My family has been patronizing Sizzler for the longest of time, with its former location at Bishan Junction 8 back in the 1980s-1990s. When it moved to Toa Payoh, the old patrons moved along.
Of course over the years, things have changed; Part-time waiters come and go, service standards vary. What remained the same was their concept, objective and the all-time favorites on the menu.
Order any main course and it will come with a complimentary Salad Bar -a buffet spread comprising salads, soups, noodles, spaghetti, ice cream and more. If you don’t have much capacity for food, just order the Salad Bar -it will be sufficient to fill you up.
There is a coffee machine which you can utilize by paying $5.50 for unlimited usage.

Complimentary bread is most welcome, especially when toasted with cheese. <3 The standard remained the same over the years - according to my shoddy memory – I want more!
From the Salad Bar
The Cream of Mushroom is delicious, so is the Clam Chowder soup. The crisp croutons adds an amazing texture to the creamy soups. The soups are perhaps the primary reason why I keep going back!

And of course, there are salads… (dad’s plate)

I usually go for Tuna Mayo & Potato and Egg Mayo. No greens for me!

Tacos are love. There are a few choices of dips and toppings, but I’ll stick with the salsa.

Another popular favorite at the Salad Bar would be the Singapore Noodles! Pictures next time! I’ll probably visit again soon :)

Main Course

Fisherman’s Platter $27.49++
-Crispy fried coated tempura style prawn skewers, battered fish fillet, calamari rings and breaded scallops, served with cocktail and tartare sauce.

I have no complaints on any component of this platter -All yummy! I ordered this platter for the sake of the fish actually, and it’s perfectly moist and tender inside, and crispy on the outside. So far I’ve ordered this platter twice, and I don’t mind ordering it again during my next visit :)

Dessert @ The Salad Bar

While they used to have 2 flavors of Soft Serve Ice cream, they replaced the Vanilla with a healthy Yoghurt. I’m not a huge fan of the Soft Serve Yoghurt, as it did nothing to satisfy my sweet tooth. The chocolate soft serve is decent. An an assortment of toppings include nuts, chocolate chips, caramel sauce, strawberry and chocolate sauce.

They are selling vouchers in the vicinity and my mom bought a booklet for $30 -there are 1-for-1 Salad Bar coupons, discounts for main courses and coffee/tea coupons.
Now you know why I’ve been going there so often recently! (I went to Sizzler 3 times within a month!)

[EDIT] I made Madam Tan do this! She requested for this picture to be taken down but I can’t bear to!!

We left Sizzler, happy and content. :)

Orchard Cafe at Orchard Hotel presents an assortment of sweet treats this christmas at the buffet spread! Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasures :)

Christmas is nearing, and I thought I’d do a compilation of the christmas feasts I tasted thus far!

Note: they are alphabetically listed, and not in order of preference

http://sparklette.net/food/friends-jelita-christmas/

Beer lovers must not miss out on Friends at Jelita’s offerings of beer-infused cuisine and fuss-free takeaway items.

http://sparklette.net/food/goodwood-park-christmas-2011/

http://www.hungryepicurean.com/2011/12/halia/

The Halia wins my vote in the ambience sector, suitably for romantic dinner dates.

http://sparklette.net/food/hilton-christmas-new-year/

If you’ve not had a chance to taste Nordic cuisine, this time of the year is most apt to do so; an array of authentic Nordic cuisine is available at the Hilton Singapore.

http://sparklette.net/food/jia-wei-chinese-restaurant-christmas/

Jiawei Restaurant and Min Jiang @ Goodwood Park are ideal for warm family gatherings with oriental-style cuisine that will win the elders’ hearts.

Appetizer: Salad of Prawn with Artichoke and Balsamic Dressing

Main Course: Roasted U.S. Turkey with Traditional Chestnut Stuffing, Cranberry Sauce, Green Asparagus Bundle and Roasted Potato

Dessert: Green Tea and Hokkaido Adzuki Yule Log

Pictures of us from the awesome christmas party:

http://www.hungryepicurean.com/2011/12/the-white-rabbit-dempsey/

The White Rabbit possess an inspiring atmosphere in an old chapel; you are bound to have an unforgettable Christmas there.

View the full review at HungryEpicurean

Had an enjoyable evening at the Halia for a festive tasting session with a bunch of foodies -the gorgeous Missuschewy, 3 Daniels and a Jacob.

We started with appetisers from the buffet spread available on the Christmas Day Brunch. Buffet hours last from 11am till 3.30pm, with its last seating at 2.45pm.

The buffet is priced at:
$88++ per person (without alcohol)
$108++ (with alcohol)
$38++ per child(10 years and under)

White Prawn on Butter Lettuce, Cucumber, Tomato and Piquant Mayonnaise

Ocean Trout en Croute with Tarragon Cream Sauce

We also sampled appetisers from the Christmas Menu (available from now till 31st December)

Crystal bay king prawn cocktail, beetroot mango salad and calypso sauce ($32++)

Honey-baked Kurobuta ham, shaved fresh chestnut, caramelised fig and white balsamic dressing infused with star anise ($32++)

Moving on to main course from the Christmas Menu:

Roast turkey supreme, apricot and raisin turkey roulade, potato puree, buttered Brussels sprout and red currant jus ($68++)

Grilled blue eye cod fish with miso, pan-fried spinach polenta, white asparagus and passion fruit sauce ($78++)

And finally desserts from the Christmas Menu

Christmas soufflé with white chocolate, cinnamon and nutmeg, salted caramel ice cream and red currant compote ($22++)

Mille feuille of pistachio and cream, eggnog ice cream and stewed cherries ($22++)

and a few desserts from Christmas Day Brunch buffet spread

Pumpkin Pie

Mixed Berry Tart

Crème Caramel

I couldn’t resist getting a shot of this stunning dessert, while the pastry chefs were working on it in the open kitchen:

The Halia
1 Cluny Road, Ginger Garden
(enter via Tyersall Avenue)
Singapore Botanic Gardens
Singapore 259569

Website: www.halia.com.sg

Feeling like a tai-tai-wannabe, I took a day off to the Orchard Hotel, Orchard Cafe for High Tea. It costs $37-ish per head after the GST, and the images below are some of the items you can find at the spread.

