Sunday, September 30, 2007

Margarita's

Dinner with mum and dad. Told them how Dempsey is the hottest place in town now. We had originally wanted to go for Au Petit Salut but it was closed so we drove on and got to Margarita's...



it was around 5.45 pm when we arrived. I walked over to the door wanting to check if they are fully booked for today (coz i previously emailed them to make reservations for last week but was told they were full). My idea was to just ask if they were fully booked.. if they were den we'd probably head elsewhere.

i went to the front door, i saw a whole group of the staff standing around and im certain they saw me. But no one came over. I thought under normal circumstances, someone would be asked to come over to advise the customer to hold or at least find out what the person wants. Basic courtesy, no? I mean, a restaurant IS a service industry, no? Alas, i guess it is the norm, service gets discounted when a restaurant is popular. coz they can afford to offend. u dun come, i haf plently of other customers waiting to come.

I saw someone at the back door cleaning the window so i walked over. It was an indian man so i tried to tell him through the door which they refused to open that i wanted to find out if they are fully booked for today. The indian man replied me through the locked door that i need to wait, the staff are having a meeting. So fine, i waited.

when their meeting finally ended, a waiting guest at the door was still not their first priority to come to, to ask what my enquiry is. I looked through the door and saw them walking around a bit until they happy den one chinese server walked over and the first thing he said to me when he unlocked the door and popped his head out was.. " we only open at 6 "

and before i could finish my sentence, he went again, " we only open at 6 "

I KNOW! I'M NOT DUMB, NEITHER AM I DEAF! NOW, LISTEN!

so i asked.. " yes, i know. I just wanted to enquire if u are fully booked for tonight. if u are den there is no point in me waiting "

and his reply was.. " yes, we are fully booked. "

den he went.. " how many of u? ". notice there is not even any attempt to sound polite.

but not wanting to disappoint my parents who have already parked the car, i REN!

so i told him 3 and he said they should be able to take us. So i asked if we could take seats inside while we wait (after all, it was just 5 - 10 mins away from 6pm and it was damn warm outside wif the sun shining, heating up the outside seats). The reply was negative and he locked back the door.

Soon after, another caucasian family received the same closed door treatment i got when they tried to ask if they could wait inside as well. it didnt help that it was a really hot day.

so there, just 2 families wanted to enjoy a good mexician meal, we had to brace the heat from the setting sun.....



the other family was giving me the smile and the shaking head to indicate the disappointment.

at 6pm, we were finally "allowed" in. i shan't elaborate further about the service for the rest of the night except that the staffs didnt make us feel welcome or comfortable at all. While places like Valentino, Broth, Greenwood fish market, Senso, etc etc are just as popular places, the services i got when i visited them are way beyond what Margaritas can barely offer.

the interior....



we were first served nachos....



normal nachos.

dad n mum had lime margaritas..



it was great! serious, excellent!

likewise for my strawberry margaritas!



its really good!!

we shared a shrimp quesadillas ($14.90)...



a closer up view...



the shrimps were of a good size. it reminds me a little bit of prata but overall, its pretty good! i like it!

Ceviche ($8)...



a closer up view....



the menu mentioned dat its seafood cooked by itself in lime juice. didn't find it nice.. but it wasnt not nice.

the chicken enchiladas....



the inside..(looks messy, i know)...



its quite tasty.

the enchiladas comes with rice and black bean paste...



the rice is quite tasty, the black bean sauce is also quite nice. i like it.

the crab meat enchiladas which is apparently their signature dish ($30)...



the inside.....



i also like this dish. it comes wif a good portion of real crab meat. Quite pricey but it is nice.

we also shared a chicken and beef fajita...



a closer up view...



u gotta wrap it up urself with the skins provided....



it tastes ok in my view. the beef was a bit overcooked so its kinda tough. I personally prefer enchiladas.

all the above is quite filling.

the tiramisu...



after one bite....



i didnt find it as to die for as the menu states. i thot it was just fine.

after i signed the bill, mum asked me... " not going to tip? ". I asked mum.. " u mean u thot they offered good service at any point at all? ". Its really such a pity, for a place with such good food to be offering service of this level.

Friday, September 28, 2007

The New Harbour Cafe Bar

the rest didnt want to go on with desserts so we headed down to the New Harbour Cafe Bar for drinks....



also ordered a platter to share....



the platter was pretty good. especially the chicken and sotong balls. Well, actually i didnt try the spring roll or samosa so i duno if they are nice. heh.. but the sotong balls are so soft! yummy!

Broth

This is my first visit to Broth after their change of uniforms.

Check out their belts!



was told alot of customers would stare at their 'that area' when they serve as a result of the belts. hahahhaa.... and i koe the pic doesnt show it clearly but their names are actually spelt on the belt. the one serving our table today is Frances. Very friendly and thoughtful guy. He brought the big fan out for us when he heard us mentioning its warm.

a clearer view of the belt...



and their uniforms.....



smart uniforms with dashing servers to complement them. ha..

and the free bread....



my colleagues said their bread is very nice. i didnt eat.

we shared a couple of starters.

the tuna carpaccio.....



thinly sliced, very tasty. One of the nicer forms of carpaccio i've ever tried.

some chicken salad thingy....



comes with wild rocket, almond flakes, avocado. These are 3 items which i really like in my salad! And the chicken, though breast meat, was really really really good. didnt taste like breast meat at all! Love this!

and i recommended this all time favourite, the baby spinach with portobello mushrooms....



Esther agreed that its good as well. Its really light and refreshing.

We also shared the mains.

Another all time favourite. The lamb loin despite their changing menus, always remains there... like its their signature dish....



and their lamb is also one of the very few lamb dish that i'd dare to eat. i typically am very afraid of the mutton and lamb taste.

the beef item....



if u look closer, the beef is wrapped by a layer of something. its mushrooms! This dish is so good!

they also added the duck confit on their menu...



i didnt taste enuff to determine if it was good or very good. But at least i koe its good. haha...

Damage was ard $177.

Bengawan Solo

Colleagues bought a cake for Kelvin whose birthday is today but still came to work. They were so sweet, they bought him a birthday cake!

the cake is from Bengawan Solo....



blackforest cake. It was ok.. the very neighbourhood bakery style kinda cake.

Hanabi

i was just wondering abt who i can haf lunch w when my dearest Jo called and saved me from a lonely lunch. What's more, she even offered me a treat. ha.. dats what best friends are for!

She brought me to Hanabi, a japanese buffet restaurant. For lunch its $26++, for dinner its $30++. She's raved a bit about this place to me before actually.

Hanabi is located at Bukit Timah area. Its actually at level 1 of King's Arcade (near coronation)....



the things we ordered.....































every item was pretty good. We didnt really order alot alot. At least not fully eating till our worth for buffet. haha.. but i was freaking full. One special item i thought was the cheese chawanmushi. May not taste all that special.. it tastes pretty ok.

thank cute best fren for the treat!

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Fish & Co.

Seafoodies Sept gathering. We ended up at fish and co. the girls were starving... im so sorry darlings!

Seafoodies eating seafood! ha! the 5 of us shared a seafood platter for 2....



somehow, it is only when im out wif them dat we can share a seafood platter for 2 and i'd still feel full. haha!

the prawns today were not very fresh as per what they said. i didnt try coz i typically dun take the prawns from fish and co.

the squid was big and soft today.. its good!

the mussels were ok as well.

the fish was good. my favourite of the platter.

the rice was also nice. i love mixing the sauce from the grilled squid wif the rice. tastes great.