Aly has been bugging me about Chin Mei Chin for many months now …. Believe me when I say many many many months

and so…. finally managed to wake up early … and we headed down to Katong to satisfy her needs … tsk tsk…

Hmm… the building seems repainted and with a new signboard as well… or is it just that I haven’t been here in months….

3rd Prize in Cleaniness Competition for Coffee Shops

Man… inside… it’s still the same nostalgic place…. Old uncle is still around

Pastries and Kaya for sale

Ordered a lovely glass of iced milk tea….

and a cup of traditional coffee

The kaya buns here look familiar….

Soft and very very very lightly toasted…. but still loses out to the one in Hong Kong

Soft boiled eggs… cooked to perfection

Just look at how the yolk’s ready to burst

Custard tarts…. or egg tarts?  I seldom eat pastry…. but this is an exception

You know where! Go early!!!

Good thing we arrived early… around 730am… there was a long queue for both the sitting area and to buy the pastries by 8am

Aly had been showing me the website asking if I was interested in trying out the food at this place for weeks!

Finally caved in and even managed to drag Fai and Kelly along as well

Hmm… what’s Aly looking at….

Pics of the food all over the walls of the place… Is Aly staring at these pics?

I like the art on the left side of the pic … nice silhouettes

Stupid cat…dragged us all the way here just to watch local drama…. grrrrr…..

Appeitzer platter ($16.90) … mushrooms….

Calamari ….

Chicken wings… which tasted like shrimp paste chicken

Dipping sauces for the platter….

Mushroom soup!!!

Escargot ($9.90)…. this was really interesting… or should I say strange?
Escargot with erm… spinach… chinese style???

Beef Bacon Pizza ($12.90)

Fai ordered this to share …. thin and crispy….

Aly’s half slab honey glazed pork ribs ($22.90)

This was part of a set … that came with a drink, soup and dessert

Here’s Fai begging for food… so sad….

Kelly’s Tiger Prawn Pasta ($16.90)
She said it was pretty okay… hmm…

Here’s my order of Braised Lamb Shank ($24.90) … I ordered the set as well.

Lamb was really tender… the meat just drops off the bone… yummy! Huge portion too lol

Here’s my dessert… thought it was suppose to be mudpie… looks and tastes more like ice cream cake

Crème Brûlée … the bait that we used to lure Kelly to come along

Happy now?

Total bill was a whopping $110.47

Food was pretty okay… other than the really strange escargots

However… it’s just too far (and parking sucks) … therefore… erm… perhaps only once in a blue moon for me I guess

Anything to add mew?

Cafe Oliv
220 East Coast Road
http://www.cafeoliv.com

Summary

Menu Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Food Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Value for money Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Ambience Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Service Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

After reading so much about this place on various blogs and forums on the internet, we decided to hop down and sample their food.

A view of the shop from opposite …

The long queue which was forming at 630pm….

The place’s not too big… really tiny to be precise … therefore…. go early to avoid long waits queueing
There’s a menu on the left and the monthly special Wagyu Steak!!! 200g, Grade 7/9 @ $58.90nett with 2 side dishes
Was wondering if I should blow some $ on the wagyu steak that everybody’s raving about ….

Iced Lemon Tea and orange juice!!!

Ahhh…. mushroom soup (… Fai’s nemesis ) that came with Kelly’s salmon spaghetti

Kelly’s order of Salmon spaghetti ($7.90)… she wasn’t really hungry… and believe it or not … I helped her to finish some of it… me —> salmon!

Aly’s order of Prime Ribeye steak … with her choice of onion rings and seasonal vegetables ($11.90)

Looks good ya? But Aly didn’t like it much… she had wanted it done medium … she found it tough… hmm….

Potato salad ($1.50)… this was good… we really liked the dressing …. a tad too small though … MORE!!! We want MORE!!!

and more it was for me (just the potato salad though) …
My order of Prime Tenderloin steak … done medium …. with my choice of onion rings and potato salad ($22.90)
Steak wise… er.. look at the size of it!!! I could eat 2 plates of this Sheesh …

Tasted pretty okay… NOT fantastic though … I kept thinking of the tenderloin I had at Uno Beef House (see previous posting) which was half the price, tastier and was a bigger portion…

Maybe I should’ve just ordered the Wagyu steak which came highly recommended on the internet…. but then again, with the disappointment of this, I’m skeptical, especially when the wagyu steak costs twice as much

Fai’s order of Beef Jack Burger ($5.50)
Portion was really small too … erm… where’s the beef patty?!!!

Fai…. making a face for ordering something for kids … (no …really … it’s for adults…. I hope… )
“Although small… it tastes really good though” he quipped …. ya … right…. gimme a break
Self consolation is no consolation dude

Astons Specialties
119 East Coast Road s428810
Tel: 9147-4627
Opening hours 12pm to 3am
Closed on Monday

Summary

Menu Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Food Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Value for money Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Ambience Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Service Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Went to Katong this morning with Aly… Chin Mei Chin!!!

Tried their smooth and yummy egg tarts … the filling was not the normal kind you get… the egg part were almost liquid!

Aly with her egg tarts…

Moments later… just outside Chin Mei Chin …. hahaha… Aly took a bite… and everything dropped and spilt onto the floor… that’s how soft the tarts were