It's only the 2nd weekend of 2016 and the new year resolutions to eat clean were broken. All thanks to Kim. Located at the School of The Arts (SOTA), this place is popular with a young crowd for its pocket-friendly BBQ buffet priced at $29 after gst and service charge.

Arriving at I'm Kim without prior reservations meant a waiting time. Just by standing outside, I already smell like a piece of barbeque meat on the grill. A bottle of Febreeze Fabric Refresher was placed at the cashier counter but no amounts can alleviate the lingering scent.

The place is a huge dining hall with separate tables. The atmosphere is rowdy and sizzling to the point that I thought the owners could just switch off the Korean pop MTVs showing on the TV screens since we can't hear them anyway. It's airconditioned but there are also ceiling fans to blow the choking smoke from the grills to your face. One can only seek respite by heading to the buffet counters more often. The buffet is self-help style which means it is more advantegeous to be seated closer to the buffet counters. 

The variety is reasonable and there are beef, chicken, pork, seasoned or non-seasoned. After the first round of sample tasting of various meats, my target for the night was narrowed down to the garlic/spicy marinated chicken. The meat was tender and flavourful even if the cook was mediocre (aka me), unlike the pork collars which were tough and not so tasty. A range of cooked food such as Korean ginseng soups, rice cakes, complement the meats and act as appetizers while we were cooking the meat. We loved the sweet crunchy garlic-glazed "irresistible Korean chicken wings" which required some stalking of the kitchen staff in order to acquire as they always run out within seconds after each refill.

Enjoying a Korean BBQ requires mastering the art of cooking food before it's burnt. It's a great way for big groups to socialize. Bigbang was showing their dance moves in an MV. In an interesting comparison, a group of four middle-aged uncles, sitting next to the TV, were waiting for one of their "bros" to arrive before they start the BBQ. The bro code is abided even if the clock is ticking (the buffet has a time limit of 1.5 hours). This place has no age limit. The only limit is one's stomach's ability to eat all you can within 1.5 hours.

Address: 1 Zubir Said Drive Singapore 227968

Set is a restaurant that offers set menus. At really cheap and affordable prices. $28.80 for 5-course set lunch and $38.80 for 6-course set dinner. I was invited to a tasting session for the 6-course dinner. 

There are 6 courses and each course has 4 to 5 choices to pick from. I was amazed at my ability to stuff all of the choices into my little tummy. #AchievementUnlocked.

Picking the right choice for each course was crucial. I have sacrificed myself to eat everything and hence let me share with you which would constitute a good choice. 

Chef Starter | Bacon mushroom with cheese which was creamy and contains nice cheese with bacon. It was a perfect match with the lightly toasted bread that was crispy on the edges.

Cold dish | From top: Huai san carpaccio, Smoked duck breast, Salmon garvlax, Tomato carpaccio 

Out of the five cold dishes available, the tomato carpaccio which was cheese cream on tomatoes was my most favourite. It's airy texture yet rich flavour was like from a spray can.

Side dish | Grilled oyster mushroom that came with teriyaki and mayo sauce, and accompanied by truffle foam. There is no oyster. This is an oyster mushroom. Never a big fan of mushroom. So it was just ok for me. A bit rubbery but not tough. 

Soup | Left: Miso soup with sake, Right from top: Pumpkin soup with truffle oil, Double-boiled herbal chicken, Mushroom veloute with peanut butter

By now, I was wondering if my tummy would survive to see the main course.  Out of the four soups, my favourite was surprisingly the double boiled herbal soup. The herbal soup was intense and the flavour was full of herbs. It was hearty and warming to the stomach, helping to expand the stomach for further consumption of the main course. A close runner-up would be the pumpkin soup with truffle oil which was rich in flavour. 

Main course | From top: Roasted chicken pullet, Grilled snapper with salsa, Marinated rack of lamb, Roasted beef tenderloin, Baby pork back ribs

I'm not a red meat person but the roasted beef tenderloin scores for me. It uses the loin part which was fork tender with the right amount of fats. Second favourite would be the honey glazed baby pork back ribs which I was looking forward to. However the meat was a bit too soft and tender for my liking. 

Desserts | From top: Coconut cake, Poached pear with gelato, Pistachio panna cotta, Huai San jello, Espresso creme brulee.

You might hate me if I tell you I love all five desserts! Hmmm this would be a tough choice but I would go for either the Huai San jello and espresso creme brûlée. If you like something light, refreshing and healthy, go for the Huai San jello. The espresso creme brûlée was strong coffee flavored and topped with a crackle-thin crust of caramelized sugar. 

Overall | Great place for those with a tight budget but unlimited budget for stomach space. Dishes are hit and miss.. So make the right choice. 

Address: 1 Selegie Road, POMO #02-01 Singapore 18830

Telephone: 6337 7644

Website: http://www.set-sg.com

Thanks to Petrina and Lay Peng for the invite.

