Lawry's

Lawry's has been around for a really really long time and I'm sure everyone knows about it. I've never dined there before but have always secretly wanted to haha. I chanced upon a 1 for 1 promotion at Lawry's for DBS card holders! So X and I seized the chance to visit the renowned restaurant.

Located at Mandarin Gallery, Lawry's is easy to locate.
We were greeted by friendly service the moment we entered the restaurant























Red Wine, Rosemount - $13


Hot chocolate - $9
The hot chocolate was not bad! I drank it very slowly and a waiter came to ask if the hot chocolate was not up to standard as I hardly touched it haha


Bread and butter
The bread was warm and fragrant




Still water - $7 a bottle(we got a bottle each)


Their famous original spinning salad






X said it was pretty good!
The salad fork was chilled to make sure that the salad was eaten at its best. So elaborate and definitely impressive.


I didn't take the salad as i don't take vegetables so I was offered a bowl of mushroom soup. The mushroom soup was tasty and the texture was just right.

From the checking of my hot chocolate to the offering of a bowl of soup, Lawry's service was top-notch so far.


Oyster- $6




At $6 for one, the oysters were a steal! They were huge, fresh and juicy. SO SO SO GOOD. Never expected oysters to be so damn awesome at Lawry's! Please please try it if you're visiting Lawry's!


Yorkshire Pudding


Horse radish




California cut- $68
Medium

I felt that the presentation of the steak was not very pleasant. I think that they should have let us poured the sauce over the steak ourselves. But I enjoyed my succulent steak nonetheless, and particularly took a liking to the eggy yorkshire pudding. My steak was nicely done and delicious. I also liked how the horse radish enhanced the taste of the steak!


English Cut - $78
Medium
 
X felt that the slices were too thin to really "experience" the steak haha. He was offered more sauce when he was halfway through his steak. I must say that the staff at Lawry's are extremely attentive!

We should have gone for the traditional Lawry's cut but X tried that the last time he was there. I think that should be better than the English Cut!

It was a pleasant afternoon at Lawry's, especially when the service was so good. We definitely felt like royalty! We really appreciate the staff asking us how our food was and being so warm and friendly. And also, the friendly manager who offered to take pictures for us haha so nice of him! Such service really makes an impact on the dining experience. I'll be back again someday!

#04-01/31 Mandarin Gallery
Sundays - Thursdays: 11.30am - 10.00pm
Fridays / Saturdays / Eve & Public Holidays: 11.30am - 10.30pm
(Last Order at 10.30pm)


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Love, K


K's rating of Lawry's : 8/10

Kookaburra

The first time I brought my friends here was unfortunately on a Monday and Kookaburra was closed. Oops I assumed they were opened everyday haha. After several failed attempts to arrange for another dinner here, X and I finally visited Kookaburra with B and XM!
























Tasting Platter (for 2) - $28


Bbq kangaroo - The meat was so soft and this was really delicious! Never thought I'd try kangaroo meat but it's really good!

The wedges were well cooked and crispy


Prawn Cutlets- These were crispy and not bad

Scallop Newburg- The sauce on the scallop was super nice haha everyone liked the scallops!


Salmon pastrami and western Australian octopus- These paled in comparison to the other 3 items. It tasted a little weird and the salmon and octopus didn't complement each other.


Caesar Salad - $16
Crispy pancetta, parmesan chips, poached egg, white anchovy fillet, garlic walnut rye bread

B said this was not too bad.


Fluffy Pancake Stack - $22
Caramelized apples, crispy pork belly, swirled cinnamon rhubarb icecream

My pancake stack! Have been wanting to try this since forever haha. The pork belly was really nice! And although some may find such fusion of sweet and salty strange, the pork belly went really well with the pancakes and apples. The cinnamon icecream had a strong cinnamon taste but it wasn't sweet enough. I quite like this dish! Wish there were more apples and pork belly! 


Wild Mushroom Pasta - $22
Tete de maine cheese with white truffle oil.

If there was a dish out of everything that we ordered that we would never order again, it would be this. The pasta was overpriced for the amount of truffle that was present. We could hardly even taste or smell the truffle. Pretty disappointing

 
The Kookaburra - $28
Lamb prosciutto scrambled eggs, bacon, mini rump steak, lambs fry and kidney minted pea mash and gravy, sundried tomato buttered damper and liver paste

XM said the rump steak was very nice and it was of the correct doneness. He also liked the bread which he found flavourful and fragrant and a delight when eaten with the eggs. The mash has a hint of spice that made it interesting and yummy. The liver paste tasted really strange and it had a strong lingering aftertaste. It might kill off a little of your appetite. B said that the liver paste had a hidden Burmese taste and she didn't find it strange haha. Acquired taste we see.

We were the only table around on a Friday night. Doesn't seem like Kookaburra's very well known yet. When splitting the bill after we left Kookaburra, we were surprised to find that we were charged $32 for the wild mushroom pasta. We thought we had made a mistake when we saw it on the menu. Thank God we had pictorial evidence that it was priced at $22. We called up Kookaburra to tell them about it. And now we'll have to go back there to enjoy a $12 discount off our next meal. To go back or not to go back, that is the question.

