Ostentatious decor, so-so food, lousy service

It was a week of failed food adventure.

Taste Paradise
I'd talk about Taste Paradise first. Well, it was really anything but that. I mean, I think I had better tasting dim sum at much cheaper places with less fancy decor of course. I'd give them an A-plus for e big-ass paintings of the Chinese emperors. But I was not there for history lessons if you know what I mean.

I mark all dim sum with the basic siew mai. Don't get me wrong. It was a very respectable siew mai, but, at close to $5 for four pieces, I had expected something a bit more.

A good place with fantastic dim sum is, surprise, the Ritz at Kuala Lumpur. Aside from the delightful bursts of fish roe in your mouth, the Chinese mushroom slice gives the pork base a sweeter taste in the mouth. That should be the benchmark for good siew mai.

However, if you still insist on visiting Taste, then try the chicken feet. The marinate is done quite well. It was cooked just right and the skin did not just break apart when you eat.


TWG @ION
The second place that didn't quite make the mark was TWG. You'd think that with all the hype, the afternoon tea lifestyle would have been well crafted the moment you step in. Let's talk menu.

It lists the various teas, all one thousand of them. Ok, maybe mot so many. But you get the drift. It's a list. I'm not sure how many tea masters there are in Singapore that know what they Re drinking, but some description would be welcome and helpful.

The next best bet was the service staff.
But what a mistake!

She couldn't recommend tea to save her life! When I asked for something less funky, she offered English breakfast! I don't think I'd come to TWG for English Breakfast!

The desserts were also incredibly ordinary. Didn't understand the hype around the macaroons. I'd guess it is flavours available? I'd comment about the cheese cake since I eat that more often. There was hardly the taste of the cream cheese. Think the raspberry was too strong. The cake was rather dense and I thought the layers didn't come together quite so well.

The environment was A-plus though. The waitress would do well to be better versed with their tea selection so that she can better recommend their teas.