It's been a long while but I finally found time to meet up with some of the bloggers for dinner at old school Shashlik. I really did miss coming to such gatherings of food, cameras and good company, and was delighted to see them all again. The bloggers' roll of the evening is as follows:
Frances from Foodies Queen
Jer Lin from Le Petit Connoisseur
Harris from The Simplest Aphrodisiac
Daniel and Lay Sian from Memoirs of Food
Fen and Yuan from Indulgence After Work-Out
And without further ado, let's head on to the food, food, food!
Buns with SCS Butter
The Warm Bun was soft and light, pure and simple.
Garlic Bread
The crispy Garlic Bread was a perfect accompaniment to the soups. Even more so when some of them were terribly bland and needed some finishing up to do (see below).
Mushroom Soup
The Mushroom Soup was sadly quite tasteless and diluted. It tasted like it was out from a can and had too much water added to it. I couldn't go past half of this.
Borsch Soup
Shashlik's Borsch Soup received more favourable comments from the table. The dollop of sour cream gave this tomato-based soup of potatoes, beef, carrots and cabbage a more creamy feel without being too over-powering.
Black Pepper Steak
My Black Pepper Steak, though tender, was overwhelmed by the thick sauce. There was nothing spectacular to it and in fact merely reminded me of a Jack's Place-type of steak, complete with the hot-plate. For the price I'm paying, I would take Astons Prime anytime.
Chicken Shashlik
The Shashlik, the Russian rendition of the Shish kebab, is where this restaurant got its name from, and is one of the most popular items on the menu. Here's what Xin Li had to say!
"The Shashlik of Chicken was served on a hot plate with mixed vegetables and fries. In humble opinion, it was palatable. The chicken was quite tender with a nicely charred skin. Unfortunately, at this price, I felt that it lacks flavor or the punch to set it apart from what a Western Food hawker can reproduce. In fact, certain parts of the chicken have a very mild gamey aftertaste." (Xin Li, 2010)
Chicken A La Kiev Imperial
Jer Lin's order of the Chicken A La Kiev Imperial was an interesting one, in large part because of that sprout of paper at the tip of the battered chicken. Lying on a thick toast, it seemed like a king on his bed.
"The chicken breast meat was satisfying tender, and was, interestingly, stuffed with butter. However, the toast was too stiff for my liking, though it was deep-fried to a golden crisp." (Jer Lin, 2010)
Chicken A La King
In contrast, Frances' Chicken A La King did not seem fit for royalty (unless perhaps it's for a really old king who needs a slightly softer diet). This is stewed chicken served with mixed vegetables and steamed rice. Not something I would order or enjoy.
Fish en Papilotte
Daniel and Lay Sian's order of the baked Fish en Papilotte seemed somewhat soft and healthy. I'll let you know what they thought about it when they get their post up heh.
Baked Ikan Kurau with Cheese
For a Russian-themed restaurant, they seem to have adopted the use of the Malay language too. The Baked Ikan Kurau with Cheese was like a baked rice dish but I'm not sure if it was good, or not.
Service
Good. On a packed evening, be prepared to wait a bit for your food to be served.
Price
$6 for the Mushroom Soup
$7 for the Borsch Soup
$26 for the Black Pepper Steak
$18.50 for the Chicken Shashlik
$19 for the Chicken A La Kiev Imperial
$19 for the Chicken A La King
$22 for the Fish en Papilotte
$21 for the Baked Ikan Kurau with Cheese
* Prices subject to the usual 7% GST and 10% service charge.
Place
Far East Shopping Centre, #06-19.
Note: This is beside Wheelock Place, not the Grand Hyatt Singapore.
Pictures taken with the Canon EOS 500D.