At buffets, I love to start with desserts. I can have dessert, then move on to the savory, and end with another bout of dessert.

Usually, I’m not a fan of the pungent durian odor from that emperor of fruits, but the creamy durian puree smells not one bit stinky! I’d love a few more of them shot glasses if not for the fact that they are actually quite filling.

Apart from the English desserts, there are Nonya Kuehs as well. I had some reservations about the standard of the kuehs, since they do not specialize in Peranakan foods, thus I gave them a miss.

The chocolate mousse is outstanding, so much so my partner and I snagged up most of the shot glasses at the shelf. Underneath the thick & rich mousse lies a tiny piece of fruit cake that both of us didn’t care much for. The chocolate mousse mesmerized us aplenty.

There are not many dim sum choices at the spread, but the siew mai is decently tasty -they are polished off pretty quickly & are in dire needs of efficient refilling.

I didn’t try the soon kueh, but here’s a picture just so you know they have it :)

Steamed Paus are available with 2 different fillings -chicken and vegetable.
I prefer the chicken bun as apposed to the vegetable one, more due to the fact that the skin is rather thick, thus a more robust flavor within would be preferred. The chicken is surprisingly tender, though I’d appreciate it if the ratio of filling to flour is increased.

I had countless of springrolls. I have a weakness for deep-fried crispy foods.

I didn’t try the curry puffs though. They look kinda dense and heavy, might be too filling for the tummy. I’d save the space for more goodies.

Potato wedges are nicely crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside -I had countless of servings, needless to say. On the other side, the fish is mediocre and forgettable. I don’t remember it to be mind-blowingly tender.

Ee Fu noodles were goooood. My partner & I loved it. It’s not too dry or mushy, sufficiently moist just the way I like it.
Nasi Goreng was average, until I doused it in the Vegetable Curry (Curry Chap Chai?). I couldn’t get enough of that vegetable curry actually.

I didn’t care for the seafood, although I see many diners piling their plates with tonnes of seafood. I haven’t tried it so I can’t tell you if its fresh, but from the popularity of it, it mustn’t be too bad.

I enjoyed the food thoroughly, as much as I did the company. :)

Thanks HungryBBQ team for the invitation! (Do visit their website http://www.hungrybbq.com for their services)
Previously I had an experience with HungryBBQ (you may view the blog entry here) at a friend’s party, I wasn’t totally impressed because my fish was overdone – I’m totally anal about my fishes tender – decided to check out what else they have to offer, and awaiting to be impressed.

Along with a few other bloggers, AiMakan, Moonberry and Keropokman to name a few, we made our way down to their cosy home for an informal BBQ session!

They were such good hosts, warm and friendly, and we didn’t leave empty handed! I’ll keep you in suspense, till I put the goodies to good use!

Catching a glimpse of what’s on the BBQ rack; we were happily seated and chatting while waiting for the food. If you want to hire their BBQ guy to do all that cooking, it’ll cost $90 for the first 3 hours and $15 for subsequent hours.

The prawns. are. huge.

And I totally appreciated the fact that they didn’t slice the salmon into smaller pieces. Love the generous large slaps of salmon. Imagine all the moisture sealed within while on the grill.

For the carnivores, this is your heaven; premium steak, lamb, chicken fillets, chicken wings, satays, cheese hotdogs and chicken franks are some of the items available. There’s no pork on the menu though, since HungryBBQ is HALAL certified. Even if you bring your own pork, the BBQ guy will refuse to touch that :) But if you have any other items that you’d like him to BBQ, he’ll gladly oblige!

For starters, we had the portobello mushrooms that were oh-so-juicy, with melted cheese atop. Smooth earthy flavours with just the right amount of richness from the cheese -I enjoyed it & even had a second one!

Garlic bread was left out for way too long and it turned cold :(

Sausages were decently yummy & bear no resemblance to the supermarket chicken franks that we would use as a last resort at last minute BBQ parties.

Chicken wings are always the hot favourite in BBQ parties! I saw many remnants of bones in the other blogger’s plates :)

The black pepper chicken fillet looks tough but they were surprisingly tender. It was expertly cooked and I ate more of these compared to the chicken wings, since they were less of a mess to consume!

Another hot favourite would be the Satays. They taste nothing like the mass-produced satays you get from random suppliers. and the sauce is delicious -I could dip anything into it and it would taste awesome.

Finally, the star of the evening.
The salmon had me at hello – I was totally won over – It was perfectly seasoned and punctuated with nice touches of herbs, the texture is smooth, velvety, tender, that almost melts in the mouth; it was so moist within, I had nothing but praises of this dish.

Moving on to dessert, provided a myriad of ice cream flavours, from white coffee to kiwi to durian to rum & raisin.

My favourites are the Vanilla & Pistachio and Atap Chee (Palm Seeds). The Grape surprised me with the natural flavours that I quite enjoyed rather than the typical artificial grape flavours. I enjoyed the Teh Tarik as well, since that’s a drink I’d typically like to order.

Did I enjoy myself?
TOTALLY!
Good food and good company, what’s more to ask for?

Moonberry, AiMakan and I

Joey and I

For more information on the food and services, do visit their websites.

http://www.hungrybbq.com/