Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Tang's Steamboat Restaurant @ Keong Saik Road

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A new steamboat restaurant has opened its door along the stretch of Keong Saik Road. Tang's Steamboat Restaurant is the new kids on the block, directly opposite the popular zi char place, Kok Sen. Was the least than a month old steamboat restaurant up to the mark when it was visited by We Eat Too Much group consisting of Daniel Food Diary, Gninethree, Pinkypiggu, Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow and me.

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Before the ingredients for the steamboat is served, we are presented with an array of condiments where one can mix and match to create their own dipping sauce.

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Steamboat 3/5

Tang's Steamboat Restaurant offers 3 types of soup bases. The Authentic Szechuan Spicy Soup, House Special Fish Soup and Beauty Tomato Soup. We went for the szechuan spicy soup and fish soup. It was a good recommendation by the service staff. The szechuan spicy soup really has the ma la numbness effect while the soup fish was light but flavourful.

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Tang's Steamboat offers both set and a la carte on their menu. After browsing through the menu for while we decided to order a Premier Set ($89++ for 2pax) with 11 courses and a Economic Set ($69++ for 2pax) with 8 courses.

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The premium set comes with a AUS Wagyu and JAP pork belly Momoiro while the economic set comes with US Kurobuta Pork and AUS Beef Striplion.When the meats were served, everyone of us have that stunned look on our face. They were all so thinly sliced that we can even see the plate. I doubt Singaporean would appreciate that and definitely not us that we gave our feedback on the spot to the owner.

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The sets do come with a Vegetable Platter each but to be frank where are my greens? except a few small crown of broccoli, some strands of seaweeds and some small stalk of vegetable stems. I think they can be more generous.

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The sets also comes with a choice of different pastes. One can choice from the choice of Fish Paste, Shrimp Paste or Spinach Cuttlefish Paste. This is one of the few dishes that I think they did well.

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The Sliced Fish is actually served in a tray tower. It is quite magnificent in sight. Not only visual, the freshly sliced fish was beautiful in taste and texture too.

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Overall I find that Tang's Steamboat Restaurant has quality but lack the quantity that patrons will expect. The thinnest of the meat has to be remedy, It is a hotpot place not shabu shabu. Even shabu shabu has thicker slices of meat. While Singaporeans or Chinese love eating steamboat, it is also very competitive in Singapore with the number of steamboat restaurants around the island. Tang's Steamboat still has a long way to go to be one of our or at least my choice of restaurants to go for steamboat.


[CLOSED]
Tang's Steamboat Restaurant
41 Keong Saik Road
Singapore 089146
Tel: +65 62211760
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tangs-Steamboat-Restaurant/799957466755331
Nearest MRT: Outram Park (EW Line, NE Line)

Opening Hours:
Tue-Sun: 11am to 12midnight
(Closed on Mon)

Direction: 
1) Alight at Outram Park MRT station. Take Exit H. Walk straight down New Bridge Road. Turn right onto Kreta Ayer Road. Turn right again onto Keong Saik Road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 10 minutes. [Map]

Monday, March 9, 2015

Imakatsu @ Star Vista

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The latest F&B addition to The Star Vista is Imakatsu that specializes in Tonkatsu. With two outlets in Japanese, Imakatus has moved ashore and started its first outlet in the west of Singapore. We have a few words with the restaurant staff before our lunch and was told that they are more popular for their chicken than pork. This actually arouse our interests as we thought pork is usually prefer over chicken in Japan.

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Like most Tonkatsu specialty restaurant, complimentary shredded cabbage is served. I like the shredded cabbage with a dash of vinaigrette and goma sauce. However as you may have noticed, the shredded cabbage were white in colour and not the greeny type. It was a bitter aftertaste instead of the greeny type that is sweeter.

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Premium Mentaiko Pork Loin Cutlet Set (180g) 4.2/5

Since Imakatsu is offering a seasonal menu of Premium Mentaiko Pork Loin Cutlet Set ($26), we could not resist ordering the gorgeously tonkatsu topped with the popping mentaiko, radish, spring onions and seasweed. While I do like mentaiko, I thought its saltiness did not complement with the succulent pork loin. However my lunch partner different from my view, so taste is subjective. Saying that I have to admit the pork loin was really juicy and even have a nice sweetness to it. Definitely one of the better ones I have eaten. I also noted that the bread crumbs coated around the pork cutlet is more delicate than many places.

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Garlic Pork Loin 4.5/5

Compared to the mentiko, I would prefer the Garlic Pork Loin Set ($19.80) more. Stuffed with garlic in the middle of the succulent pork, I felt it lifted up the taste of the pork more.

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Chicken Fillet Cutlet Set 4.8/5

Next is the assuming Chicken Fillet Cutlet Set ($14.80) that is supposed to be more popular than the pork. After tasting it, we got our answer and indeed the chicken katsu is soft, tender and flavourful. Plain in look but amazing beautiful in taste.

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Mentaiko Chicken 4.2/5

If you prefer something more fusion, then you can try the Mentaiko Chicken Cutlet. The combination give the chicken katsu another dimension of flavours for a more appealing appreciation.

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Mixed Deep Fried Vegetables 4/5

After all the proteins, we tried the Mix Deep Fried Vegetables ($11.80). The crunchiness of the asparagus and the sweetness of the sweet potatoes stood out for me.

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Deep Fried Prawn 4/5

The Deep Fried Prawn Set ($23.80) served with mayonnaise is huge! Crispy on the exterior, protected by the layer of batter, the prawn remains succulent inside.

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Piyo Piyo Minced Meat Cutlet 3.5/5

The Piyo Piyo Minced Meat Cutlet ($9.80) reminds me of the Scotch egg except that it has a lava egg yolk. Pretty interesting for a side dish and good for food porn. Taste wise was average only.

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Ginger Stir Fry Pork 4.5/5

Besides being a tonkatsu specialty restaurant, it also offers some other cooked dishes. One such excellent dish is the Ginger Stir Fry Pork ($11.80) which will go very well with a bowl of rice. If you not looking for something deep fried, this will be an excellent choice.

If you like tonkatsu, Imakatsu is definitely a good choice with its excellent katsu. After trying out both the pork and chicken katsu, I have to agreed with what the restaurant staff has recommended. The chicken really tasted better than the pork. No wonder the chicken is more popular than the pork in Japan. Don't believe me? Head down to Imakatsu and try it for yourself.


Imakatsu
The Star Vista
1 Vista Exchange Green
#01-17
Singapore 138617
Tel: +65 66946148
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ImakatsuSG
Website: http://ophd.co.jp/sg/imakatsu/
Nearest MRT: Buona Vista (CC Line, EW Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 1130am - 3pm, 6pm - 10pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at Buona Vista MRT station. Take Exit A or C. Take the covered walkway. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes.[Map]