After a long break.. i'm back! lolz.

Eh, afew places i've visited:

Spring Court: Buddha Jump over the Wall
This course is onli available on reservation (cos they need to prepare), if you don't individual portions will be served. which, in my opinion, ain't worth it. =p

All servings for the table were placed and served in a big porcelain bowl. The waitress will open this bowl and scoup up the individual servings into smaller bowls for each person. Total of 3 servings to complete this dish comprising of different ingrediants. if i forget any, it's bcos it has been quite some time (talking months) since i ate there.

First serving: shark's fin, abalone, a big mushroom (xiang gu) and a piece of ham
Second serving: sea cucumber, fish stomach.
Third serving: deer's tenon, chicken.

The soup (stock) which tied the dish together was realli outta this world sortta terrific. It's realli surprising that after 3 servings, i still wasn't sick of the taste. (i had second helpings of the soup alone.. =p) it's realli a strong broth with good body and taste. It was a simple broth with complex elements. The chicken was juz melt-in-the-mouth after all that boiling with all that ingrediants.. it was tasty and realli, i never ate chicken like that.

Further comments:
i felt that the piece of ham was miserable- taking into acc that it was served with the expensive ingrediants.. it realli helped to heighten the taste, so i thought it wasnt enuff.
the deer tenon was tricky.. althou it was well done compared to many others i've tasted, it was pretty awkward trying to eat it.. lolz, proved to be the most fun ingrediant =p

Overall, this dish is a must-try for those in for a treat with plenty of change in the pocket!

Service:
they definitely can improve on that. I went there twice, and no sign of improvement in service...

they do all the neccessary stuff, but not many smiles. Didn't even feel welcomed to dine there. The first time i went there (and ate the above dish), there was some mess up with the number of portions (and thus, the bill too) the waiters and the supervisor juz stood in the middle of the room (VIP rm) and discussed the problem loudly and openly. i had the mind to go up to them and tell them to get out of the rm. it was my gram's bday celebration. haf tt respect for your customers manz! waiters and waiteress were unfriendly, but well, looked their best at trying to be helpful..

Ambience: Their deco was aimed at following the new styles of Chinese restuarants. But i think it didn't realli satisfy. thou the beautiful water features and bamboo were realli beautiful and gave an authentic touch, the rest of the restuarant wasn't impressive, nor did it put anyone to ease. Big red lantens are actualli realli nice, useful, bold, distinctive decoration.. but apparently the restuarant didn't know what to do with them. They were placed where the ceiling was too low, such that they were too big and became an eyesore.. Overall feel was an odd mix..

Quality Hotel: Vegetarian Buffet
I was apprehensive. but this turned out realli, realli, seriously, good. =p

First thing, they haf LOADS of dishes! i cldn't even try all the dishes (considered that i'm a pretty seasoned buffet diner...) they offer free flow of drinks too. thou it's mostly self-serviced, but the walk to and fro from the spread to the table was a welcomed one, i assure you.. everything looked tasty... they keep refilling with new dishes too.. there was juz simply so much to stomach... i wished that i could eat without feelin full...

Variety is one thing, quality is another.. i realli didn't miz meat at all! the "lamb" curry was sooo good, argubly one of the best curries i haf tasted. Sure, there are afew tasteless dishes, but most of the dishes were skilfully done. Even my bro, who isn't keen on veg, was full of praise. Try their bak gu tek (no meat, duh!) - it was so full bodied and flavourful, there are few stalls in Sg nowadays who can produce such flavour, even if they use meat. Their desert section was also up to standard. The cheif, obviously frm Shanghai, had came up with some realli heavenly cakes and biscuits, tying up the meal nicely.

Service: they were keen in clearing the table. service was limited to that as the rest was self-service.

Ambience: not much of an ambience to talk abt. the usual soft lighting, but bright enuf to be fuctional. mirrors with dark wood to gif a sense of space... one thing to look out for thou, there are stark colored balls of lights near the entrance. they're.. well, interesting. =p