Xi Men Ding Taiwan Cuisine

Me and my wife were wandering around the Vivocity Shopping Mall looking for some food after our shopping. We were rather familiar with the restaurants in Vivocity. One of the newer restaurants that were opened is this one that serves Taiwanese Cuisine.

The restaurant looks ok and the food picture looks ok too. We had been to Taiwan and decided to give this restaurant a try since both of us love taiwanese food. Table was easily available as there wasnt much of a crowd.

Looking thru the menu, the items were mostly taiwanese style food. We ordered 4 dishes, of which 1 is a snack, 1 is a soup and 2 normal dishes.

Snack: Taiwanese Fried Beancurd (S$7.50)
This dish is a whole beancurd, cut into small pieces and fried. Chilli sauce and a mixture of salt and pepper comes as a dip for the fried beancurd. The fried beancurd itself is tasteless. The texture of the beancurd is coarse, both the crust and the inside.
The salt pepper mixture is for the dipping of the beancurd, but even with that mixture, the taste just doesnt blend in. With a direct comparison with Crystal Jade's salt pepper tofu, this fried beancurd simply does not make the grade.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Soup: Clam Soup (S$6.00)
The soup is ordered based on per pax and it is a lucky thing that we only ordered 1 bowl. The soup taste a tad slight salty and the taste of the clams was simply too strong. There were quite a number of small clams in the soup.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Main Dish: Radish and Egg Pancake (S$10.00)
This is a simple dish. Basically it is chopped radish fried with eggs and nothing could go wrong with this. It must be said that though the taste is also slightly bland, the fried egg is very thick, about 1 inch in thickness. The radish adds a slightly sweet taste to the egg. The egg is fried till golden brown, but while the outer layer of the fried egg is crispy, the inner egg layer is soft.

RECOMMENDED

Main Dish: Sanbei Chicken with Basil (S$17.90)
This is a very common dish in Taiwan and is actually not difficult to cook. This dish is also the signature dish of the restaurant. Though its the signature dish, the dish is actually not much any different from those that you can find from the receipe books. In short, the dish did not create a sanbei chicken dish that is unique to itself. However the taste is still acceptable.

RECOMMENDED

Overall Rating
Presentation: 2.5/5
Taste: 1/5
Value for money: 1/5
This is not a restaurant that I will visit again. It would not be too far fetch to say that if they do not improve on their food, very soon a new food establishment would be opening in that spot instead.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Apple Strudel from Modesto @ Vivocity

Following the main dish of pasta, I ordered an apple strudel as my dessert. Read the pasta review here.

Strudel Di Melee Con Gelato Alla Vaniglia ($13.00)
Home Made Apple Strudel, served warm and topped with Vanilla Ice-Cream

Presentation
This dessert comes with a scope of vanilla ice-cream on top of the golden brown baked apple strudel. Cocoa powder and icing sugar were sprinkled around the plate to give it a simple decoration.

Taste
I started eating from the crust of the strudel, but found that the crust is not crispy. It would be a lot better if the crust is crispy. Even though the crust is not cripsy, I can still find a fragrant butter taste used for making the crust and making the crust golden brown. It contains caramelised pine nuts, raisins, walnuts and a few slices of apple.
There is nothing special about the ice-cream which can be found almost anywhere. However having the hot studel and the cold ice-cream both in the mouth at the same time gives a very contradictory feeling, which some people may not like. I like this feeling, which feels like a tug of war happening on my tongue.

Ratings
Presentation: 3/5
Taste: 3.5/5
Value for money: 3/5

NOT RECOMMENDED

This is not a dessert that i will go back for, at least not at Modesto. I think there could be other places that do the strudel better than they do.

Pasta from Modesto's @ Vivocity

Modesto, a place that i had been to 3 times before with my love one but this time i went alone after my fashion shoot. Modesto in Italian means shy, modest and humble.

This branch has a rustic interior of old Italy and Tuscan brickwork. In the evening, the interior has a warm feeling and with the yellow lights, makes the place rather romantic. The tables are spaced quite far away which makes private talk ok.

It also an outdoor area that overlooks the bay and be able to see Sentosa and Resort World Singapore. Once the Resort World has fully completed the iconic Crane Dance and the Maritime Xperiential Museum, it would pack a view to behold, especially if there are fireworks. This view would be fantastic.

Modesto serves quite a number of Italian dishes. The menu items are all in Italian but the description of the dish is in English. This is to cater to the local crowd. Modesto specialises in their Pasta and also the traditional wood-fried pizza with thin, crisp crust. I had tried their pizza before and indeed they are quite good, but this time i tried their pasta instead.