OK when the previous non-food post was out, I had friends who were like, "WTF??!!"

WTF means "Where's the food?" hor.

So I decided to do a food post before I do my Cambodia Part 3 of 3 post. Dedicated to the famished and starved.

When I think of Crystal Jade, I think of three words - reliable, good and affordable. The dining scene in Singapore is not some easy game. Hence, to not only survive but also thrive for such a long time, Crystal Jade must have got it right.

And not just get it right today, but also getting it right tomorrow by constantly changing its strategy to suit the changing trends.

So when an opportunity to revamp the Crystal Jade Kitchen at Plaza Singapura arose, the management transformed the outlet into a new hybrid concept restaurant - an all-you-can-eat 90 minute steamboat, and Cantonese delicacies and dim sum. Since steamboat is the trend now. A totally feasible feastible concept for me, the glutton.

I had the blessings to be invited to try out the best of both worlds of steamboat and kitchen.

Deep fried yam puff with minced meat ($4 per serving of 3 pieces)

This is as delicious as it looks. Deep fried with a delicate, golden, wispy covering, the yam paste and the minced meat were moist and savoury with a salty finish. Great appetizer.

Steamed pork & shrimp with crab roe dumpling ($4.20 per serving of 3 pieces)

Siew Mai was fresh and the meat was chewy. The shrimps they used were pretty huge. And I like that the skin doesn't stick to my teeth. If you know what I mean.

Steamed shrimp dumpling / Har Kau ($4.60 per serving of 3 pieces)
The shrimps used for their har kau were nice, big and fresh.

Pan-fried fish cake with radish ($4 per serving of 3 pieces)
This is unique to the Crystal Jade kitchen and hard to find in Singapore. It is made by stuffing minced fresh fish cake and radish between two layers of wonton skin, and then deep fried until crispy on the outside. It's like eating a fried har kau, but without the inconvenience of the skin flying all over the place. Yummy.. must try!

Roasted combination platter ($25.80 per serving)

Crystal Jade's roasted combination platter comprises of my favourite roast meats: Roast duck, Char Siew (honey barbequed pork), and Siew Yok (pork belly).

I personally find the char siew and siew yok to be average and I've had better ones. But the roast duck stole the limelight. The roast duck is a product of Crystal Jade's hard work and research. Based on their research, ducks which were grown up to 49 days have the best meat. Wah so sad, like the Korean drama 49 days. Can only live for 49 days.

Anyway, I have personally tested their hypothesis and am glad to report the meat is indeed very tender and had the perfect proportion of meat and fat. During the roasting process, the chef has to keep turning the duck and add on a sweet glaze that helps to caramelise the thin layer of skin for a crispy texture. Goes well with the plum sauce. Must try!

After eating the above, I was kinda full. But the never-say-die spirit in me persevered to continue the steamboat buffet. The steamboat buffet was truly value for money.

Induction cooker

Mix your own sauces!

There are six different soup bases to choose from: Pork's bone soup, tomato soup, curry soup, miso soup, superior soup, and spicy mala. Each steamboat pot comes with two compartments so you can choose more than 1 soup. So no need to fight with your friend.

We got to try the pork's bone soup and curry soup. The curry soup is not like our Singaporean curry soup. It's not the "knock you out" kind of spiciness. There's no coconut milk in it, unlike the Singaporean curry. Most of the rest preferred the pork's bone soup. I personally preferred the curry soup as it is more flavourful, and the maggi noodles soaked the flavours pretty well.

The above shows the meat paste. It tasted like minced meat but smoother in texture. Must try!

We also got fried fish skin and mushrooms, which can be eaten as such. However, we think it tasted better when dipped in the soup as they absorb the soup flavours very well.

QQ rice (above) is something that only Crystal Jade has. It is made of both Thai jasmine rice, and glutinous rice. Add some freshly made scallion oil and it turns into flavourful rice that has more than one texture.

The buffet comes with free flow of drinks (soft drinks, hot tea, coffee) and ice-cream.

Don't know why there is lever for the "vanilla" and "chocolate" at the ice-cream machine. Because obviously people will take the "mixed"? Hahaha..

But maybe not because the chocolate was not intense enough.

We were given a bottle of chilli oil as a gift. I forgot to ask if they sell chilli oil separately. Because it makes a perfect gift for friends/family who are abroad. I got this delivered to my friend who was on a London secondment. By passing to another colleague who happened to be flying there. Delivery time was not perfect, tracking service was nonexistent, but never mind since it's free delivery.

Overall, I think Crystal Jade Steamboat Kitchen is an awesome place to dine in. The pricing is right. The food is right. The location is right. Great for gatherings. Hmmm, really difficult to find a reason not to visit this outlet. Maybe that is Crystal Jade's strategy for surviving and thriving so long in the local food scene.

Thanks to Crystal Jade and Joh-Ju for the invited tasting!

Address: Plaza Singapura, 68 Orchard Road #02-32 s238839

Tel: 6336 2833