Swiss Mushroom Pork Burger Recipe

Pork Patty Recipe
300g minced pork
2 tbsp bread crumbs
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk of coriander, chopped
1/2 tsp chicken powder
1/4 tsp sugar
Salt, pepper to taste

Mix the above well, divide into 2 to 3 patties, chill for 30 mins.
Heat 2 tbsp oil, pan fry patties under low heat till cooked on both sides.

Stir Fried Mushroom
1 box of brown button mushroom, sliced
1 tsp chopped garlic.
2 tsp oyster sauce

- Stir fry garlic to fragrant.
- Add mushroom and oyster sauce, stir fry till cooked

* Thicken the mushroom with a bit if corn starch solution to thicken the gravy of the stir fried mushroom

To Assemble the Burger
* Slice burger buns into half, spread with some butter and toast till slightly brown.
* Place a slice of cheese on top of the pork patty immediately after it is cooked.
* Top with stir fried mushroom and sliced tomatoes or lettuce if preferred

Baked Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes
* Drizzle olive oil and some salt and pepper on potatoes
* Drizzle only oil on sweet potatoes
* Bake for 35 mins at 180 degrees
* Serve with burgers

1 for 1 Buffet @ Atrium Holiday Inn

Went for this 1 for 1 buffet last Saturday at Holiday Inn Atrium which is located at Outram Road. The restaurant was renovated last year.  The place had tall big windows which made the restaurant very bright and cheery.   Though it was under the 1 for 1 promotion, the food was of good standard.   The daylight brightness through the windows made the food look appetizing as well. 

There was quite a few selections at the chilled seafood counter such as cold prawns, crabs, mussels, scallops and some snails.   The items were placed sparingly giving it a clean presentation.  The items were topped up regularly.  There were also a few dips such as thai chilli, vinegar, Tabasco sauce to go with these seafood.

The salad counter was quite small but sufficient as most people would not really eat salads at a buffet. There were also a few dressings to go with them.  A variety of sushi was also available as well as cold soba noodles.  They served fresh tuna and salmon slices as well which the chef will serve you upon request to ensure the freshness of the fish.

There were also a few mixed salads such as Achar, jelly fish, smoked duck salad, fruit salad and some variety of hams and pepperoni.  I tried the smoked duck salad which was quite good.  However, I did find the jelly fish not crunch enough.

They even served roasted pork and roast chicken last Saturday.  The roast pork was good as it was not too salty.  The roast chicken looks good too though I did not manage to try.

There were about 6 hot dishes at the buffet like the above.  I tried the pasta which was quite good with some Parmesan cheese.   There were also mini burger patty and stir fried beef which tasted average, but the rendang beef was quite good.  Besides the hot dishes, there were also chicken porridge, broccoli soup and a small selection of dim sum. They served chicken and mutton satay which was freshly grilled upon request.  The satay meat was cooked till just right, two thumbs up for the satay.

There was a hot sour noodle but I thought would be better if the restaurant served some local noodles like mee siam, laksa or mee rebus.  

There was also a small section at the buffet for children as well as plastic plates for children.  The selection of pizza was placed at a lightly lower level counter so that children could help themselves. 

The fruits and pastries spread was not huge but sufficient.  There was also a small chocolate fondue that you dip strawberries and marshmallows into.  The Yuzu jelly with pomelo was refreshing though I found the Pandan Panna Cotta a bit too hard, a little less gelatin would have made it better.

The manager assisted to arrange something for us to sing a birthday song for my son since this meal was meant to celebrate his birthday.  

More Details on the buffet can be found at the Holiday Inn Atrium website.
Weekends High Tea (Sat and Sun) is served from 12pm to 3.30pm at $50++.
For 1 for 1, the spread is considered acceptable.

Charcoal Grill Seafood @ JB Bukit Indah

Visited this place over last weekend.  Seems like eating tiered steamed seafood is the current trend now.  It was something new to see all the food steamed in a tall 9 tier steamer.  The seafood are steamed with minimal or no seasoning.  The whole idea is to taste the freshness of the seafood.  They provided a few simple dipping sauce made of fish sauce or just chilli padi with soya sauce.   There was a oily sauce that tasted like some BBQ dripping.   All the steamed seafood dripping would drip down to the bottom last tier which consists of a soup with some cabbage and tung hoon. Perhaps due to the multiple layers of seafood, the soup had an overwhelming fishy taste.  

The 9 tier seafood costs RM495.  We ordered some other times like fried chicken wings which in my son's opinion was kind of tasteless.  I found the chilli paste on the grilled stingray quite spicy.  The roast chicken tasted normal.  We also ordered sambal balachan fried rice which is not in the photos. That was quite fragrant.  Total damage - RM 650.  Not cheap and I would prefer to eat something nicer if I was paying that price. 