Food

Tagliolini Aglio Olio Di Nocciola E Peperoncino Con Aragostine ($29.00)

Fresh home made pasta with baby lobster meat, slices of fresh chilli, garlic and hazelnut oil

The Queen wants a Mangosteen

Queen and Mangosteen, has a huge impressive board just outside of their restaurant. I was attracted by this board when they were first opened. They do have quite a impressive entrance. In fact i was awed by it.

Queen and Mangosteen offers both indoor and alfresco dining. The ambience was quite cosy. The usage of quite warm lightings let the diners free themselves and can talk more freely.


Food
Roasted Rack of Lamb with Rosemary Potatoes, Grilled Asparagus and Mint Yoghurt (S$35 inclusive of a Straits Beer)

Presentation:
The dish has been arranged very nicely and it definitely looks to be waiting for me to jump in to start eating. It looks so appetising. The lamb that i ordered was to be done medium rare and it retains the pinkish colour of the meat when it was sliced. There were also grounded pepper which i believe was sprinkled on top by the waitress before serving to me.

Taste:
First, the lamb was medium rare and the meat was tender on the outside while juicy on the inside. The meat itself is already full of flavours, even without the mint yoghurt. The medium rare was done just nice. The amount of fats is also just nice in proportion. The gamy taste of the lamb has been successfully removed, and only a little can be tasted at the fats portion.
The asparagus is young and so it has the sweetness, is soft and retains a little of the crunchiness. The asparagus is boiled and so the freshness is maintained. I would say that even for one that do not like asparagus, such as I, has also finished them.
As for the potatoes, there is only a tint of the rosemary taste. However, the potatoes had the taste of burnt spices, which i believe, comes from the rosemary.
It can be said that this dish is a really good dish and i enjoyed it very much. A highly recommended dish, if only they do not let the rosemary get burnt.


Service Attitude
The staff were very friendly and they also gave recommendations. The waitress that took my order even told me that for one of the dish, i will have to do the de-shelling of crayfish, and all thanks to her, that i ordered the rack of lamb. She even took the initiative to put together the beer that i ordered into a set which will save me some money. Kudos to the service.

Cleanliness
There wasnt much that i can complain about the cleanliness as i was seated at the bar counter and was able to see the bartender prepare and serve the drinks. The seat given to me was clean and all was good.

Ratings
Presentation: 4/5
Taste: 4/5 (0.5 deducted for the burnt smell)
Service: 4/5
Cleanliness: 4/5
Value for money: 3/5
This is a good place to chill out, even if not going for the food. There are quite a few strength of beer to choose from, while not discounting the other alcoholic drinks, including wines. The cosy ambience allows patrons to really let down their hair and enjoy the night.

Recommended

Want my Signature? asked Tung Lok.

Tung Lok Signatures, situated @ Vivocity, is one restaurant that i wanted to visit for some time, but has always been pushed back. Finally, I get a chance to do so with my family one fine Sunday.

From the outside, Tung Lok Signatures gives potential diners a very clean and white impression. The contemporary design of the restaurant together with the white colour furnitures makes the restaurant quite classy.

It must be said that their menu has a lot of items and the pictures of the dishes really look very very appetising. In fact most of the items that we ordered were mostly influenced by the pictures.

Food

Chill Sliced Pork Shank with Spicy Sauce, 口水分蹄 (S$7)

Presentation:

The chilled shank comes in a very nicely stacked manner with the sauce and the spring onions on top of it.

Taste:

There is a very strong garlic taste in the sauce and since sauce is placed on top of the shanks, the shanks taste totally of garlic, which i am not a fan of. Overall the taste of the shanks are salty if taken together with the sauce. If taken on itself, the shanks still taste relatively refreshing.

For garlics haters, DO NOT go for this dish, else be prepared to dip the shank in water before putting it into your mouth.

Duck Tongue XO Chilli (S$10)

Presentation:

The tongues were served in a rectangular dish with the tongues placed diagonally across. Not much decoration were done to the dish.

Taste:

The tongue is a little spicy which comes from the XO Chilli sauce. This dish is overall very salty. Maybe this dish is an appetiser, which is why a little saltish taste will bring your taste buds alive. However, it is too overly salty. Though salty, the meat on the tongue is quite fresh.


