Xin Cuisine Chinese Restaurant (Holiday Inn)

Outram Rd, Holiday Inn Atrium, Singapore 169075
6731 7173
Operating Hours:
Mon - Sat: 12:00 - 14:30
Mon - Sat: 18:30 - 22:30
Sun: 10:30 - 14:30
Sun: 18:30 - 22:00

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This is one of the participating restaurants under the Palate Card.
In order to be entitled to 50% discount, you will need to order 2 main courses and 2 diners.

We were excited to try out as this is a popular dim sum restaurant.
It has a nice fine dining ambience.

However, it not meet my expectations as I was expecting a finer touch to the dim sum. The skin of the dim sum is rather thick. There is no wow factor..

For dim sum, we ordered some of the specialties, i.e. 

• Scallop dumpling with dragonfruit in salted egg yolk sauce 
• Baked Abalone Tart
• Custard Bun

Lunch like the locals

A sunny afternoon calls for a picnic during lunch and maybe a round of table tennis! 

Weather is an important topic in London as the weather can change drastically during the day. It is important to be prepared in all occasions and enjoy when the weather is great! 

Breakfast at the Wolseley

Having breakfast at The Wolseley is the must do item in London. This was once a car showroom for Wolseley Motors.

A.A Gill wrote a book, Breakfast at The Wolseley, which contains recipes for all the breakfast items. You can purchase this book at the restaurant. 

I have ordered mixed basket of mini pastries, consisting of croissant, pain au chocolat, danish, amandine, pain sucre au beurre normand, channle bordelais. 

Ambience was nice. However, I felt I should order something hot and a slightly bigger portion. Maybe like an English breakfast...

I love the coffee and milk pot. The design is very practical, don't you think?

English Breakfast

A typical English breakfast would include eggs, sausages, bacon, grilled tomatoes, grilled mushrooms and of course black pudding. 

What's black pudding? Black pudding is made from pig blood and oatmeal. Taste earthy...

Sunday Roast

Sunday roast is a traditional British dish that was served on Sundays.

I came across this pub called The Wellington at Strand Street in London. The roast beef was paired with honey glazed parsnips, Chantenay carrots, homemade roast potatoes and Yorkshire pudding.

I am happy to try this Sunday specialty but this is a huge dish for someone with a small appetite. I had to forego some of the potatoes (which are soft and fluffy) in order to finish the roast beef. 

For more details of the pub, visit http://www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/thewellingtonstrandlondon/

Quan Hotpot (寬巷子)

• Quan Hotpot 
• 台北市士林區中山北路五段505巷22號
• +886 2 2883 1599
• https://www.facebook.com/QuanAlley
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My Taiwan friend brought me to this popular hotpot place in Taiwan. 

#1: Traditional hotpot in Taiwan comes with unlimited tofu skin and duck blood and these can be very filling. 

#2 :  You can always bring home the leftover soup base home.

#3 : In Singapore, the best portion of the soup is at the end of the steamboat session as the soup is filled with the goodness of lots of meat, seafood and vegetables. In Taiwan, the best portion of the soup is at the beginning of the meal as the soup base has been brewed with herbs. 

#4: Always make a reservation! Hotpot is a weekend tradition for Taiwanese. For popular restaurants, reservations is a must! 

I love the way food is presented in this restaurant. A vegetable dish is arranged to resemble a bouquet. Nice ~

Equinox

Equinox @ Swissotel The Stamford

2 Stamford Road

Level 70

+65 6837 3322

Opening hours:

Lunch: 12pm to 2.30pm

High Tea: 3.30pm to 5pm

Dinner: 6.30pm to 10.30pm

Brunch (Sun): 11am to 2.30pm

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Equinox is situated on the 70th floor, it has an impressive view of the Singapore marina bay skyline.

We went to the semi buffet lunch, which cost $59++ per person. 

The buffet lunch includes one main course and buffet spread of appetizers and desserts. 

One challenge of having a semi buffet lunch is to determine the most appropriate time to call in the main course as you do not want to be either :

- Too full from the appetizers to start on the main course or 

- Too full from the main course to enjoy the desserts

This is the second time that I have tried a semi buffet lunch. 

One Ninety at Four Seasons

For the mains, you can choose one of the following:

- Herb crusted salmon

- Pan seared barramundi

- Sakura chicken breast

- Beef fillet, 

- Slow roasted pork belly

- Wild mushroom raviolo

- Half grilled main lobster (requires a $15 top-up)

You can also opt to have a slice of 70g foie gras with your mains at an additional $10.

Things That I love: 

1. Affordable (especially with 50% discount using the Feed At Raffles Card) - 45%

2. Wide variety of oysters - 20%

3. Premium food served, i.e. caviar and foie gras mousse - 15%

4. Spectacular skyline - 5%

The buffet for 2 person is $59 before taxes (i.e. $69 with taxes). 

This is an awesome deal for a hotel buffet for 2 people. 

Caviar was also served in the buffet. 

Another thing that I liked was the wide variety of oysters served. 

I enjoyed the experience even though i had a mild bout of diarrhea after that. 

Things That make me cringe:

1. Mild bout of diarrhea after taking the oysters - 10%

2. Overcooked beef  - 5%

I have ordered the beef fillet, medium.  

However, it came out as medium well. 

Will I come back again?

Definitely (85%)