Getting to eat 'proper food' again...

[zzm9980]

99c ?? Hello! what world are you in ? they sell lattes and caps and the like, and in terms of prices they are up there with the rest of the coffee shops
https://www.mcdonalds.com.sg/our-food/menu/mccafe/

Ah, so at least in US, people always thought of McDonalds as the "cheap place for acceptable coffee". The Cafe thing si not nearly as wide-spread there as it is in Asia. I probably remember only seeing two or three, ever.

[zzm9980]

McD coffee overpriced? It was/is .99 cents. Wtf do people want, someone to pay them to drink the coffee for them? Honestly it sounds like a lot of non-coffee fans bitching about something they don't really understand. I don't appreciate the difference between some $19 vs $800 bottle of wine, but I don't go around bitching about it either.

There was a time (at least in the Philippines) where they'll hand you a cup of hot water and packets of instant coffee (McD branded), creamer and sugar. Between then and now, of course, they went through gradual improvements.

Sheesh....you're on edge a lot lately.

Rawr. That's because... People on the Internet... ARE WRONG!

[nakatago]

Boooh....

I was replying with xkcd strips before it was cool.

Rawr. That's because... People on the Internet... ARE WRONG!

[Brah]

I've had dunkin donuts before, I think Krispy kreme are better, although I had heard of Tim Hortons I'd never really had a cup of coffee there.

Neither are good here for some strange reason. The Dunkin Donuts in Thailand are more like the ones back home - no high cuisine but just taste better than here. The Krispy Kremes I've had here were surprisingly underwhelming and overly sweet.

[Brah]

I've had dunkin donuts before, I think Krispy kreme are better, although I had heard of Tim Hortons I'd never really had a cup of coffee there.

There are groups of people in North America that like to knock "fancy coffee" (basically anything that isn't drip), and insist Tim Hortons/Dunkin Donuts coffee is great.

I myself don't knock high-end coffee but usually what I get in US diners is what I prefer over that. Unless I'm having an espresso after a nice meal.

[JR8]

I came upon this in another topic, and it sounds relevant to this topic too:

Kelly88 wrote, amongst a list of her dining tips/observations in the 'Where to eat?' sub-topic:
'Best can be defined in so many ways
1. Best food quality
2. Best food quality for price
3. Best overall experience for price
4. Best in it's class of food.
Sashimi
Fishmart Sakauraya - amazing value to quality ratio $30 a head for massive quantities of fresh sushi, gohan uses japanese grain, soba and udon have that "kiu" or al dente bite which is rare outside japan. Tempura is also very decent, which is rare.'
http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/viewtopic.php?t=105005

As I'm rather burnt-out trying to find quality JPnese food here that doesn't break the bank, that caught my interest. I also like the idea of a fresh-foods retailer with a restaurant in the back. With JPnese cuisine the shortest possible supply-chain matters. So I did a bit of digging...
Homepage: http://www.sakuraya.com.sg/e-fishmart.html
Three branches, east, west and central/south - http://www.sakuraya.com.sg/e-fishmart.html#locations

I checked HGW, for the Parkway Parade branch... 85% rating on 40 Votes, with average spend $22.
http://www.hungrygowhere.com/singapore/ ... ay_parade/

Sum it all up and that's going my 'Must try' list!!

[the lynx]

I came upon this in another topic, and it sounds relevant to this topic too:

Kelly88 wrote, amongst a list of her dining tips/observations in the 'Where to eat?' sub-topic:
'Best can be defined in so many ways
1. Best food quality
2. Best food quality for price
3. Best overall experience for price
4. Best in it's class of food.
Sashimi
Fishmart Sakauraya - amazing value to quality ratio $30 a head for massive quantities of fresh sushi, gohan uses japanese grain, soba and udon have that "kiu" or al dente bite which is rare outside japan. Tempura is also very decent, which is rare.'
http://forum.singaporeexpats.com/viewtopic.php?t=105005

As I'm rather burnt-out trying to find quality JPnese food here that doesn't break the bank, that caught my interest. I also like the idea of a fresh-foods retailer with a restaurant in the back. With JPnese cuisine the shortest possible supply-chain matters. So I did a bit of digging...
Homepage: http://www.sakuraya.com.sg/e-fishmart.html
Three branches, east, west and central/south - http://www.sakuraya.com.sg/e-fishmart.html#locations

I checked HGW, for the Parkway Parade branch... 85% rating on 40 Votes, with average spend $22.
http://www.hungrygowhere.com/singapore/ ... ay_parade/

Sum it all up and that's going my 'Must try' list!!