Exotic Curry Prawns (S$26)

Presentation:
The prawn curry is served in a claypot. The curry is a bit too watery. This dish is served together with some deep fried buns, which are golden brown in colour.

Taste:
The prawns are very fresh. As for the curry, it is not thick and the flavours are quite bland, even though the prawns essence were already in the curry. The essence is precisely why the curry taste a little weird. Furthermore, the curry is not spicy. I still prefer the traditional thick chicken curry.
I would not recommend this dish if you are looking for some spicy food, and if you are craving for prawns, there are other better prawn dishes i believe.


Steamed Beancurd, 千叶豆腐 (S$20)

Presentation:

This is the most beautiful dish among all those that we had ordered. The beancurd was beautifully sliced and arranged very nicely in a circle. Each slice of tofu can be said to be almost equal in thickness. I must say the cutting skill is impressive.
In the middle were some ham, capsican and chinese mushrooms. Together with the sauce, it gives a very pleasant presentation.

Taste:
If presentation is just all for a dish, it would have scored distinction. The taste of the dish can be said to be represented by the 3 Kingdoms, where each taste does not integrate. The tofu taste is simply plain. The ham and ingredients in the middle have each of their own individual taste and all do not gel together.
This is a good dish to impress guest visually, but do note that the taste is just as normal as some junior chef mixing some random ingredients together.


The Eight Treasures, 田翠八景 (S$22)

Presentation:
Stir-fried vegetables with a big piece of curd skin served in a dish. This dish has asparagus, ginko nuts, lili buds, mushrooms, lotus roots and black fungus. The ingredients are stir-fired together and once scooped up from the wok, had a little soy sauce poured over them. The colour is very nice and the whole dish looks very appetising.

Taste:
This dish of vegetables, especially the lili buds, gave a fresh and light taste to the palate. The asparagus and mushrooms are very fresh and is nicely cooked. Though nicely cooked, in chinese stir-fried, what must be achieved is the 锅气, but this is what i found lacking. Furthermore, towards the end of the dish, the whole dish becomes salty due to the soy sauce at the bottom of the plate.



Steamed Angle Luffa with deep fried Cuttlefish (S$18)

Presentation:
The dish comes with the steam angle luffa acting as the base for the fried-cuttlefish, and with some sprinkled spring onions on the top. The cuttlefish is deep fried till the outer crust is golden brown. The vibrant green luffa at the base, makes the dish looks delicious.

Taste:
The cuttlefish i must say is really tasty, with the crust being crispy. The angle luffa taste quite raw, even though the gourd has been cooked till quite soft. The sauce is able to partially cover the gourd's raw taste but once it is chewed further, the rawness starts to flow in all directions on the palate.
I would not recommend this dish unless you can take really raw vegetables. I hope that they would just allow ordering of the cuttlefish.


Mango Mousse (S$8)

Presentation:
Tung Lok Signature's mango mousse is not the typical mousse that are served in other restaurants. The mousse were filled into starch rice layers. There is also a piece of mango fruit in between the layers.

Taste:
Biting into the piece, there is a feeling of eating rice dumplings, except the filling is mango mousse with mango fruits. There are not enough mousse as the filling and the fruit took the centerstage. It would be better know as rice dumpling with mango fruit fillings. Though i find that this dessert lacks of the mousse, it is a very good breath cleanser, as the tastebuds feels very refreshed after the this dessert.


Tung Lok Signature's Service Attitude:
The front desk waitress were relatively courteous to the potential diners. Besides the courtesy, nothing exceptionally good can be said. The captain seems to be turning a dead ear to us when we called out to her. The rice took ages to come and only arrived after we make the 2nd order. The waitress that took our order also left us hanging in mid air when we had not finished ordering.

Tung Lok Signature's Cleanliness:
The place is very clean, and it takes effort to maintain the cleanliness since all their furnitures are white in colour. One ungraceful thing that i saw is that the waitress are placing the dirty and used glasses on the bar front, which can be seen from the main entrance. The glasses were placed in such obvious area that we thought those dirty glasses were to be served to customers. This is one area i believe can be improved.

Ratings
Presentation: 4/5
Taste: 2/5
Service: 1.5/5
Cleanliness: 3/5
Value for Money: 1.5/5
If looks are all that matters, this is definitely one restaurant that is worth visiting. However given that a few paces down the shopping mall is Crystal Jade, Tung Lok will have to make vast improvement to their food and service, as they definitely lose out to Crystal Jade. Even on price, both are comparative, so why would i spend the same amount on a bad service restaurant with unpleasant food.