Melon Journey: Orchard Road

Showing posts with label Orchard Road. Show all posts

Tuesday, 18 January 2022

Social Place Singapore 《唐宫小聚》

FAQ on Social Place Singapore 《唐宫小聚》:

1. What attracts you to come to this restaurant?

👉 The famous Hong Kong dimsum store is opening up in Orchard Road, Singapore, the 1st outlet in South East Asia. Several instagrammable dishes are sold in the coffee house, can you imagine lobster and crab meat served in mangosteen shape puff 😦? Or cute swimming piglet served as the dessert 😳? Welcome to the Social Place, one-of-a-kind Hong Kong dimsum store in Singapore 😍!

2. What do you expect to dine in this restaurant?

👉 Hong Kong dimsum dishes which are not the traditional one, but innovative and creative treat you can never think of. Pair with nice yuan-yang coffee here!

3. What is the recommended time to dine in this restaurant?

👉This restaurant is usually full house during peak hours especially on weekends. I would come during day time but it doesn't really matter.

We visited Social Place Singapore in Orchard Road on a weekday holiday to fix our dimsum craving. It is a contemporary retro chic 60s-style Hong Kong tea house which serve dim sum, but with an infusion of innovation and luxury elements inside the dishes 😎😍! It has opened since year 2014 and till now still full house even when I paid a visit on weekdays. The interesting point that attracts me to this restaurant is the chef has further elevates dimsum taste by incorporating his creativity into the chinese dimsum dishes. The dishes are really well presented and has many surprise elements inside. The taste is nice as well. It is different from the traditional dimsum, so if you would prefer traditional dishes, you would possibly want to avoid here. But if you are up to some unusual treats, I would recommend you to come over here and try. However, the dishes are not cheap though, the total damage for 2 pax is ~$80 only for dimsum, yeah.. 😒

Entrance of restaurant

Our table seatings

You can see behind with rooster image & social place wording, they are actually made up of mahjong tiles, so creative!

Got a comfortable cushion seats even without making a reservation 😃

The menu is quite extensive with drinks and variety types of dimsum dishes available to order, as well as some chinese noodles, side dishes etcetera. Most of the foods served here are so Instagrammable, trust me! 💓 My eyes have been fixed on several dishes before visiting this cafe, especially on the cute piglet pudding dessert! 👀✌ After flip through the extensive menu, we have ordered items below:

1) Prawn Toast (3 pcs) / 脆虾多士（3个）

Price: SGD12.80

Taste Review:

A must order according to online review and truly not disappoint.
The bread toast is very crunchy and crispy. There is prawn coated inside the prawn. Topping with truffle cream. When you bite it, the taste is very special and nice to eat. However, due to the deep fried of toast, it is a bit oily in my opinion. But overall still a signature dish and must try! 😄

Taste Rating (over 5⭐) : 5⭐

2) Crispy Charcoal Tofu (8 pcs) / 黑方豆腐（8个）

Price: SGD9.80

Taste Review:

Another must order according to online review and this is soo nice..
Silken tofu is not a special dish already, what's truly special is it is charcoal silken tofu! The skin is very crispy although can't really taste the charcoal. Inside tofu is really smooth in texture and melt in your mouth. When you bite it, the outer crispy skin complements with inner soft silken tofu, it is so nice to savor. Sprinkle with fried garlics and onions on top. It is a signature dish and must try! 😄

Taste Rating (over 5⭐) : 5⭐

3) Chilli Crab Xiao Long Bao (3 pcs) / 辣椒螃蟹小笼包（3个）

Price: SGD8.80

Taste Review:

Curious on the taste of xiao long bao with chilli crab flavour and hence order this to try out..
Handmade xiao long bao skin can be better in my opinion, as I have tasted better one out there. The chilli crab inside is just average in taste. The combination of this does not really surprise us, don't get me wrong, it is still a decent dish to eat, but not a really must try.

Taste Rating (over 5⭐) : 3.5⭐

4) Yin Yang Har Gow (4 pcs) / 鸳鸯虾饺（4个）

Price: SGD8.80

Taste Review:

First time see yin yang har gow which has two types of flavours, curious and hence order this to try out..
Two types of har gow dumpling skins here, one is normal skin (white color), another one is truffle skin (black color). Inside is same which is minced prawn. Not bad to eat especially to try out new dumpling skin flavor.

Taste Rating (over 5⭐) : 4⭐

5) Yam Filled 'Pig Buns' (1 pc) / 芋头猪仔（1个）

Price: SGD2.80

Taste Review:

Cute bun in piggy shape. Instagrammable and special dish, so would like to try out.
Pig bun is cute, and it is pink color (girl's favorite)! The ear and nose of pig are pink in color and two eyes are poked in between, so cute that I took many photos of this pig before eating haha.. 😂😆 The bun is filled with yam inside. Not bad to eat as the yam is not overly sweet. May order to take photo with pig bun, but taste is average, not a must to order if you are not into cute photography and Instagram.. (must for me since I want to take photos 😁).

