Monday, March 26, 2007
Imperial Herbal Restaurant @ Vivocity
Ok, it has been months (a year? you're kidding. right?) since Vivocity opened, and last night was the first i've stepped into the building.
Brought the kiddies to the harbor view facing sentosa when waiting for my parents to arrive, where the younger was spooked by the tall snow man, and the elder was fascinated by the huge "flower tree" at the other end.
Had wanted to try tunglok (modernistic white uncomfortable looking deco), simply becos i had some money in my tunglok first card, and wanted to treat my parents, but Dad wanted to go to the Imperial Herbal Restuarant.
Ooohkay. i didnt mind, seriously. i mean, who can resist trying out a restuarant featured by Anthony Bourdain in No Reservations, abeit 2 seasons ago?
Corny seats aside, they had an al fresco "sports bar" area outside the restuarant (but within the air conditioned confines of the shopping mall, which means it was at the corridor) with seats cut out of giant basketballs and footballs AND a man hammering piano tunes out of an electronic organ. The whole area being surrounded by a low wall with built-in fish tanks. WEIRD? you have to be there.
Once passed, you are confronted with neon hued velvet seats made into hands showing an OK-sign in the front half of the restuarant. We settled for the normal round tables with normal wooden chairs further in, but the kiddies were slightly disappointed. I was glad that my eyes were spared the assault of colors.
We didnt consult the physician to ask for food recommendation since there were too many of us, Dad ordered since he's been there before.
Unfortunately, Dad wasnt the adventurous sort (or he had enough of the weird stuff the first and previous time he was there with his customers) and we ordered:
- tian qi soup (not tian ji soup, i know my hanyu pinying ok?)
- one-sided fried toufu
- beggar's chicken
- fried eel with crispy seaweed
- scalloop
- steamed cord fish
- asparagus
The soup was too bitter, the chicken was too dry, the eel was too soggy, scalloop too sweet and asparagus too old. Only the cord fish and toufu were ok. Let down.
We should have ordered the weird stuff. heck* we didnt even try the strange medicinal drinks...
i guess there's always a next time... or maybe not.
Brought the kiddies to the harbor view facing sentosa when waiting for my parents to arrive, where the younger was spooked by the tall snow man, and the elder was fascinated by the huge "flower tree" at the other end.
Had wanted to try tunglok (modernistic white uncomfortable looking deco), simply becos i had some money in my tunglok first card, and wanted to treat my parents, but Dad wanted to go to the Imperial Herbal Restuarant.
Ooohkay. i didnt mind, seriously. i mean, who can resist trying out a restuarant featured by Anthony Bourdain in No Reservations, abeit 2 seasons ago?
Corny seats aside, they had an al fresco "sports bar" area outside the restuarant (but within the air conditioned confines of the shopping mall, which means it was at the corridor) with seats cut out of giant basketballs and footballs AND a man hammering piano tunes out of an electronic organ. The whole area being surrounded by a low wall with built-in fish tanks. WEIRD? you have to be there.
Once passed, you are confronted with neon hued velvet seats made into hands showing an OK-sign in the front half of the restuarant. We settled for the normal round tables with normal wooden chairs further in, but the kiddies were slightly disappointed. I was glad that my eyes were spared the assault of colors.
We didnt consult the physician to ask for food recommendation since there were too many of us, Dad ordered since he's been there before.
Unfortunately, Dad wasnt the adventurous sort (or he had enough of the weird stuff the first and previous time he was there with his customers) and we ordered:
- tian qi soup (not tian ji soup, i know my hanyu pinying ok?)
- one-sided fried toufu
- beggar's chicken
- fried eel with crispy seaweed
- scalloop
- steamed cord fish
- asparagus
The soup was too bitter, the chicken was too dry, the eel was too soggy, scalloop too sweet and asparagus too old. Only the cord fish and toufu were ok. Let down.
We should have ordered the weird stuff. heck* we didnt even try the strange medicinal drinks...
i guess there's always a next time... or maybe not.
Labels: to Eat Drink Party
# posted by yojanjan : 3/26/2007 02:29:00 PM
