Unlike Taiwan, food establishments located in Singapore's tourist attractions are known for their exorbitant pricing. As a consumer, you do have the right not to patronise the restaurants / eateries although i still find it leaving a bad taste in my mouth when the food turned out to be less than satisfactory; which is often the case.
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Today, i am going to write about the panda themed eatery at River Safari, the latest attraction in Singapore that houses the incredibly popular (not to mention, very cute) giant pandas!
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Mama Panda Kitchen features a typical fast food restaurant concept with bamboo framed photos of adorable pandas in numerous poses adorning the walls.
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There were a few red lanterns hanging from the ceiling to portray that Oriental feel; i personally thought it was just a feeble attempt to justify the higher pricing for the food.
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The major selling point, in my opinion, was more the reservoir view you can get from either dining in the air-conditioned restaurant or at its alfresco section. Anyway, without further ado, let's start on food.
Giant Panda Cappuccino
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Serving largely Chinese dishes, this was one of the few non-Chinese items on the menu. No comment on the coffee (remember, i am more a nanyang coffee lover). Most people would buy it simply for uploading to Instagram / Facebook.
Chicken & Mushroom Bamboo Rice Set
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This came to our table a few moments after we plonked ourselves onto the seats. The supposedly spicy soup was more salty than spicy while the hardly filling bamboo rice tasted like it was microwaveable food. Just to clarify, the latter wasn't horrid and it was more the disappointment of paying close to S$17 for the set.
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Even the mango pudding failed to perk me up. Alex liked it although i found the texture to be overly mushy and the flavour a bit too artificial for my liking.
Fried Wanton
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These were in fact the best thing i had at Mama Panda; the four of them came straight from the frying pot and were a pleasure to bite into given their crispiness! Filling was seasoned a tad peppery for me and could have been better if prawns are added.
Shanghai Wanton Ramen Set
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Thank god this looked substantial enough for us! The lotus chips were quite nice even though i got the feeling it came from a value pack rather than freshly fried like the delicious, unforgettable ones from Wan He Lou.
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Broth was bland and the noodles contained no surprises for me to write anything further on it. The wantons were huge and similar tasting to the fried wantons except for a heavier concentration of chives in the filling.
Panda Chocolate Custard Bao
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No matter how expensive the food / drinks are, it's just too hard to resist the panda-headed buns! At S$2.90 each, the panda baos (with options of red bean or chocolate custard) are one of the cheapest food available in Mama Panda.
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Oozing chocolate sauce which tasted like a less sweet version of nutella, i was quite impressed with the softness of the bun! 'Quite' because it was relatively tasteless and too thick for my liking. Hm.. I should have ordered the red bean one since it would be in line with the oriental theme.
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Location
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Within River Safari (next to Giant Panda section).
Admission fees to River Safari are still applicable.
Pricing
Giant Panda Cappuccino - S$5.90
Chicken & Mushroom Bamboo Rice Set - S$16.90
Fried Wanton - S$5.90
Shanghai Wanton Ramen Set - S$16.90
Panda Chocolate Custard Bao - S$2.90
Menu
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As above