Sunday 5 February 2012

Sol Tasca @ Fullerton RiverBoat


Deal : [BigDeal] Festive F&B Deals! Only $19.35 for SOL Tasca's Festive Set Lunch @ The Fullerton Waterboat House (Worth $38.70).

Review : Value for money! After knowing the way to the restaurant, will definitely buy more vouchers if there are similar deals.Without the deals, maybe will choose to come at night where it is cooler and live performance

Overall Deal Rating : 4/5

More food review at http://monsoontravel.blogspot.com/2012/02/sol-tasca-fullerton-riverboat.html


Getting to the restaurant at Fullerton Waterboat House was difficult, especially under a hot sun.
It's not at the Fullerton Waterboat house main building, but you need to walk down a flight of stairs hidden by the bushes. Took me some time before I managed to find the way to the restaurant at the Esplanade Bridge that link one Fullerton to raffles place.
Sol Tasca @ Esplanade Bridge

Took a while to cool down on the high seat chair with a glass of ice water and slight river breeze. Believe it will be a much cooling and nicer setting especially with the bridge lights and cooler breeze in the evening or night.
Dining Area
SOL Tasca's festive 4 course set lunch


(1) Soup 
Cream of Wild Mushroom - The soup was a bit salty and the scent of truffle oil was a bit overpowering for me. Could have been better if there are less salt and truffle oil.

(2) Appetizer 
Rocket Salad with Smoked Duck Breast - Quite nice especially for those who loved the rocket salad.  The duck breast was not dry, quite succulent with the smoked fragrance.


(3) Main Course
Pan-Seared Turkey Breast with Chestnut Stuffing - The turkey meat was quite juicy and tender

OR 
Almond Crusted Salmon Supreme - The salmon is very tender and very fresh and nicely crisped on the outside.


(4) Dessert
Warm Chocolate Almond Pudding with Triple Chocolate Ice Cream - similar to lava cake with soft, gooey semi-liquid chocolate at the center, served with delightful ice cream.


Quite a kind gesture for them to call in the morning to inform us that the salmon was not available that day as their salmon supply is not delivered in time.  But its quite disappointing that they are not prepared  to provide alternatives to the salmon, especially when the deal menu only have 2 options - turkey or salmon. Luckily their salmon finally managed to arrive in time for our lunch.

More food review at http://monsoontravel.blogspot.com/2012/02/sol-tasca-fullerton-riverboat.html

Saturday 4 February 2012

The Love of Noodles" and Hot Stone Pot @ Ai Mien Bar, Capital Tower


Deal : [AiMien deal at deal.com.sg] 76% off "The Love of Noodles" and Hot Stone Pot @ Ai Mien Bar, Capital Tower with Wrap-Around View! $3 nett instead of $12.71.
Review: Nice settings for a $3 deal!! but for foodie like me, food will still be the main consideration. Will "pass" if there is a similar deal again.
Overall Deal Rating : 3/5
Got a discounted price of $3 nett instead of $12.71 for each of the following dish

1. Crispy Egg Noodles with Shredded Chicken & Capsicum
Noodles are crispy, the shredded capsicum adds vibrant colour to the dish, but the taste is too bland for me.
Crispy Egg Noodles
Rating: 3/5

2. Wok-Fried Fragrant Rice with Chicken Cube and Preserved Vegetables in Hot Stone Pot
A rather plain fried rice, not much of fragrant or taste. But quite nice for it to be served in hot stone pot, something different from hawker stalls.
Wok-Fried Fragrant Rice
Rating: 3/5
The setting and ambience is quite modern and relaxing, a mix of west and east.  There is a bar section for chill out with cocktails, TV at different corners of the restaurants playing MTV and also a stage for performance. They also done up a nice feature to hide the big pillar and provide some small storage space.
Chill Out Section
Dining Area

The service was barely ok, spend sometime in the ordering process and you can't really find the waiters when you need them, maybe the area is too big with too many sections to be manned.

A mid-range restaurant located on the ground floor of Capital Tower, near to many offices, trying to cater to the lunch crowd for casual dinning and attract office staffs for a chill-out session in the evening.

