V8 Cafe (Bugis Junction)

V8 cafe is located at a corner of Bugis Junction. Unless you have heard of it or happen to walk pass, chances are that you would not have seen it. Pop by for lunch during a weekday on 2 different occasions. Not too crowded. The most 70% occupied.

Lets start with the first visit.

V8 Cafe Menu (a)

V8 Cafe Menu (b)

As it was my first visit, the item that caught my eye was V8 Cafe Signature Dish. After all, the signature dish is the item that will be the differentiating factor.

As it was during lunch time, the dish comes as a set along with soup and drink (Ice Lemon Tea).

Soup of the Day

The soup of the day was Cream of Mushroom. Somehow what I notice was that it was half filled. Nothing comes free does it? =) It was a decent mushroom soup.

V8 Cafe Signature Dish $11.80

In the V8 Cafe Signature Dish, the main item was the grilled chicken which was accompanied by whipped potato, coleslaw and carrots (boiled).  The cheese did not overwhelmed the taste of the chicken. In fact, it complemented the taste. Inside, the chicken is tender and juicy. Outside the skin was crispy at the side. Thought that it was quite an average. But if it is the signature dish for V8 Cafe, then I will disagree as there is nothing special. You can get a similar item at other restaurants or western stalls in coffee shops.

Overall, service and ambience was good. If you find the background music too loud, you can request for the volume to be lowered. Food wise it was average.

Next will be on the 2nd visit. Again, similarly about 70% occupied.

Part of the Menu

Ordered the Chicken Cutlet $8.80. As it was lunch time, the meal came along with soup of the day and drink (Barley).

Soup of the Day

The soup of the day was Cream of Mushroom again. Was half-filled. This time the soup was not as decent as the previous time. It was quite salty.

Chicken Cutlet $8.80

The Chicken Cutlet was served with salad and onion rings. Just 3 pieces of onion rings which were oily. The chicken cutlet was even more oily. Not a decent dish.

Overall, service and ambience was good. But the food this time was way below average – terrible.

V8 Cafe (Bugis Junction)
200 Victoria Street
#03-29/29A Bugis Junction
Tel: 6333 4434
Opening Hours: Daily 12noon – 10pm

The Mushroom Pot 长寿锅 (Orchard Point)

The Mushroom Pot has been around for some time, has been there around 3 times. So far I have always been to their outlet at Orchard Point as it is more convenient. This time we went there as we bought the BigDeal coupon, $18 for $30 cash voucher. In fact we purchased 2 as 1 will not be enough.

We decided to go for their buffet lunch (steamboat) on a Saturday. The place was not very crowded, slightly less than half full.

You may notice that the lunch is $24.90++ yet we are using $60 cash voucher. Well, reason is wait till you add up all the plus plus such as the packet of tissue and pickles. Well, since we do not eat pickles, we asked them to take it back (and remove it from the bill should be $2.)

You get to choose 5 Starters or House Specials per table or group. So even if you come with another person or 6 others, you can only choose 5. The menu can be found here. We ordered Spicy Chinese Potato Salad, Mushroom Rolls, House Special Beef, Monkey Head Mushrooms in House Dressing and Crispy Squid with Wasabi Sauce.

Spicy Chinese Potato Salad (Starter)

The Spicy Chinese Potato Salad was average. Did not find it spicy.

Mushroom Rolls (House Specials)

The Mushroom Rolls is like spring rolls. Outside, it is seems to be deep fried. Inside, it is full of mushrooms. Yummy!

House Special Beef (House Specials)

The House Special Beef was sightly overcooked. Not as tender as I wanted, but certainty tasty.

Monkey Head Mushrooms in House Dressing

The Monkey Head Mushrooms in House Dressing was quite an unique dish. Each piece of the mushroom has been coated with a thick creamy sweet sauce. And walnuts has been added in it too.

Crispy Squid with Wasabi Sauce (House Special)

The Crispy Squid with Wasabi Sauce was the best dish among the 5 dishes. Each piece of squid (calamari) has been coated with batter and is then deep fried till it is crispy. Dipping it into the wasabi sauce, it added a final punch that will have you longing for more. Well, these are only the 5 Starters or House Specials. Time for the steamboat buffet.

