Singapore via MRT: Sentosa

Who knew that you do not have to go to Singapore to visit Sentosa? Okay, perhaps that was a lame joke. Let me do the introduction again. A friend told me that he went to Sentosa (the restaurant) a few months ago to celebrate his birthday and said that the food there was pretty good. I actually did not notice the new restaurant before as I hardly go to the 6^th floor ever since I discovered Pages Deli and became addicted to it. 

As much as possible, my grade school (yes, elementary) friends and I try to meet up at least once a year and the most interesting thing is that nothing seemed to change. (Well, except for the fact that they now bring their special someone with them while I carry a paper bag fresh from a store. Jenga was my date that night.) I’m just glad that we all stayed as friends.

When two of my friends finally confirmed, I instantly suggested that we try Sentosa for (1) I heard a good review about it and (2) it might be something worth blogging.

We got complimentary sweetened nuts while waiting.

Rule #1: Do not let me hold the menu.

Singing for Chicken

It seems that Hainanese Chicken is becoming more and more popular in Manila. Almost all malls have at least one restaurant offering this dish and Shangri-la is not an exemption.

Sing Hainanese Chicken restaurant is one of the newest restaurants in Shangri-la and we were excited to dine there.

It was already past 8PM and the place was still packed so we thought that it must be a good place to have dinner.

We ordered Hainanese Chicken Rice Topping (PHP180), Roasted Hainanese Chicken Rice Topping (PHP180), Vegetable with Oyster Sauce (PHP150), and Chicken Lumpia (PHP150). I also had Pandan Gulaman Juice (PHP60) since it sounded interesting.

The first two dishes that arrived were the Hainanese and Roasted Hainanese Chicken Rice Topping. The first thing I noticed was the restaurant removed all the bones. (Yipee!) It was served with lettuce and cabbage.



It looked pretty much like the other Hainanese Chicken I had before. The taste though was different. Cooked with soy and sesame oil, it was a bit bland… actually too bland. I dipped it in a lot of ginger and I still could not taste it. The Roasted Hainanese Chicken tasted a bit better as there was more flavor.

As for the rice, it was quite salty and oily. It complements the chicken’s lack of flavor though. I was just not used to it.

The Vegetable with Oyster Sauce was quite good. Sing used fresh vegetables. It was a sweet yet light side dish. I liked the chopped onions best.

As for the Chicken Lumpia, it reminded me of the Bangus Lumpia of Bangus. (Isn’t it weird that there are just so many dishes that tasted like chicken?) I liked it but it was a bit dry.

Oh, for the Pandan Gulaman Juice, it was your typical gulaman… with green gulaman and a hint of pandan.

Sing Hainanese Chicken is located at 6th Floor Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Mandaluyong City

A Singaporean Lunch for 0.5

My colleagues and I decided to go out for lunch and meet up with a fellow publisher we miss dearly.

Since we only have a few hours to spare, we went to SM Megamall for lunch which (luckily) is about 10 minutes away from our workplace. 

We went straight to Orchard Road since we targeted to have desserts at Blenz. Always the curious George, I ordered something I haven’t tried yet. Soon, I uttered “Black Pepper Chicken, and one Chin Chow.” Well, it looked appetizing.

  

The service was fast. I got my order in less than 10 minutes (it somehow reminded me of how much I wanted Pizza Hut to fail their 10 minute challenge so that I could get my meal for free).

Now to describe my meal…

Chin Chow

My drink, Chin Chow (PHP65), was served right after paying for my meal (it was pay as you order type of restaurant) so I took a sip while waiting for my lunch. Well… it was just like the typical black gulaman only the gelatin/jelly was shredded thus the slim straw. It was also extremely sweet. I thought that the ratio of the syrup and water was 2:1. It was served lukewarm as well which I did not like… at all.

Black Pepper Chicken

Now for the main dish—Black Pepper Chicken (PHP175). It was… okay. I find it overpriced since the serving was too small, even for a toddler (well, a toddler with a healthy appetite). There were too much pepper (doi! It was a given but it was way too much) and the chicken cuts were more of nibble size than bite size. There were about the same number of green pepper slices and chicken cuts wherein I believe that the green pepper should have been a garnish. Oh well.

I was a bit envious of my colleagues’ orders since two of them ordered Hainanese Chicken and the cut was quite big. I didn’t order that since I just had Hainanese Chicken two days ago. 

The tapioca dessert seems promising though. Perhaps on my next visit, I will stick to dumplings and dessert. But I’ll probably skip Chin Chow and stick to water. 

Orchard Road is located at 2nd Level, Bridgeway, SM Megamall, EDSA corner Julia Vargas Ave. Mandaluyong City.