Taste Rating (over 5⭐) : 4⭐ (taste wise would be 3.5⭐, but bump up due to cute pig bun here..😅）

6) Deep Fried Lobster Glutinous Puff (3 pcs) / 非常山竹（含龙虾汁，蟹肉）（3个）

Price: SGD8.80

Taste Review:

At the 1st glance I thought is mangosteen? But this is actually glutinous puff made of lobster broth and crab. So creative! Can't say no to this dish, must try!
The mangosteen shape glutinous puff is not only nice to see, nice to take photo, but it is nice to eat too! If you look at the photo, they mimic mangosteen and to my surprise it is really alike! They do not forget the details of mangosteen leaf and branch too haha.. 😂 All of these are edible, so creative 😱! Underneath mangosteen glutinous puff is actually bittergourd, it is edible too! Inside puff there is lobster broth and crab meat. It is weird to if you imagine eating these with glutinous puff, but when you bite it, they turn out surprisingly nice! In my opinion this is another must order dish in Social Place, where else can you get this kind of unique dimsum dish.. And they serve these in ratten basket, the whole dish is truly Instagrammable 😎!

Taste Rating (over 5⭐) : 5⭐

7) Small Pig Pudding (1 pc) / 得意小猪（1个）

Price: SGD6.80

Taste Review:

This dessert is too cute to eat! Can't say no to this dish, must try! In fact it is one of the main reasons I visit this restaurant haha.. 😂
The pig pudding is too overly cute 😆. It is cuter than pig yam bun haha 😂. The pig is done in very detailed way, you can see the pig is even wearing shirt and pant, O.M.G 😲😱! I took so many photos of this dessert before eating haha.. This is actually pudding, the taste is much like soybean curd. I would say the chef is really creative and truly making a masterpiece dessert here! 👍 Another must order when you come!

Taste Rating (over 5⭐) : 5⭐

That's it for our orders, total 7 dishes. We have ordered one yin yang (coffee+tea) too, surprisingly it is nice! The coffee is really thick in texture and smells nice, I would recommend to order too! The total damage for 2 people is ~$80, not cheap for dimsum for sure, but in order to pay for the chef's creativity, we are up for this special dimsum treat for ourselves! I am actually looking forward to revisit again in future, as the dimsum there is nicely done and taste nice. There are still a lot on the menu that we have yet to try, talk about truffle shiitake bun (bun in mushroom shape), mahjong jelly (dessert in mahjong design) and etcetera! 😀 Menu link here for reference: MENU.

Youtube video (chinese language) as below for you all to enjoy the food review. Hope to see you guys soon! 💜

A Little Info. on Social Place Singapore

Official Website: https://socialplace.sg/
Facebook Webpage: social place

Location/ How to Go: FORUM The Shopping Mall, Orchard Road, #01-22 583, 238884, Singapore.

Opening Hours: 11.30am-2.30pm, 6pm-9pm (Monday- Sunday)

Personal Rating:
Taste ➪ 8/10 (1-3: Below average, 4-6: Average, 7-10: Above average)
Price➪ 3/10 (1-3: Expensive, 4-6: Average, 7-10: Budget-friendly)
Ambiance ➪ 6/10 (1-3: Below average, 4-6: Average, 7-10: Above average)

💗 Author: Ng Mei Lian/ Adrian Yeoh Aun Hong
👉 Date of Visit: 9 December 2021

Saturday, 19 January 2019

Alley Bar @ Orchard Singapore

FAQ on Alley Bar:

1. What attracts you to come to this restaurant?

👉 Beautiful and romantic dim lighting environment attracted us. It was our 2018 Christmas dinner as well!

2. What you expect to dine in this restaurant?

👉 Typical foods and drinks served in bar. Choices for foods such as rice, spaghetti, pizza, sandwich, dessert and etcetera. Choices for drinks include a large varieties of alchohols, gins, wine, cocktails and etcetera. Refer to website link at the bottom of the page for more details.

3. Any set meal available in this restaurant?

👉 Available during dinner time. Set meal consists of one main course, one alcoholic drink and one dessert with the price at $28.

4. Any promotion available in internet for this restaurant?

👉 No as I know of, but walk in set meal is a steal!

5. What is the recommended time to dine in this restaurant?

👉 Night time! I can't help falling in love with the romantic night ambiance in this bar. This is the top reason we ditched another restaurant which we had made reservation online and walked in to this bar for our Christmas dinner celebration.

We went to Orchard Road for our 2018 Christmas date. Orchard Road is well decorated with Disney theme on year 2018 and you can see long queue of people waiting their turns to take photos with Mickey and Minnie. Before we leisurely strolling along the Orchard Road, we fed our tummy well first with Christmas set menu in Alley Bar. We stumbled upon this cafe and the dim environment attracted our attention and thus Alley Bar became the place for our warm Christmas dinner.

