El Toro, Winsland Conservation House

Such a belated post...we dined there on 21 July 2011 after hearing good things about it. I have driven past it many times and always wondered if I should give it a try. The location is kinda in the middle of nowhere as it is at the Winsland Conservation House, where Dubliner's is. Not really in my radar since I am usually at the Mandarin Gallery to Wheelock stretch of Orchard.

We tried the appetizer plate (plato mixto) as it has a bit of everything - mini quesadillas, special bbq wings and jalepeno poppers with sour cream, salsa and cheese dip. I love the warm quesadillas with the crispy tortilla. The jalalepeno popper was a bit too rich as it was deep fried, not super spicy either if you like hot stuff. The bbq wings were very yummy too.

I liked the paella (porto rican paella) which was said to serve 2, but could probably serve 4 small eaters comfortably, especially if there were other dishes to share. It came with fish, spicy sausage and chicken. It was a bit wet-ish, so would suit those who like it moist. I prefer mine a bit drier. But it was much better overnight as I doggy-bagged it and had it the next day.

The waiter recommended this for dessert - chocolate chili cake with ice cream. Bad choice. We did not like it one bit. Chili and chocolate just did not go well together. It was a subtle heat which emanated a few seconds after the first bite. Very strange.

I would love to go back to El Toro again to try the other dishes on the menu.

Cafe Iguana Appetizers

I was at Cafe Iguana last night with some friends and it was packed to the rafters as usual. They have changed their furniture too! The outside tables are paired with bright colorful metal chairs of yellow, blue, green and red. I don't like it at all. A server told me they are from the Greenwood outlet and much lighter than the wooden chairs.

The service was not as good as before too. We were not given the complimentary (not sure about now but it was complimentary the last time I was there around CNY period) chips and salsa dip but I didn't bother to ask for that since I was not that hungry. Water was not served promptly too. I had to request for that twice. Water was only topped up regularly without us asking after I managed to request for a top-up from the i/c or something. It was sad to see the service standard slipping as I used to be such a regular that the i/c recognized me (can't remember if it is the same i/c now).

Then because we only ordered appetizers to share as we were not very hungry, we were not given the proper napkins with fork and knife. Again, another staff told me about this policy. I always thought that was a standard, to be given the proper napkins with cutlery. And when another friend ordered fajitas (from the mains) later, she was not given a plate to make the fajitas.

The saving grace was that the food remained as good and the margarita was still wonderful too.

Quesadillas of mushroom and cheese with salsa dip. Cheesy and filled with enough mushrooms to give bite to the dish.
My favorite appetizer - carne de puerco en chile verde - spicy pork stew with rice, sour cream, flour tortilla. This dish has to be ordered as the appetizer. Somehow the smaller portion enabled the entire bowl of rice to be soaked with the stew.

The main tends to be a bit dry and not as flavorful or good. The pork was tender and has no porky taste or smell at all. There were cubes of potatoes and carrots (I think).

Taco salad - trying to be healthy to get some greens. We chose the chicken skewers but the meat was a bit tough. The other choices were veggies and beef. The greens were fresh and crispy crunchy. The tortilla bowl was crispy and oh so yummy too.

A simple light dinner filled with good food and drinks and company. If only the service was better (though to be fair, it was pretty ok towards the end) and the furniture was the previous ones.

Do make reservations as they are usually full for the weekend.

Santa Fe Tex-Mex Grill on board Stewords Riverboat

The Stewords Riverboat has moved from Sentosa to Marina South Pier. For those who like the rocking sensation of a boat, this will be a perfect venue for dining out. There are 2 restaurants on the boat - Santa Fe and Breaking Bread (opening late May 2007) - and a private dining area, inclusive of a cabin with attached bathroom and outdoor jacuzzi.

I am not an expert on Tex-Mex food and frankly, I can't really tell the difference between it and Mexican food. I like my quesadillas, burritos, fajitas and chips with cheese dip or salsa.