For the steamboat buffet, you can get to choose from 6 soup base. We ordered the Wild Mushroom Herbal Soup which require us to top up $4.

Wild Mushroom Herbal Soup (top up $4)

Wild Mushroom Herbal Soup, is black in colour mainly because of the mushrooms. I thought the soup tasted great at first. But well as I am a huge fan of mushrooms, I am biased. She was right that it was sightly salty and diluted.

Fried Buns

You can never go wrong with Fried Buns (fried mantou). Taste great on its own when it is warm.

Some of the other items that we ate. Do not worry, there are other items not just mushrooms. There are many different types of mushrooms you can order here.

Barley $1.50

We totally forgot we still have a glass of Barley.

Tissue

Each person gets a packet of The Mushroom Pot Tissue instead of the usual wet towel. Did I say get? Oops sorry, its charged to your billed. If you do not want it feel free to reject it.

Overall, I like the buffet here. No where else can you get so many varieties of mushrooms or get so many varieties of mushroom soup base. Totally, my type of food. Moreover, the service was good, always someone near by when you require their assistance. (maybe it was due to the lack of crowd.) The only reason why I come back so few times over the years is mainly because it is too expensive. 2 person, yet the bill is over $60 per person. If it was more value for money I would definitely be here more frequently. If you are a fan of mushroom, give this place a try!

The Mushroom Pot 长寿锅 (Orchard Point)
160 Orchard Road
#04-00 Orchard Point
Singapore 238842
Tel: 67339910
Opening Hours: Daily 11am – 9.30pm
Website: http://www.mushroompot.com/

The Mushroom Pot 长寿锅 (Stadium Waterfront)
2 Stadium Walk
#01-02 Singapore Indoor Stadium
Singapore 397691
Tel: 63423320
Opening Hours: Daily 12pm–2.30pm & 6pm–10.30pm
Website:http://www.mushroompot.com/

Skinny Pizza

Skinny Pizza (From Skinny Pizza's Facebook picture)

It is called Skinny Pizza because of its unique thin and crispy crust. We bought a deal.com voucher allowing us to pay $36 dollars for $5o worth of food. Its a 28% discount, not a lot. But it was worth it, as I have heard so much about it and want to try it for myself. Went to Skinny Pizza at Wheelock place.

Interior

Menu (Soup)

Sweet Corn Crab Soup $6.00

Sweet Corn Crab Soup was served with a piece of bread. Felt that it was too sweet.

Portobello Mushroom Soup $6.00

Portobello Mushroom Soup is creamy with a rich mushroom flavour. Moreover, it is full of fragrant mushroom bits.

Menu (Sides)

Truffles Fries $7.00

Fries with truffle oil. It arrived piping hot. With a hint of truffle with every single piece of fries, this is irresistible.

The English Breakfast Pizza $22.00

The English Breakfast Pizza consist of smoked bacon, a sunny side up egg, portobello mushroom, napoli tomato sauce and basil. The crust was very thin and crispy. The ingredients used were fresh. The basil added on to the flavour of the pizza. Certainty a pizza to try.

In addition, I must say that the service is very good. The staff are attentive. When your drinks come, the will open the can for you and pour the drink into a cup for you. When the cup is half empty, the staff will also pour the rest of the remaining drink in the can into your cup. Food wise, it was good, tasty and fresh food.

Skinny Pizza (Wheelock)
501 Orchard Road
#03-04 Wheelock Place
Tel: 6235 7823
Opening Hours: Daily 10am – 10pm

Skinny Pizza (Suntec)
3 Temasek Boulevard
#01-002 Suntec City Galleria
Tel: 6333 9774
Opening Hours: Daily 10am – 10pm

Skinny Pizza (Raffles City)

252 North Bridge Road

#B1-63/64 Raffles City Shopping Centre

Tel: 6333 5069

Opening Hours: Daily 11am – 10pm