649942 Thu Sep 03 23:50:17 -0700 2009 2 48 Greater Asia 0 5004136 Fellow Chowhounds, I just want to get your opinions on the new places in Dempsey Hill and whether they are worth cheking out: - Cafe Hacienda - Jumbo Seafood at Dempsey (I hear they serve dim sum at lunch time?) - Angel's Share - The Ranch @ Dempsey Hill I've some relatives coming from Macau and I want to make sure they are impressed! Thu Sep 03 23:50:18 -0700 2009 245541 M_Gomez 1 5004231 Just got back from Singapore a few nights ago. We went to Jumbo @ Dempsey for chilli crab (dinner) and I can't say I was impressed, though not having been to the other Jumbos I can't really compare. Our crab was pretty tasteless (apart from the chilli), the meat ok, but not 'sweet'. It was very busy though - we booked for 8pm, requesting an indoor table, but when we got there they didn't have any, though sitting outside was ok (horrible music though). We also had a dish that was you tiao filled with shrimp paste, covered with sesame seeds and deep fried. It was ok, but I almost forgot that it was you tiao as it was devoid of elasticity. We also had stir fried baby kai lan, which was fine - fresh and crisp, but if they didn't even do that right I think they'd need to shutter! All in all, not a horrible experience, but I simply wasn't impressed! Fri Sep 04 04:16:15 -0700 2009 5004136 119622 e_ting 2 5006965 Thanks for the warning about Jumbo, dear. I just heard as much from one of my friends today who confirmed what you said - she was scandalised by the prices and less than satisfactory food. I tried Long Beach, which is also very expensive, but at least I liked the food which, although I thought was not as good as Long Beach in the olden days when it was in Simpang Bedok, is passable. I tried Cafe Hacienda with DH this morning. Oh my, I don;t think I'm going back. The food was very average. We had a chicken pie, and a "big breakfast" for DH which only had precisely one Cumberland sausage, a tiny dollop of baked beans, 2 eggs & 2 little bacon rashers. My chicken pie was very creamy but bland otherwise. The service was atrocious: waitresses who acted deaf & dumb & blind when we ask for their attention. The whole place was so cramped at lunch-time and they put so many tables so close together, we can accidentally elbow someone at another table if we're not careful. I am certainly not going back there! Paying customers like us certainly deserve something better! Sat Sep 05 06:46:42 -0700 2009 5004231 245541 M_Gomez