Goro Japanese Cuisine in a HDB Block @ 43 Holland Drive near Buona Vista MRT

We met up at Goro Japanese restaurant located in block 43, Holland Drive which is just beside Holland Drive Hawker Centre. Overall, we had a good time and I would go back, especially for their unagi and maki. Next time, I would also like to try their other dishes, including omakase.

Stall name: Goro Japanese Cuisine

Address: 43 Holland Drive, #01-49, Singapore 270043

Nearest MRT: 5 minutes walk from Buona Vista station

Tel: 6358 3959

Hours: 11:00am - 2:30pm | 5:30pm - 10:00pm

Orange & Teal Café @ Rochester Mall · Food Review

Five of us met up for pre-Christmas lunch at Orange & Teal Café at Rochester Mall which is just a short walk from Buona Vista MRT station.

Restaurant name: Orange & Teal Café

Address: 35 Rochester Drive, #02-12 Rochester Mall, Singapore 138639

Nearest MRT: 5 minutes walk from Buona Vista station

Tel: 6993 1006

Hours: 11:00am - 9:00pm (Mon off)

Amex 30licious SGD30 Deals for 30 days in Nov 2014 Singapore

This is the second run by American Express Card (Amex) of it's popular 30licious deals. This time from 3 Nov to 2 Dec 2014 Amex card members enjoy 30 days of value for money deals, paying only $30++ for set meals at 30licious restaurants curated by HungryGoWhere Singapore. Non Amex members can also enjoy 30licious deals paying only SGD35++ (at most of the restaurants).

The 30licious restaurants serve a good mix of cuisine from around the world. Here are this year's Amex 30licious:

A for Arbite (Aliwal St), Al Forno (East Coast Rd), Beaulieu House Restaurant (Beaulieu Rd), Bedrock Bar & Grill (Somerset Rd, Pan Pacific Serviced Suites), Bridge Café | Restaurant | Bar (Seah St), Brizo Restaurant & Bar (Park Hotel Clarke Quay), Buyan Russian Restaurant & Caviar Bar (Duxton Hill), Cali Café & Bar (Rochester Dr), Cocobolo Poolside Bar & Grill (Park Hotel Clarke Quay), Der Biergarten (Prinsep Place), El Mero Mero (CHIJMES), Gyu-Kaku (Anchorpoint), Indulge @ Park (Grand Park City Hall), Kiku (Duxton Rd), Lawry’s The Prime Rib (Mandarin Gallery), Marukyu (Telok Ayer St), NUVO (Marina Square), OSO Ristorante (Bukit Pasoh Rd), Park Palace (Grand Park City Hall), Place 2 Read (Prinsep St), Procacci (Collyer Quay, Customs House), Rattana Thai Restaurant (Tanjong Pagar Plaza), Ristorante PepeNero (Stanley Street), Sankai Japanese Restaurant (Liang Seah St), Santa Fe Tex-Mex Grill (Marina Coastal Dr), Sawadee Thai Cuisine (Tan Quee Lan St), Seasons Bistro (Triple One Somerset), Senor Taco (Clarke Quay), Siam Society (Jalan Riang), Smokey’s BBQ (Joo Chiat), Smokey’s BBQ (Sunset Way), Spruce (Pheonix Park), Spruce (Fire Station), SYNC Korean Fusion Bistro (Westgate), The Bank Bar Bistro + Bar (One Shenton), The Fat Cat (Lor Liput, Holland Village), The King Louis Grill & Bar (Vivocity), The WEJS @ Medici Café (Rochester Park), Town Restaurant (Fullerton Hotel), The Beast (Jln Klapa), UJONG (Raffles Hotel), UNA (Rochester Drive), Wan He Lou (Maude Road).

I thought this is a good opportunity to check out those 30licious restaurants that you had wanted to try before, or revisit your favourites at a more pocket friendly price.

At such prices, it's time for some good Singapore food adventure that won't break the bank.

I was invited to try out 4 of the 30 plus Amex 30licious restaurants.

First tasting was in Wan He Lou 萬合樓 at Maude Street.



Wan He Lou offers an impressive menu for the Amex 30licious deal.



Chef's style smoked duck. 

Savoury flavour and the smoked duck breast slices were stiffened by searing. I prefer my smoked duck tender.



Signature lobster porridge 招牌龙虾粥.

Small, flavourless spiny lobsters in a buttery flavoured broth with soft discrete whole rice grains (Teochew porridge style) garnished with chopped spring onions.



Wan He Lou seafood gyoza.

Savoury sweet flavours and substantial minced fish, squid and shrimp filling. I like this.



Tangy honey pork chops.

Sweet savoury flavours and tender meat works well for me :D



I like this crunchy juicy Green Dragon Vegetable 青龙菜 with Dried Shrimp. I enjoyed the Cameron Highland green's clean tasting flavour with a touch of savouriness from lightly frying in dried shrimps and oil.



Dessert was pulut hitam (sweet black glutinous rice) topped with ice cream.

To find out if Wan He Lou is delicious or not, book online at http://book.hungrygowhere.com/30licious. 

Second tasting was in A for Arbite at Aliwal Street. 



Seafood soup.