There is a long bar table in the cafe and a number of high tables which diners can sit and watch the chefs cooking your dinner through a big transparent mirror beside you. As it is Christmas time, we can see Christmas tree in the cafe and staffs wearing Christmas hats etcetera, Christmas feeling in the air! There are background musics and songs playing along as well when you enjoy your dinner. We can easily spend few hours over there are drinks and desserts to end your main course, along with the candelit table settings and dim lighting, the time passed just like a swing!

Le hubby opted for main course of mushroom and bacon carbonara, and I chose peranakan fried rice. The foods taste average, luckily is not very salty type. Peranakan fried rice is filled with spices which I quite fond of and topped with tender chickens. Mushroom and bacon carbonara is not really to my liking, but the portion of mushroom is actually a big serving which is a plus! For drinks, we ordered lychee martini, to my surprise, it was actually quite good, it was the first time I tried on martini and it is sweet but 'spicy' to throat at the same time. After the main course, we ended our dinner with dessert belgian waffles with berries and vanilla ice cream. Sweet treat for us in the Christmas night!

Mushroom & Bacon Carbonara

Peranakan Fried Rice

Belgian Waffle with Berries and Vanilla Ice Cream

Peach Martini

Long table for alcoholic diners

Tables with the big transparent mirror overlooking chef cooking dinner

A Little Info. on Alley Bar
Official Website: https://www.alleybar.sg/
Facebook Webpage: AlleyBar
Location/ How to Go: Alight at Somerset mrt station, walk for 4 minutes.
Opening Hours:
Sunday to Thursday: 5pm to 2am
Friday: 5pm to 3am
Saturday: 5pm to 12am

Thursday, 27 December 2018

Orchard Road Disney Magical Moments

FAQ on Disney Magical Moments @ Orchard Road Singapore event:

1. What attracts you to come to this event?

👉 Our Christmas dating night out in Orchard Road. Of course the cute Disney characters justified the most!

2. What you expect to enjoy in this event?

👉 A lot of photo taking opportunities with Disney characters, but expect the queue like crazy. Family with kids can visit Christmas village at the nearby Ngee Ann city as well. Beautiful lighting at night and some funny street performances along the road.

3. Any admission fees needed for this event?

👉 No admission fees for this event, FOC posing opportunities with the cute Disney character display.

4. How long does the event last?

👉 Only last from 10 November 2018 to 1 January 2019. Every year there will be an annual event at the end of the year in Orchard Road mainly to celebrate Christmas and New Year. This year 2018 it is Disney Magical Moments theme.

5. What is the recommended time to visit during this event?

👉 Of course we would recommend at night! Night view with beautiful lighting and decoration along the road is certainly not to be missed.

We came to Orchard Road at the end of every year to see and feel the Christmas and New Year decorations and vibes. Last year November 2017, we managed to visit Orchard Road and Christmas village and had great time over there, you may refer our 2017 memories here. This year, it is Disney theme and attracts thousands of locals and tourists visit Orchard Road just to indulge in the cute Christmas vibes. I am pretty sure that most of us have already checked out a lot of Facebook post mentioning about Orchard Road Singapore as one of the place to celebrate for Christmas as well! Don't say I not warn you thou, the crowds in Orchard Road are insane. Basically, you need to queue for all photo spots. Well, it is Christmas public holiday, can't blame it. Beat the crowd by visiting here in November, I guess it will be way better then.

We had our romantic Christmas dinner in Alley Bar, just few minutes outside of Somerset mrt station. After that, we leisurely strolled along Orchard Road and brace ourselves in the swarm of crowds to have some photo taking as memories. We had visited Christmas village outside of Ngee Ann City building as well and just like last year, the first thing that we did was to visit Santa's house! Too bad this year they not give out free Instax photo for us to bring home. Nonetheless we still had wefie with Santa using our phone. As it is Disney theme this year, there are many photo taking opportunities along the road, Mickey and Minnie definitely top the list! And I will not be ashamed to queue with family and kids just to take photo with them 😂, yeah I am 8 years old small girl 😅! Don't laugh at me please, trust me everyone was waiting their turn patiently just to take photos with Mickey and Minnie!

There were a lot of street performances on that night and we can easily spent like 30 minutes sitting over there and kept entertained all the time. Side talk here, I had the best matcha ice cream in Tsujiri just nearby Alley Bar after dinner. Was hunger for matcha ice cream and when research online was so happy to found out the famous Tsujiri outlet is just few minutes walk away. Honestly, the matcha ice cream here was really the best that I have tried in Singapore, it was certainly on par with the good review from Internet. However, if you were to ask me which was the best one I have tried, I will not hesitate to tell you, it was in Hokkaido Japan! Yeah, still origin country has the best and most authentic flavour! Visit the Hokkaido ice cream blog here!

Overall, it was a fun date on our Christmas day. For me, I think last year Christmas decoration with polar express train was prettier and more magnificent to view. And they gave away free Instax photo with Santa Claus. However, this year was cuter. Your choice? Why not both right? Or every year so you can compare!