Address found below:

Charcoal Grill Seafood 

18 Jalan Bestari 3/2 81300, Taman Nuss Bestari, Johor Skudai, Johor Malaysia

It is opposite Tesco Bukit Indah, at one of the shophouses on the right of Giant supermarket.

Diamond Kitchen @ Science Park Drive

I would call this a high class zhi cha eating place with air condition.  Visited this place last Sunday for dinner.   The Pumpkin Tofu was quite unique.  People who loves pumpkins may love this.  I prefer Crispy Fried Bean Curd with Chicken Floss.  The salted egg squid was quite usuall. I found the chef recommendation Champagne Pork Ribs was a bit dry.  

I did not try the Sauna Prawn but apparently is just to appreciate the freshness of the prawns. Stir Fry Nai Bai with Bacon was quite unique though, something different to eat vegetables with fried bacon. My personal favourite was the Beehoon La La.  I usually do not like Hokkien Noodles as some places tends to overcooks the noodles and they become soggy.  The Hokkien Noodle here to my surprise did not have the super strong 'ki' taste and the noodles were cooked just right.  

Have a look at their website here Diamond Kitchen for their menu and prices as well as their contact. Reservations recommended as it seems like a popular place.  They provide free valet parking as well. 

Little Diner @ Bukit Timah

Visited this cafe a few weeks back after reading some positive reviews from the Internet.  The place is quite small, thus would be better to make reservations before visiting. 

We tried the Oreo Milkshake, Wild Mushroom Soup which has truffle oil added in the soup.  I did see some oil on the soup but did not really taste much of the truffle.  We tried the Rosario’s Fried Risotto Balls which was good.  It came with a cheese filling which the children loved.  

The American Buttermilk Fried Chicken was good as well.  It was served with handcut fries and maple syrup.  Do not expect the crispiness of the usual fries though.  The XXX Baconator! burger was quite good as well though a bit on the small side.  The meal was ended with Homemade Apple Crumble which was topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

Overall experience was good.  I would want to try their Brunch menu some time in future.

You can visit them at The Diners with their menu and prices online as well. 

Buffet @ The Square Furama

Had lunch at The Square @ Furama last weekend. The food was decent and desserts were good considering that it was under 1 for 1 promotion. 

Here are some pictures of the items from the buffet.  There were also roasted beef rump and a huge fish which I did not take as I was too busy indulging in the food.

Chilled seafood consisting of prawns, octopus, salmon sashimi, some snails which I did not dare to try.  The prawns were good.  However, there were only sliced lemons and chilli mayonnaise to go with these chilled seafood.  It would be good it there were more condiments like thai chilli sauce, mayonnaise, Tabasco sauce.  

Smoked hams and salmon in the above photo.

A variety of salads. I tried the Thai squid which in my opinion was a bit lacking in taste.

I personally liked this fried fish coated with a fruity sauce.

Pandan chicken which I did not try as I took too much desserts.  Hainanese Pork Chop was good.

There was also a DIY ban mien counter.  The soup base was quite good.  Besides the above dishes, there were also melon pork soup that was very tasty and tomato soup which was quite appetizing, with a tinge of sourness.  A cheese counter with 3-4 types of cheese that you can eat with crackers or walnut and dried fruits.  There was an eggplant dish and stir fried black pepper beef which went very well with plain rice.

The desserts at the buffet were quite decent.  The best dessert for the day was Salted Gula Melaka Pandan Cake.  Apple cobber and Chocolate Lava Pudding were also a few of my personal favorite.

The assorted cakes and shooters were very good.  However, I found the cream puffs filling too light with some diluted cream perhaps.  Red bean agar agar was interesting and also good.

The Chocolate Mud Slab was the chef recommendation but I was not too impressed by it.  There were assorted fruits, white fungus soup and 6 flavours of ice cream - jackfruit, yummy raisin, strawberry, vanilla, chocolate, and yam.

The hotel was very nice to have prepared a slice of cake.  This is the Salted Gula Melaka Pandan Cake that I like.  Those who like pandan cakes and gula melaka, don't missed this item which was also in the dessert area. 

With the 1 for 1 promotion ongoing, it is quite worth while to give it a go, It is about $34.20 nett per pax under this promotion.

Monday to Sunday
Buffet Lunch:S$58.00++ (A)  S$16.00++ (C)
Buffet Dinner:S$68.00++ (A)  S$20.00++ (C)

Some after thoughts of this restaurant:

• The lighting in the restaurant was quite dim and I found that it does not bring out the food appearance and at times I wonder what I was eating especially as we were seated quite far away from the windows. 
• It might be good if they could serve mee siam or laksa at the noodle counter.

Will I come back again? Yes, I would not mind if it was under 1 for 1 promotion.  :)