Thursday, March 13, 2008

Bosses

Seriously. No pun intended. Nor it is a laughing matter. It is really called Bosses. Or 黑社會 (heishehui) in Mandarin. Also known as....the triad society.

Scared or not?

Together with CityGal (our visiting guest) and co-host Xiu Long Bao, we braced ourselves and paid the Bosses a visit. Braced breathes a whole new set of connotations (courtesy of my dark, past experience), including tastebuds assault and daylight robbery. Ok, the latter is an absolute exaggeration but Bosses' offerings certainly don't come that cheap. Their men got to eat too, you know.

It was excruciatingly interesting to watch XLB devouring her own kind, which cost S$7.00 (6 pieces) and reminded me of a documentary on the National Geographic Channel sometime back. But I sensed no remorse nor sympathy towards those tiny Shanghainese Steam Meat Dumplings as the skin was rather thick while the minced meat was on the salty side. Juice (or fat) was abundant, though. Just one piece and I left it to XLB to proceed with her sacrificial ritual.

A Chinese New Year special, the Claypot Rice With Assorted Chinese Waxed Sausages, at S$10.80 came in a petite portion that could feed 0.08 of me. The opening of the lid revealed a (fingers) countable amount of both pork and liver sausages with a few strips of blanched greens. The emulsion that dressed the fluffy rice lacked the anticipated waxy aroma and savoury taste. I would have also preferred a thicker, richer sauce. However, the sausage cuts were fresh and flavourful, with a touch of smokiness to boost.

The Fried Seafood Mushroom La Mian (S$14) reminded me of Internal Affairs and The Departed; wonderful ensemble of ingredients (or cast) sans the brilliance of taste, unlike those two award-winning movies. The la mian or handmade, stretched flour noodle was al dente and tasted subtly sweet while the selection of seafood (which consisted of prawns and squid cutlets) was fresh and tender. Choice of vegetables included cabbage shreds, mushrooms, julienned carrot strips and scallion. The single, major flaw turned out to be most important component, the taste. The sauce was just too sweet for me. Perhaps oyster sauce was overused. A drier version would have been appreciated too.

Like all gangsta flicks, there has to be a spark of romance with a pretty damsel while ours came in form of a signature dessert called Flowy Custard Bun (S$6.00 for 3 pieces). Also known as quicksand bun, the dainty sunset-coloured buns were pretty pretty. Served steaming hot, a bite of the bun revealed a soft skin that was neither too thin nor thick. And the filling...oh, the wonderful filling oozed like sand out of a shattered hourglass. Or at least, that's how I felt. Mainly consisted of custard and salted egg yoke, the golden filling was smooth and rich. Taste-wise, a perfect sweet/savoury combination. Lovely.

We also had a pot of Winter Pu Erh Tea at S$4.00. And instead of a pot of lime plant, we were presented with snacks (walnuts) at S$3.80.

The visit ended in peace. All in one piece. Personally, I thought there were more misses than hits. I loved the creative and sophisticatedly dark concept but I guess I will not be paying a visit anytime soon. Why? Recite the name and ask me again....*shudders*

Hope to see you more often in the roaring city, CityGal!

Bosses
No.1, Harbour Front Walk
#02-156, VivoCity
Singapore 098585
Tel: (+65) 63769740

23 comments:

wmw said...

Aiks! I had the same food but in SOHO, 1U! They are by the same operators??? I haven't blogged about it yet, compare then.

"Joe" who is constantly craving said...

looks like ur arm and leg seemed very intact!

Tummythoz said...

'..XLB devouring her own kind,.. reminded me of a documentary on the National Geographic Channel..'
Lol.

JOjo said...

Hmm...never try this restaurant before. But the $14 for the la mian, it is towards the ex side.
There's a restaurant at bugis serving good xiao long bao etc, called xiang nan.Just tried it last week. Will blog about it soon. Highly recommended =)

Jason said...

*Lol with Tummythoz

ling239 said...

sister company of SOHO at 1-U ler...^_^

Sugar Bean said...

Eh, is it really the same company as Soho? I tried their xlb quite some time ago, it was just average.

backStreetGluttons said...

Sue, they must be watching over you guys like hawks as you atempt to eat & try to enjoy,,,shudders too hahaha

fatboybakes said...

snigger...yeah, this was my favourite observation. ".XLB devouring her own kind,.. reminded me of a documentary on the National Geographic Channel.."
which documentary was this ah? the cannibals of the masai mara or the mating rites of a praying mantis?