I've been to the one in West Coast Plaza. Heaven! Especially after my trip to Japan and having tasted the real stuff over there.

The price isn't too expensive. You choose your fish and you can choose to have it served in sashimi cut or sushi. Of course, you have to pay more for better items on the menu/ice box like tuna belly and such. But for the price you pay, you get very good value.

It has a pretty humble setup. No bling and frill you would see in chain Japanese restaurants here. So I guess I know where the rest of the resources go --> the actual food.

Even my Japanese friends here approve of Sakuraya.

[rajagainstthemachine]

Maki sushi on that menu looks interesting

[x9200]

I checked HGW, for the Parkway Parade branch... 85% rating on 40 Votes, with average spend $22.
http://www.hungrygowhere.com/singapore/ ... ay_parade/

Sum it all up and that's going my 'Must try' list!!

HGW, Ikea Restaurant, 90% rating on 60 Votes, with average spend $9.

[JR8]

Re: IKEA.
Same goes for their locations in other countries I've visited them. Their meatballs on pasta (or with veg) is the authentic real-deal. And it's a bargain too. It wouldn't surprise me if they x-subsidise the restaurant, to encourage shoppers to stay and shop for longer.

Shame you can't access the restaurant without having to navigate the entire store.

[x9200]

Re: IKEA.
Same goes for their locations in other countries I've visited them. Their meatballs on pasta (or with veg) is the authentic real-deal. And it's a bargain too. It wouldn't surprise me if they x-subsidise the restaurant, to encourage shoppers to stay and shop for longer.

Shame you can't access the restaurant without having to navigate the entire store.

This could be true but I think lokal folks tend to prefer lower price to higher quality.

[nakatago]

Re: IKEA.
Same goes for their locations in other countries I've visited them. Their meatballs on pasta (or with veg) is the authentic real-deal. And it's a bargain too. It wouldn't surprise me if they x-subsidise the restaurant, to encourage shoppers to stay and shop for longer.

Shame you can't access the restaurant without having to navigate the entire store.

This could be true but I think lokal folks tend to prefer lower price to higher quality.

Someone once told me this anecdote involving a native Singaporean:

A: "That place has THE BEST chicken rice in Singapore!"
B: "What makes it the best?"
A: "It's cheap."

[x9200]

It goes also the other way around. When I was attending Sunday champagne brunches a bit more frequently, restaurants like the Town, Mezza-9, the Melt, Equinox etc, I looked through web pages for related blogs/reviews and perhaps only the local bloggers heavily criticized this sort of dining as very expensive and bad value for money. My opinion was exactly on the opposite side. There is nothing coming even close taking into account variety and quality of this sort of buffets especially when combined with free flaw of champagne, wine or beer. But anything reasonable starts above $100 for obvious reasons.

On the other hand, I also attended few cheaper brunches clearly more favored by the local folks and while the price was typically lower (60-100 range) the choice was very narrow and the quality often so-so.

Things like the ambiance seem also completely out of scope. The brunch at the Equinox Restaurant on the 70th floor of Swissotel has more limited choice of food for the limited space reasons I guess but the quality is fine and I believe there no other experience like this in Singapore where you can enjoy the food and sip champagne a lazy early afternoon admiring the one of a kind view. Yet probably the most vitreous review I found was about this specific brunch because the food choice was limited and the price at that time was ~$100.

[JR8]

I think the above encapsulates the original aim of this topic; identifying good food across the whole range of prices. From a $3.50 chicken-rice to a $500+ Kobe steak dinner: Finding notable value for money from the entire dining experience (food, ambience, location, staff, price, etc+++).

I recall a few years back reading a couple of quite fired-up customer reviews that criticised the Fat Cow (Japanese steak restaurant) for being expensive. What can you say? Did they check the prices before they booked? That's like criticising the Ritz-Carlton for charging more than $3.50 for their chicken rice.

[JR8]

I'm copying here for future reference some discussion from another topic re: where to get good and authentic (southern Indian) masala dosa*.
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Ecu>> [Suggests] Anandha Bhavan, 221 Selegie Rd, or Syed Alwi Rd behind Mustapha
RATM>> There's a place in tekka market that makes 60c plain dosas and 1.20 masala dosas, and all the chutney you can pour, they put a bucket of that stuff near you.I haven't eaten better dosas anywhere else in Singapore till date.
Ecu>> The one when you step in from Serangoon road entrance right ? Taste is good there ..
RATM>> Yeah but there's a few similar stalls, this one is right next to the allaudin biryani place.
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Thanks chaps, much appreciated. I might just end up trying both places!

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dosa