence much of the interior decorations are reproductions of his work. The interior of the restaurant is decorated in the style of an old kampung (aka village).

 Restaurant sign

 

 The entrance to the restaurant. I like the decoration!

 

What I like about the place is the superb customer service. On my way to Hello Kitty Town in the morning, someone from the restaurant called me and confirmed my reservation. I was really impressed that they would go to this extra mile to personally call me and ask what time I would be going and which menu I would like. I chose the Adults' menu.

When I reached the restaurant, it was still closed. Apparently the place opens for dinner only at six, so I had to wait. The staff asked me to wait at the bench outside where drinks were served. Bear in mind that the restaurant is halal, hence no alcoholic drinks would be served. The drink is a welcome drink of fruit punch.

 

While waiting, one of the staff came up to introduce herself and said she would be the host for the night. She gave me the table number and asked me to wait at the front where a statue of a hen is at six, where someone would come and usher the customers inside.

 

 This is where customers have to wait to go in

 

Slightly past six, the staff of the restaurant came out and ushered the guests in. The interior of the restaurant is shaped like the inside of a typical kampung house. We had to pass by the gift shop and a long corridor before going into the restaurant proper, which is again structured like a kampung house. It really gives the feeling that one is dining in a kampung house!

 



 This is Lat, the cartoonist

 

 The interior decoration of the restaurant

 

There were not that many customers in the queue. When I entered the restaurant, I realised why. There are only enough seats for thirty-five guests the most. Hence advance reservation is required. I suppose they liaise with a lot of tour agencies, so the dinner at this restaurant is normally part of the package for families going to Hello Kitty Town.

 

When I entered, I saw the menu and the table setting, and is pleasantly surprised! The setting is that of a Western fine dining style, but the food is typically Malaysian. Normally I do not take much to fusion food, but this place does it in a way that is both classy yet retains the local flavour. Kudos to them!

 The menu

 

 The table settimg where the first dish is covered, complete with the utensils and the welcome drink

 

 The spices and condiments

 

Dinner started the moment the guests sat down. First course was Appetiser, which is Seafood Pudding "Otak otak", Mango "Kerabu" and Honeydew Prawns.

 

The first course (Appetizer) - Honeydew Prawns, Mando "Kerabu" and Seafood Pudding "Otak otak"

 

While eating, that was when the entertainment of the night started. The staff all started dancing and singing in, entertaining us with their merriment. I must say, all the staff could sing and dance! I wonder if that was one of the requirements when the place hired its staff?

 

Not just that, an entertaining clip of a cartoon was played on video. The cartoon consisted of the "village head" welcoming all the guests into his "kampong" and hoping that we enjoy the food! The "village head" also introduced us to all the other "residents" of the "kampong".

 

Before the start of the second course, the "village head" spoke out the name of some of the guests, and one of the staff then went over to the person and asked if they were enjoying themselves. This entertainment went on throughout the dinner and there was even a dance that kids could participate in!

 

I am really impressed by this unique concept. I have not come across any restaurants that let the guests interact while having dinner (and I do not mean interact with each other, but interact with the serving staff). That is really personalised service of the highest kind!

 

As dinner went on, the staff even announced that one of the kids is having a birthday, and brought out a birthday cake, compliments of the house, to celebrate. This is what will keep the customers from going again and again!

 

In any case, the next two dishes are below, followed by tea or coffee (I took tea) to end off the whole dinner.







 Second course (Mains) - Steamed Fragrant White Rice with Chicken Potato Dumpling, complete with Rolled Chicken with Lemongrass and Mild "Percik" Sauce, Lamb Cutlet Curry with Potatos, Steamed Red Snapper Fish with Ginger Soya Sauce, and Steamed Vegetables with Peanut Sauce

 

 Final course (Dessert) - Sweet Black Glutinous Rice and "Buah Melaka" with Fruits

 

This is really the best dinner I have had! Interactive, personalised, and the food is really good too! I actually enjoyed the dinner more than anything else I have done for the day.

 

For those who are intending to go to the Puteri Harbour theme parks for the day, do complete your day with this interactive and unique dining concept. Trust me, this is really highly recommended, and you will get a dining experience which you will otherwise never get anywhere else.

 

Five stars for this!

Food : 4.5 out of 5

Ambience : 4.5 out of 5

Service : 5 out of 5

Price : Not sure as it was part of the package. But there is no hidden cost, and we do not need to fork out anything else. The food, service, entertainment and all other things are all inclusive, so I find it really worthwhile.

Pearl Waffle @ JB City Square

I was on a day trip to Johor Bahru today, and happened to see this new outlet in City Square Mall called Pearl Waffle. This is a waffle place from Taiwan and it happened to be their grand opening today.

