Jack's Place @ Safra Jurong

Couldn't decide where to eat on a Saturday night, and we finally decided to try out the Jack's Place at Safra Jurong. Sam happily greeted the security guard on duty as we entered the club, and couldn't understand why none of his friends were having dinner at the same place!

As we had hoped, parking was aplenty & so were the seats, though there were 3 separate dinners going on in the Chinese restaurant on level 2! I guess it really makes sense NOT to eat Chinese during the Chinese New Year period! ;P

Sam didn't need to sit on the Ikea high chair available, and I was pleased to see the waiters serve the plastic kids' utensils & kid's menu immediately after we settle down. Had to ask another to remove the lighted candle on the table though.

Hubby settled on the Seafood Spaghetti ($12), which was to his satisfaction; I went loose and ordered the Striploin Steak ($28), adding $4.20 for the daily soup (mushroom yesterday), daily dessert (profiterole) & coffee/tea. Hubby also added a starter - Lobster Crab Mushroom ($7.60), which was juicy & cheesy and generally delicious, as long as you don't go hunting for the near-invisble slivers of lobster.

I love the tradition of a server coming up to the diner to add as much toppings - sour cream, bacon bits & chopped spring onions - as the diner wants to the baked potato. The vegetables were nicely cooked: still crunchy but not raw at all. My steak was a trifle too red for my taste.......I guess I should have stuck to well-done instead of going adventurous, and after finishing the meat I couldn't finish the potato as well.

I was keen to try out the kids' menu for Sam, but since he eats his spaghetti dry and had had chicken nuggets for lunch, I went for the simple Sausage & Egg set ($5.50), thinking of letting partake my baked potato. Turns out the set came with fries (wasn't described in the menu), so Sam happily devoured all, and also the scoop of ice-cream that accompanied with the set. Surprisingly he wasn't keen to try the cola that came with the set (it had said orange juice on the menu, and no one asked our preference for the drink), so hubby & I polished it off.

What surprised me was that after finishing his entire set meal, Sam was still hungry! Fortunately we had saved a slice of the free garlic bread that was served at the beginning of the dinner for him. ;P Sam polished off half the slice on the short walk to the carpark!! I guess he's becoming the sort of Chinese male who wouldn't be full without rice for dinner!


Jack's Place
Jurong Safra Country Club
333 Boon Lay Way
Tel: 6795-9226

Seasonal Menu @ Shimbashi Soba

3rd of Chinese New Year. Hubby and I were full of sweets & sinful snacks after visiting our colleagues, so we decided to go for a light dinner.

There were still seats available at Paragon's Shimbashi Soba, and the waitress gave us a corner table with bench seats on one end after understanding we have a young child. It was another 5 min before Sam was willing to enter the restaurant though: he was finding it very interesting watching the mill grind the flour & the chef make the soba noodles by hand, "just like play-doh!"
Sam was now tall enough not to require the white Ikea baby chair, though I still asked for the plastic bowl & kid's cutlery for him. Remembering my past experiences, I didn't try for the kid's sized udon nor soba, and started seeking for something I could share with Sam instead.

So I was very glad to realise they've added a seasonal menu now. The current one for Feb/Mar has something that appealed to me immediately: the Hiyashi Jako Soba ($16.80), which is chilled soba with shredded eggs, baby sardines and mentaiko paste.

I was right! The cold soba was lovely after a hot day, and even hubby found the sour/salty sauce easy on his palette. Sam had no problem eating the crispy baby sardines with his fav eggs & seaweed, even loved the 2 slices of Jap fish cakes that I don't fancy. He easily finished up a whole bowl of the noodles by himself!

About the only problem was that the soba was too easily digested! By the time we reached home, Sam was hungry again!! I guess next time I should try for some cold udon for him!

Oh, do note that the seasonal menus for the Paragon and the Raffles City outlets are different!


Shimbashi Soba
290 Orchard Road
Paragon #B1-41
Tel: 67359882

Chinese New Year @ Xin Wang Taiwan Cafe

Having eaten at Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe several times previously, I was kinda glad to have the chance to eat at the Taiwan version of the cafe yesterday, when we had to settle dinner outside with my sister & her daughter, Tiffany, before we go house-visiting.

I hadn't expected the outlet at Bukit Panjang Plaza to be open on the 2nd day of Chinese New Year. So might as well try something new for the new year, right? ;) The menu not as extensive as the Hong Kong cafes.......or rather, there's nearly as many snacks as main courses to choose from, which I guess is unavoidable since the Taiwanese street snacks are so popular.

We got a long table, which Sam & Tiffany could fit comfortably without resorting to the wooden baby chairs. My problem was trying to keep Sam on the bench, since he kept scrambling down under the table to retrieve his cars whenever they fall off the table.

Hubby ordered a Braised Minced Pork Rice 鲁肉饭 ($6.80), which he shared with Sam. The pork was actually not minced, but fatty meat sliced thinly. The Taiwanese style of braised meat tends to be sweet, instead of salty. I don't really mind it, but I've tasted better. Sam enjoyed everything though, including the braised egg that came with the dish.

My sis shared the Stir-fried Bee Hoon with Braised Meat 台式炒米粉 ($4; $3 without the meat) with Tiffany. The Taiwanese-styled bee hoon is different from our local version too - white & plain with no sauce nor bean sprouts. Tiffany managed the dish on her own on the small white plastic plate that's available at every table, as with the metal fork (and all the other cutlery). I fed Sam from a small white plastic bowl I requested from the waiter.

I myself had ordered the sinful Crispy Fermented Chicken Rice 南乳鸡排饭 ($7.80), which took the longest time to serve. The fermented chicken tasted quite good, though a tad similar to their Taiwanese Salted Chicken 盐酥鸡 ($4.80). Sam loved both versions.........I guess being crispy & juicy was more important.

The biggest surprise, for me, came in the way the drinks were served. I had not expected all the cold drinks we had ordered to be in bubble tea style: plastic cups sealed at the top, to be pierced with a fat straw. After all, we didn't expect any chewy pearls in my Ice Calamansi Tea ($2), the Ice Honey Lemon Tea ($2) nor the Homemade Barley ($1.50).

Sam didn't fancy the Barley I ordered for him (luckily I like its obvious homecooked richness, with plenty of barley in the cup), fighting instead for my Calamansi Tea, which was both sour & sweet, just the way we like it. The drinks took longer to prepare than the food apparently, being served after most of the dishes had appeared on the table. Perhaps none of the young staff on duty during the holidays were familiar with the sealing mechanism? ;P

All in all, we spent just under an hour inside the restaurant, thanks to its prompt service & serving of food. Just right for our purpose!


Xin Wang Taiwan Cafe
1 Jelebu Road
#02-27/32 Bukit Panjang Plaza
Tel: 6892-6953