Sharon Y. said...

I like the boxes the buns come in. Can ta pao the boxes? :) *lol* Those poor xlb, no sympathy from you either..?

sc said...

the flowy custard bun reminded me of something i've tried in M'sia, but it came steamed..lovely nonetheless

teckiee said...

got to ask my Singaporean colleagues about this place. they work in the habour front tower..or something like that

Lyrical Lemongrass said...

With food quality like that, perhaps they should be concentrating on the "other" vocation, eh? *shudders*

HairyBerry said...

wmw, is it?? wah, this i really dunno...i thought the quicksand bun was great. do blog about it...with your d80 ;)

joe, yupe..yupe..hence the ability to write this post...only mild assault on the tastebuds lar..hehehe...

tummythoz & jason, i knew i would write this sentence the moment we joked about it back at bosses...hehe

jojo, xiang nan? cool, will check it out. yeah, it is one the ex-side. i still adore crystal jade instead! and will be awaiting your post.

ling239, cool! i dunno much about SOHO except they give free towels at jacky cheung's concert last year..hehe..will check it out ;)

wenching & esiong, looks like a lot of our food bloggers have tried this place before. i'll go and try the quicksand bun then...

team bsg, yeah, now that you mentioned it...the hawks told us, "no photo allowed except photos of ourselves"...but then again...tadah!!! haha!

fatboybakes, neither. it was actually an insect fighting documentary shown a couple of years back. i'm actually interested in the masai tribe one but since Hannibal Lecter already scared the poop out of me, i'll just skip this lar...

durianberry, haha! the boxes were actually the steamers for the buns. rather cute, right? yeah, the xlbs were not that good.

sc, yupe, that was the highlight of the night. the fluidity was just right and the taste was contradictingly complementary.

teckiee, yeah the 2 harbourfront towers are very near vivocity. they are joined, i think. when are you coming over???

lyrical lemongrass, absolutely! it's funny how some eateries emphasize on the ambience but not the "other" vocation. i miss my lardy hokkien mee!

Xiu Long Bao said...

*eyes rolling*

Dun think i'll revisit...ever...nothing memorable lor. Wat bout Xiang Nan? i think i came across this outlet before...somewhere somewhere...canot remember d...

Big Boys Oven said...

gosh I am salivating now. hope to be in sg this end april!

Anonymous said...

Yeah, i also never try boss before.

Hmm, jojo is correct, if u wan good authetic xiao long bao go to the one at Bugis, i went to their shanghai branch, its supposedly the restaurant that creates xiaolongbao

Jun said...

yeah i walked past this place and thought it was interestingly dark, but when i looked at the prices, i freaked out. quite ex leh...

ai wei said...

have yet to try the Xiu Loong Bao in SOHO but ur post remind me of the XiuLoongBao and the quick sand bun in Dragon-i. that quick sand bun is so irresistable!!!!

Anonymous said...

Wahh... not sure if you enticed me to sample their less than spectacular fare, but I am definitely craving to catch a whole slew of Mafia movies now... Anyone for an Infernal Affairs I, II & III marathon? :D

HairyBerry said...

xiu long bao, yupe, am doing research on xiang nan already. you sure or not? it's not within the perimeter of the mrt stn leh...hehe

big boys oven, yes, yes, we'll be waiting for your arrival. and we'll eat xo fish..hehe...i might be busy with exams though..sigh...but we'll plan something out...

ladyironchef, ok, thanks for the tip! i think it's opposite tiong bahru market, right? will definitely check it out and see if it beats my all-time-fave crystal jade.. :)

jun, yupe, the price is indeed kinda steep. but if one is looking for ambience and a nice view of the harbour and sentosa, this fits the bill lar...me dun like..hehe

ai wei, oh, quicksand buns are addictive, aren't they? have not tried dragon-i's version before. haven't been to soho too! hehehe....

kenny, when? when? seems like finding time to watch movies is as difficult as getting those RM0 promos from AirAsia..haha! you're back on blogs, i see...great!

Unknown said...

hahaha cant wait to try ur " i can fry better than them stir fry noodles"..thanks for the host..appreciate it so much!!

HairyBerry said...

citygal, no problem. we had lotsa fun too..my fried noodle ar? next potluck lah..hehehe