 

Pearl Waffle is situated on the top floor of City Square mall, next to the box office of Cathay cinema. It is a little small corner outlet. Since it was their first day, the staff was dressed as maids (you know those old English maids, in their black and white uniforms?), and they were handing our flyers and putting up more tables.

 Outside the cafe

 

 The "freebies" the staff handed out to me

 

 Inside the cafe above the counter

 

The ceiling

 

There are many varieties of waffle, but I chose the banana waffle with vanilla ice cream. It came in a little cute plate like this.

 



And iced tea (as in iced milk tea).

I am not sure of the Malaysian market so I cannot comment how successful this outlet will be, but if it opens in Singapore, I believe it would be pretty successful, especially amongst the teenagers. The waffle itself is not that fantastic, but the banana with vanilla and maple syrup makes for a good snack or dessert. And the iced milk tea is just right, not too sweet.

 

I do hope we can have an outlet here soon!

 

Food : 3 out of 5

Ambience : None, since it is a small corner stall

Service : 4 out of 5 (maybe because it is their first day)

Price : 3 out of 5 (I feel it is a tad pricey)

Cookies For Sid

Following the concept of Twelve Cupcakes, where little pieces of small but very delicious cakes are sold at exorbitant prices, Cookies For Sid have recently opened to sell cookies at exorbitant prices. There are prices for one, three, six and twelve cookies. Seems like all good things come in threes nowadays.

 

I have come across the outlet some time back but the prices put me off. Recently I came across the outlet again, and this time, I thought to buy some and try. Afterall, who can resist a well-baked chocolate chip cookie? Definitely not me!

 

Since it is Easter, there is a special Easter cookie, made with chocolate topped with M&Ms. I was intrigued and went to take a look. There are a few flavours, namely chocolate chip, nutella, hazelnut, pistachio, crunchy oat and Easter.

 

Since I wanted to try out, I bought a set of six cookies for S$7.80, consisting of two chocolate chip, two nutella, and two Easter. The cookies are placed in a nice white sheer paper, and put into a nice blue box that resembles a jewellery box from Tiffany's.

The packaging the cookies come in

 The cookie box

 

Each cookie is individually placed in a sheer white packing like this

 



Back of the packing sheet

 

My order (from left) - two chocolate chip, two Easter and two nutella

 

The chocolate chip cookies are the hottest selling item. No guesses why. The cookie is baked to a crisp brown embedded with chocolate chips (what else?) that just melts in my mouth. Delicious!

 

The Easter cookie is essentially chocolate chip cookies embedded with M&Ms, which I find a tad overkill. Somehow the chocolate chips override the taste of the M&Ms, so it taste like any normal chocolate chip cookies.

 

The nutella flavour is essentially the dark chocolate sauce with hazelnut, but although the actual nutella tastes much sweeter, the cookie tastes a tad dry. Personally I think the cookie can do without the hazelnut as it tastes alright on its own, but somehow seems more dry with the nuts.

 

All in all, the cookies taste like any normal chocolate cookies that one can get from Famous Amos or some other place. I would not spend that amount getting a set, unless for very special occasions. Still, the cookies come in big pieces so one cookie itself can cure hunger pangs for those who are in need of an emergency snack.

 

Why is this called Cookies For Sid? It is named after the blue cookie monster from Sesame Street, whose real name is Sid. This symbolises the love for cookies, like the cute blue monster, hence the box is also blue.

 

One box of six cookies is a good treat to take to any housewarming or to any party, but if one is to have an event, I think I would prefer a box of Twelve Cupcakes instead.

Chili's @ Resorts World

I have been to Resorts World a few times and came across Chili's, but never had a chance to eat there until last night. I spent a day exploring fish in Sentosa so decided to eat at Chili's as I was so hungry after my adventures.

 

Chili's looks like any typical American diner. Ambience wise, it is not as cosy as TGI Friday's. The interior decoration is structured like a 50's malt shop. Food wise, there is not much variety too, save for the typica burgers and fries, steaks, and appetisers. The signature appetiser is chilli, of course!

 Interior decoration of the restaurant

 

 

After perusing the menu, I decided to order a New York striploin steak, medium, with two sides of mashed potato with black pepper gravy and seasonal vegetables. The order came pretty fast, but they got my sides wrong - serving me fries instead of mashed potato. I requested to change and the waiter promptly changed it for me. All steak orders come with a piece of garlic toast.

My order of New York striploin, with mashed potato with black pepper gravy, garlic toast and seasonal vegetables

 

The steak is quite chewy for medium. The potato is fine, but the vegetables taste as if they have been boiled for too long, as they seem so soft. Furthermore, the steak is not as big a piece as I expected.

 

Overall, it was a decent meal, although I think for the quality of the food, it is a tad overpriced. I much prefer TGI Friday's, for the ambience and food!