Viscous seafood broth savoury with slight tangy notes from the tomatoes.



Salted Egg Crab Pasta.

Zita pasta, salted egg, crab meat, chilli, deep fried soft shell crab and curry leave oil.

Quite an interesting dish with a mix of soft textures and layers of savoriness with spicy hints.



Beef Daube.

Lean beef shin stewed with celery, carrots and red wine till just tender. Served with a stack of fried onion rings.

I fall easily for savoury and tender stewed meat. 



Duck Roll.

Duck rillettes made of smoked duck breast, dried mushrooms, water chestnuts, grapes wrapped in ngong hiang crispy skin (spring roll skin made with tofu sheets) laid on chilli gastrique.

Interesting version of a French classic worth trying.



oops not sure what is the name of this dessert but I love it's jumble of crunchy and jelly textures with contrast of sweet and gentle sourness (I cringe when I encounter overly sour food but this was just nice for me). 

To find out if A for Arbite is delicious or not, book online at http://book.hungrygowhere.com/30licious. 

Our third stop, The WEJS at Medici Cafe in Rochester Park was the surprise find.

This little cafe is less than 6 months old and still in the running in stage, but the unique homely Tunisian dishes impressed all of us.



Chicken and Spinach Soup.

Nice wholesome tasty grainy spinach soup with interesting poppy bits of tender white chicken meat.

I like this homely Tunisian soup.



Mechweya Salade.

Vegetable stew with grilled capsicum, olives, hard boiled egg slices and soft shredded tuna. Eaten with house made bread.



Tunisian Chicken Couscous.

A wholesome stew of chicken, couscous, potato, carrot, chickpeas and egg plant.



Chakchouka.

A mushy stew of tomatoes, capsicum, onions with a runny poached egg.

Interesting blend of savoury, tangy, sweet, very mildly spicy with eggy flavour. Eaten with house made bread.



A refreshing fruit cocktail before we hit the road for the next tasting :D

To find out if The WEJS is delicious or not, book online at http://book.hungrygowhere.com/30licious. 

The fourth tasting was at UNA at Rochester Park.



Amuse Bouche.

We started off with a savoury tangy appetizer served in a sake glass.



Signature Seafood & Chicken Paelle.

Prawns, clams, squid and chicken on a bed of mushy simmered rice with hard crust. Slightly too salty and greasy for my liking. 



Grilled Pluma Iberica Pork is the alternative main course.

Tender pork, savoury sweet flavours heavy on the salt.



UNA's 30licious set comes with a glass of red Spanish Malacapa Rioja, a likable good quality fruity house pour to wash down that savoury rich main.



The lush garden setting at UNA makes it a choice location for that romantic date :D

To find out if UNA is delicious or not, book online at http://book.hungrygowhere.com/30licious.

Thanks to Amex 30licious SGD30 Deals, Nov 2014 which is the school and year end festive holidays season in Singapore is a good month to gather our family and buddies for food adventures around the island.



Restaurant name: Wan He Lou 萬合樓
Address: 65 Maude Road, Singapore
Map: http://bit.ly/WanHeLou
Hours: Lunch 11:00am to 2:30pm | Dinner 5:00pm to 10:30pm
Non Halal



Restaurant name: A for Arbite 
Address: 28 Aliwal Street #01-01, Singapore
Map: http://bit.ly/AArbite
Hours: Tue to Fri: 11:30am - 11:00pm | Sat: 11:00am - 11:00pm | Sun: 9:00am - 9:00pm (Closed on Mon)
Non Halal



Restaurant name: The MEJS at Medici Cafe
Address: 44 Rochester Park, Singapore
Map: http://bit.ly/TheWEJS
Hours: 5:00pm to 12:00 midnight (Closed on Monday)
Non Halal



Restaurant name: UNA at Rochester Park
Address: 1 Rochester Drive, Singapore
Map: http://bit.ly/UNARochester
Hours: 6:00pm to 11:00pm
Non Halal

Note: This post was published with the benefit of readers in mind. I received no remuneration or favours from American Express or HungryGoWhere for this post.

Dates visited: 21 Oct 2014, 6 Nov 2014

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Yap Kee Wanton Mee Noodles. Johor Original Flavour @ Holland Drive Hawker Centre 葉记全蛋云吞面

Holland Drive food centre is packed during lunch because of the government offices nearby. Most of the lunch crowd were office workers.On my way to a medical appointment nearby Buona Vista MRT, I dropped by Holland Drive food centre for lunch. I like this updated food centre as it still has many of my favourite old stalls here. I lived a few years in this area in the 1980s.

Ru Ji Kitchen Handmade Fish Ball Noodle in Holland Drive Hawker Centre Singapore 如记小厨

After my medical appointment at NUH this morning, I went over to Ghim Moh hawker centre for Guan Kee char kway teow. Again, the stall was closed - it has always been like this during the last few years. The last time I tasted Guan Kee CKT was some 20 years ago.

Anyway, I popped over to nearby Holland Drive hawker centre for Ru Ji Kitchen's fish ball noodles. It is always open, always honours its published hours. Ru Ji saved the day again for me as their fish ball noodle is always consistently good.