Kookaburra has an all-day breakfast menu. Being one who really loves all-day breakfast, X did not find anything that he wanted. Perhaps their range is a little limited. Kookaburra's service is pretty efficient and attentive, but also maybe because we were the only ones around. Maybe we'll go back to have the tasting platter soon.

180 Albert Court #01-09
Albert Court Village Hotel

Tue - Fri:	11:00	-	15:00
	18:00	-	23:00
Sat - Sun:	10:00	-	23:00

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Love, K

K's rating of Kookaburra : 6.5/10

PS Cafe (Palais Renaissance)

This was on the day or one day after Antoinette opened at Palais. So we decided to go there for brunch. But X decided that he wanted PS Cafe instead. Haha what a fickle boy. So yupp, here we were! It was already very crowded when we got there and there were hardly any seats indoors. As I was feeling really cold, we were more than happy with outdoor seats. I got up and started snapping pictures only to be informed by the staff that photo-taking is prohibited. I don't get it.. Why? Pretty places are meant to be shared aren't they?

 
Patterned tiles, marble tables


Brick wall and chalk board




Trees




Hot chocolate - $7
This tasted more like milk with a hint of chocolate than hot chocolate.
Pretty disappointing


Iced Cafe Latte - $6.50
X said his latte was strong and pretty fragrant


Truffle Fries - $15
A ginormous plate of truffle fries that we could not finish. Fragrant, crispy and satisfying


Banana Pancakes- $22

Stack of banana and caraway pancakes with caramelized bananas, butter and organic honey.
Four pieces of pancakes. The serving is huge! The organic honey goes extremely well with the butter. The flavoured pancakes were fluffy and together with the caramelized bananas, the only criticism that this dish received from me was its huge portion. Hahaha. That's how much I liked it!



 
PS big bacon and eggs - $24
Two eggs with herbed toast, crisped bacon, oven dried tomato, rocket pesto roasted mushrooms, and choice of sausage

The poached eggs were perfect and the tomatoes were delicious. The sausage was pretty unique, it kinda tasted like otah. Interesting! The serving was huge too!

The interior of the restaurant was nicely decorated and was quite alot prettier than the alfresco area. The service crew were polite and service was quite efficient.

390 Orchard Road, Palais Renaissance
#02-09A

Monday - Friday: 1130am - 12am, (1am for Friday)
Saturday, Sunday : 930am - 1am (12am for Sunday)
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Love, K

K's rating of PS Cafe (Palais) : 7/10

Five & Dime

We paid a spontaneous visit to Five & Dime for dinner, bringing along three buddies! We've been here a couple of times for brunch and have loved their Eggs Benny. And now, its time to give their dinner a try!






Fish & Chips - $22
I felt that this was best eaten with your hands! The size of the pieces of crispy fish was perfect for your fingers to pick them up and dip them into the sweet ketchup and yummy tartare sauce. The tartare sauce was really special. It was really tasty I cleaned up the whole serving of tartare sauce!


The chips were crispy and really yummy too. The buddies were saying that the chips were unique and good. Sister N who ordered Fish & Chips too also praised the dish! Being one with a tiny stomach, she had great difficulty finishing this. I couldn't finish my fish and chips too and had to seek help from the other three pigs haha.

Fresh fish, great sauce, crispy chips and delicious on the whole!


Mac & Cheese - $16
This mac and cheese looks simple but as they say, looks are deceiving. Infused with creamy lobster sauce, this dish was tasty and contrary to popular belief, not the least bit "ger-lat". I was secretly jealous of XM who ordered this... HAHA. Three types of cheese make up the thick layer of fragrant cheese. So good! Might be a little small on the portion side for some though


Cajun Chicken - $18
Grilled chicken maryland with mashed potato, corn and tangy tomato sauce.
The mashed potato is hidden under the slab of chicken. Brother Z couldn't stop praising the mashed potato.. HAHA. Excuse me the highlight is the chicken maybe? Haha the chicken was tender and well-cooked! In Brother Z's words, this dish was "sick" and the mashed potato was "too sick" haha


The Burger - $23
As you can see, this is pretty huge. Haha and X said the burger was not bad

Our buddies were really pleased with dinner and we were really glad they liked it! I'm gonna get the mac and cheese the next time I go there. Hahaha. We wanted to try the youtiao churros but that wasn't on their menu anymore. Does anyone know if they removed it? We wanted to try the pork belly and the beef but they were out of it. Must be good! Will try them when we return the next time round!

Service was efficient and the waitress was very attentive and cheerful. I really like such people. They really make the whole dining experience better. 

297 River Valley Road
Weekdays -12 noon to 12 midnight (Closed on Tuesdays)
Saturday - 10 am to 12 midnight
Sunday - 10 am to 10 pm
Last orders for lunch at 230 pm. Last orders for dinner is 930 pm.


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Love, K

K's rating of Five & Dime: 8/10