 

Food : 2.5 out of 5

Price : 2 out of 5

Ambience : 3 out of 5

Service : 4 out of 5

Chong Pang Nasi Lemak @ Sembawang

I have always been a nasi lemak (aka coconut rice) fan. The rice with the combination of peanuts, anchovies and fish always taste so good! Through the years, I developed from eating coconut rice on banana leaves, to little brown packets, to paper plates. The ingredients have also changed, from normal anchovies and nuts to luncheon meat, chicken wing, anchovies and even vegetables! But the rice and the chilli still remain the same, and these two are the best in coconut rice.

 

My favourite nasi lemak stall has to be Punggol Nasi Lemak, situated at Tanjong Katong. The rice is so fragrant, and the chilli the perfect sambal. What I like about this nasi lemak is the chicken wing. The chicken wings are fried to perfection - crunchy, aromatic yet soft at the same time. I will always go back there and order extra chicken wings!

 

Some time ago, I heard about Chong Pang Nasi Lemak, found at Chong Pang village somewhere in Sembawang, right next to Chong Pang camp. Since I needed to go around there yesterday, I thought I could finally try the Chong Pang nasi lemak which people are also raving about.

 

Chong Pang Nasi Lemak is a stall in a corner shophouse, same as Punggol Nasi Lemak. We also have to order the ingredients we prefer, and the staff will then put it over the rice and spread the chilli at the side, same as the Punggol one.

 Entrance to Chong Pang Nasi Lemak

 

 Variety of ingredients to choose from

 

The price is also not that cheap. My order of nasi lemak with one friend egg, long beans, anchovies and two chicken wings came up to more than S$5.00. I think a price war can be started between Punggol Nasi Lemak and Chong Pang Nasi Lemak.

 



This cost more than S$5.00!

 

My verdict? Even though Chong Pang Nasi Lemak tastes nice, it is just another nasi lemak dish. I really wonder why the hype when I find it is not as appealing as it looks. I prefer the Punggol Nasi Lemak anytime, especially for that kind of price!

 

Food : 3 out of 5

Service : 4 out of 5

Price : 3 out of 5



Jollibee @ Lucky Plaza

Jollibee is this new chain of fried chicken restaurants from the Philippines that is newly opened here. Apparently, ever since it opened, many people, Philippinos especially, flocked to the place, and the waiting time is perpetually long. I went there last Saturday for lunch, and was in the queue for around two hours! It got to the stage where I wanted to give up queuing, but since I was already in the queue for so long, might as well keep queueing!

 

The restaurant currently operates on the sixth level of Lucky Plaza. The eatery itself is at one corner, but the queue started from the next unit, so I believe that whole section probably belongs to the restaurant.

 

Why is this place called Jollibee? Because it has the logo of a jolly bee. Why use a bee in a chicken restaurant I cannot fathom, but the bee attracts many young children who wants to take a photo with the mascot!

Logo of Jollibee

 

 Statue outside the restaurant

 

As the queue is so long and it takes almost forever to finish the queue, there are notices informing customers to play fair and not queue for others. Each person is only entitled to six pieces of chicken. I guess this is to prevent someone from ordering in bulk or bringing their whole village to queue.

 The queue was this long when I first started queueing

 

 Flowers for their opening ceremony

 

 After an hour and a half, I was here, but still outside the restaurant

 

 The bee mascot

 

 

Finally, after two hours, I could buy the chicken set. I bought the Chicken Joy set consisting of two pieces of fried chicken, rice and a drink. While I was still in the queue, one of the staff came up and asked what I wanted. She then asked if I wanted to sit in or take out. Initially I thought of taking away, but she said there were still seats available, which is surprising due to the number of people in the queue. But I guess most people preferred to take away hence there were still many available seats in the restaurant. I find that a pretty good gesture so there would not be time wasted when it came to my turn to order.

 

What is so different about this chain is that instead of fries or potato. the side is rice or spaghetti. No chilli is provided, rather there is the sauce (which tastes like the potato gravy from KFC) to dip the chicken into and to spread over the rice. Trust me, with the sauce, the chicken and rice tastes so much better. I think the secret is really in the sauce and not the chicken.

 2 pieces of friend chicken with the dipping sauce

 

The rice as a side dish

 

My verdict? The chicken is a normal fried chicken. It is crispy and the flesh melts in your mouth like what any other fried chicken is supposed to do. With the sauce, it really tastes much better. I can understand the hype about this. But would I go back there again? Perhaps after the craze died down and it becomes a "normal" chicken restaurant, so I can go back and order without queuing again!

 

Food : 4 out of 5 (with the sauce)

Service : 4 out of 5

Price : 3.5 out of 5