Ai Mien Bar Holding Pte Ltd
168 Robinson Road
#01-08 Capital Tower
Singapore 068912
Tel: 6592 5296
www.aimienbar.com.sg
http://www.deal.com.sg/deals/singapore/S3-Nett-For-Love-of-Noodles-and-Hot-Stone-Pot-At-Ai-Mien-Bar%20

Friday 3 February 2012

Cheap Hair Salon @ Clementi

We were puzzled by a long long queue outside a shop at Clementi just few days before Chinese New Year, wondering what the shop offered to attract such a crowd.

It is a hair salon, Snip Avenue, with a tagline of a place where beauty begins.
From their posters, the service is at an extremely cheap price - Haircut - $2.40, Color - $7.80, Perming - $19.80, Rebonding - $28.

Didn't try personally but heard quite a bit of concerns from friends and colleague- long wait, marketing talk persuading you to upgrade the service or pay $15 to buy membership. From the queue, seems that they are able to attract more than just students, maids or housewives.
 Personally prefer to go for online deals to get vouchers or coupons for standard-guaranteed service at a promotional price like $38 for hair colouring. No long wait as appointments are to be made.  But usually its associated with marketing talks as well.

441A Clementi Avenue 3,
#01-02,
Singapore 121441
Tel: 6659 2366
http://hairstyledirectorysingapore.com/snip-avenue-12/











Friday 27 January 2012

3-Course Fine Dining Menu at Parsley & Thyme - $25 nett!


Deal: [StreetDeal] SAVOUR HAPPINESS! Enjoy 50% off 3-Course Fine Dining Menu at Parsley & Thyme! ONLY $25 nett for Salmon Tartare + Char-grilled Sirloin Steak + Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake with White Chocolate Mousse!

Review: It's definitely value for money!! Chef-cum-boss is very generous and no corners cut even for a 50% discount deal. Will definitely be back for another deal, but this time with a cup of tea.

Overall Deal Rating : 4.25/5


Location / Setting: Newly opened restaurant Parsley & Thyme, in a shophouse along Kampong Bahru Road. It was a stone throw from Outram MRT, some easy evening walking required. Cozy modern setting, everything is slick and looks brand new.  The background jazz music and the tealight create a rest & relax ambiance.

Parsley and Thyme
Food Rating: 4/5

The 3-course fine Dining set meal @$25 nett include the following

(1) Appetizer - Tartare of Norwegian Salmon on a Salad with Beetroot and Raspberry Dressing
Chopped fresh raw salmon with chopped onions tartare topped with nicely roasted tomato.
Not the usual combination for salad, it came with pumpkin seeds and beetroot.  Taste quite nice, but it gets a bit too complicated if you combine everything in a mouthful.
Salmon Tartare 

(2) Main Course - Char-Grilled Hereford Sirloin Steak with Seasonal Vegetables, Potato Gratin and Semi-Dried Tomato/Garlic Butter
It was a very generous portion of beef, much much bigger size then the usual steak offered elsewhere. Really appreciate it especially when this meal is on special discount where other merchants will usually tried to reduce the meal portion to reduce cost.

Like the charred flavour of the outer layer and the pinky, tender and juicy beef within. Its definitely different from those dry chunk of beef served in those budget cafe. The semi dried tomato and garlic butter really adds the "oomph" to the dish - flavorful garlic butter with a tinge of sourness to balance the oily butter.

Roast potatoes instead of potato Gratin was served.  The potatoes go well with the butter as well.

Nice presentation!
Char-Grilled Hereford Sirloin 
Dessert - Chocolate Fudge Petite Four with White Chocolate Mousse and Sour Cherry Coulis
The white chocolate Mousse was change to coffee chocolate mousse.Will suggest to order a cup of tea to go with the sweet and heavy dessert.
The Sour Cherry Coulis was quite unique, sweet with liquor fragrance on first bites and trace of sourness as you chew further.
Dessert 
The service was relatively good and prompt.

More info and details available at
http://monsoontravel.blogspot.com/2012/01/3-course-fine-dining-parsley-thyme.html

Thursday 19 January 2012

5 Course European Meal @ Friends, Jelita

Deal : [Outlet] $19 instead of $56.60, 66% OFF a 5-Course Modern European Meal by Friends At Jelita. Multiple Coupons per Bill Allowed. Strictly by Reservation for Dine-in.
http://www.outlet.com.sg/thedeal/view/index/id/225/

Review : 4/5 Quite nice but portion maybe a bit small for guys. Will be back again if I can tag along friends with a car as the location is not very accessible.