There was a media event last week and I got to try some of the dishes. I like the quesadillas, delicious with the guacamole and sour cream. The mushroom soup is creamy with real shiitake mushrooms. The bbq babyback ribs really slipped off the bones. Very tender and no-porky taste/smell at all.

The fajitas is good, the beef is made from striploin cuts. Soft, not hard at all. The tex-mex chicken is also tender, I can cut it using my fork. The enchilada is a bit too sour for my liking. The chocolate truffle cake is really nice!

As I am prone to motion sickness, I think I will stick to eating at the Santa Fe outside Far East Plaza. But the Riverboat is great for a different dining location and has excellent view of the clear sea and lush greenery and beautiful sunset. Plus there is the private dining area, perfect for private parties with friends.

Cafe Iguana again, and again and again!

I can't believe I went to Cafe Iguana 3 times this week! That shows how much I really like the food there, or is it the tequila calling me back? Hahaha.

I went there on 23, 25 and 26 Jan (Mon, Wed and Thurs) with my (ex) colleagues. I tried something new on those visits, so it was good.

New things I tried were the Camarones al Diablo, Queso Fundido, Carne de Puerco en Chile Verde and Mini Chimichangas. All appetizers. Also sampled the mint chocolate shooter and pink guava frozen margarita. Yummy!

Camarones al Diablo - Prawns sauteed with fiery habanero chile, capsicum, ginger, cumin and lime, served with cheese quesadillas.
This is really good. The prawns are huge and juicy and fresh. The quesadillas are lovely, as usual. The sauce was not as spicy as it sounded from the description.

Queso Fundido - Spicy cheese dip served with corn chips.
Absolutely delicious. Warm toasted chips just hit the spot, and the dip is so creamy and went down smoothly. A new fave.

Carne de Puerco en Chile Verde - Spicy pork stew served with flour tortillas, sour cream and rice.
I like this too. I don't really take pork because of the smell/taste of it, but this does not have any of that at all. I even had the rice, and I try not to take too much rice usually. The pork pieces just melt in your mouth, and the rice is so flavorful you can't help but gobble it down.

Mini Chimichangas - Fried flour tortillas filled with cheese and chicken
I don't really like this, maybe because it is deep fried. It just felt oily or maybe we had too much tortillas by then we didn't really like this.

We also ordered the Sopaipilla (fried pastry served with house made ice cream and honey topping). This is the 2nd time I had this, it is not bad, but nothing to really rave about. It reminded me of A&W waffle with ice cream :) A huge round flat pastry with a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the centre and drizzled with honey and cinnamon topping.

Cafe Iguana is definitely one of my favorite restaurants

Cafe Iguana - 30 December 2005

Nicole, Geri and I went to Cafe Iguana to celebrate the end of the last workday of 2005. It was a fun night, we didn't get drunk despite drinking 2 jugs of lime margarita on the rocks, as well as a shooter each. I had the Chocolate Orange (tequila, mars bar with orange liquor) while Nic and Geri had the Mars Bar shooter (without orange). It really hit the spot ~ you can feel the warmth within seconds and it was sweet too. Delicious!

We decided to share 2 appetizers. Small nachos (thank God it is small, as the last time Dave ordered the large and it was huge) and my fave - quesadilla with cheese and chicken.

Nachos & quesadilla

Chicken burrito topped with spicy pork stew

For mains, I ordered the shredded steak burrito topped with carne de puerco en chile verde (spicy pork stew), Nic had the same except hers was the chicken burrito and Geri ordered the chicken soft tacos. I usually have the fajitas, but ever since I tried the burrito with the stew, I like that. And I am usually not a pork eater. As expected, we couldn't finished our mains...just too full from the appetizers. Didn't take picture of the soft taco as we were too famished then, and I only remembered to take pictures at the end. My steak burrito looked too messy to grace this page as I was just digging out the meat :p

I love Cafe Iguana, the food is always good. Not too keen on their dessert though. Reservations are needed as it is always full house, even on weeknights.