Less than $20 for a 5 course meal, definitely an attractive deal even though the location is a bit inaccessible if you do not have a car.

Below is the menu for the deal. Quite a number of options
Set Menu
Starter
Chilled Angel Hair & Lump Fish Caviar
(Angel hair pasta tossed with konbu, chives, & white truffle oil)
The angel hair is quite nice, it was served on a frozen plate.
Chilled Angel Hair & Lump Fish Caviar
Soup
Wild Forest Mushroom Soup (Top up $1) (With light cream & truffle essence)


Main Course
Grilled Ribeye Steak (250gm) (Top up $5)


Or Pan Fried Pork Loin Masala


Or Breadcrumb Fish Fillet served with Ratatouille Pesto sauce


Daily Dessert of the Day - Cheesecake


Beverage - Regular Coffee / Tea

Deals Review


Had been hooked to deals, vouchers, coupon recently.  Here is my experience.

Top 5 Best Deal-Hunting sites I visit
ILoveDeals and AllAsiaDeals are websites that consolidate different deals from various website. They allowed for easy search by category, website sources.  Much more convenient then browsing through multiple websites or subscribing and receiving multiple emails each day.


4 Rules to Best Deals

Terms and Condition
Look through the Terms and conditions carefully. As merchants offer such low price deals for marketing purposes, for Fitness or Beauty services like spa or facial, they usually specify that it is only applicable to 1st time customers only.  While for Food and Beverages, usually there will be some limitation on the usage like 1 coupon per table or applicable only during weekday or valid for lunch hours for restaurant in neighborhood.
Compare
Do take time to compare the deals, that's when the consolidated website helps. Similar deals from the same merchant are posted onto different websites. Depending on the amount each website charge, the amount offered to customers can be quite different, up to $3-5
Location
Do take note of the location of the deal.  Some merchants at ulu ulu places used this to promote their sales.  If the place is not accessible, the savings might not be worth the time or taxi fare.
Expiry Date
There is always expiry date tied to the deal.  Beware of those deals that expires within a short period.
For Fitness and Beauty service like facial or massage, do plan and book early to ensure you can get the weekend slots.


Other Tips to enjoy best experience or to maximise your deals

Things to bring along to enjoy the deal
Reminder that most website requires you to print a physical copy of the voucher and bring along your IC for verification.

Rewards
Most websites offer rewards for referring a friend.  It can get as high as $8 per referral.
So if you are  buying vouchers for group gathering, do get your friends to signup and buy separately to enjoy the rewards which can be utilised for future purchase.
However, beware if it's big group for popular deals as the deal could be sold out before the end of the sale period.

Missed the deals ?
Try to ask for extension if possible, especially when it is more of the merchant not being able to cope with large number of purchases.
A few (1 or 2?) website actually offer refund if the deal is not being utilised. Do run through their FAQ for details.

Wednesday 18 January 2012

Tori Katsu Burger @Freshness Burger

Deal: [Foodpon] 50% Off!!!! Get Yourself A Tori-Katsu Burger @ Only $1.90 From Freshness Burger Cafe! (worth $3.80) Irresistible Price!!! Buy As Many As You Want While Stocks Last- Grab!!!
http://www.alldealsasia.com/deals/50-get-yourself-tori-katsu-burger-only-190-freshness-burger-cafe-worth-380-irresistible-price-

Review: Quite nice. Will buy the vouchers if there is similar deal again.

We got some vouchers so that we can get a Tori-Katsu Burger at a very cheap price of $1.90.

Like the simple, relax and quiet setting of the cafe. Appreciate the small little effort of adding some life by placing some little flowers on the table.


Their Tori-Katsu burger is as what the restaurant name suggests - FRESH!

It was a simple burger - soft fresh bread with nicely fried juicy breaded chicken cutlet top with a generous portion of  mayonnaise accompanied with fresh crunchy lettuce.



Quite nice! will visit the restaurant if I hunger for a burger.

Refer to their website for details
http://www.freshnessburger.com.sg/

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...