When it comes to cheap and good food in West of Singapore, the first place that comes to mind is definitely Bukit Timah Food Market & Hawker Centre. It is one of my usual hang-out places for local food as it’s only ten minutes away from my home.

It can be quite a daunting task when you are ordering food in hawker centres. Which stalls do we order from? Shall we flip a coin, judge by the number of newspaper cuttings, or simply look at the queue of each stall? If you are planning to make a trip to Bukit Timah Hawker Centre, I’ll like to share with you some of my favorite food there.

For those of you who have been reading my food blog for a while, I’m sure you know that Char Kway Teow is one of my favorite hawker food. I usually order it from Xin Heng Char Kway Teow (Stall 181) when I’m having dinner at Bukit Timah Food Centre. He Zhong Carrot Cake (Stall 185) is extremely famous for their white carrot cake. I very much prefer the sweet and eggy black carrot cake so I seldom order this unless my friends want to try it.

For Oyster omelette, avoid the one from Fried Carrot Cake Fried Oyster (Stall 145), the omelette was soggy and there was hardly any oyster. I can’t remember the name of the stall that I always order from — it’s in the same row as Xin Heng Char Kway Teow.

It’s always a good idea to eat at hawker centre with a group of friends (at least 4-5 people) so that you can order more food. Stall 156 BBQ Seafood offers a good variety of BBQ seafood like stir fried Lala clams, BBQ Stingray and sambal kangkong – great for sharing, but I can probably finish the excellent stingray on my own.

I have tried two of out three of the hokkien mee stalls in Bukit Timah Hawker Centre. On one occasion, we decided to try Fried Hokkien Mee (Stall 145) because of the long queue. Unfortunately, the hokkien mee was a total letdown, the sambal chili wasn’t spicy enough, and the taste of the noodles was subtle – bordering on bland. The second Hokkien Mee Stall is located in the middle row of the food centre and they use the distinctive flat yellow noodle. I’m going to try out the third stall (facing the main road) the next time round.

Peter Pan Western Food (Stall 133) has been around for some time, and they have value-for-money Western Food. Otherwise, there’s Tom Kitchen Western Food which is located near the stairs. Long House Popiah used to have a branch in Bukit Timah Hawker Centre, but on my recent visit, I realized that it’s not there anymore. Try the popiah and kueh pie tee from Stall 127 instead. There’s also the famous Satay bee hoon, Japanese food, and Thai Food stalls worth trying if you want something different.

If you are having breakfast at Bukit Timah Food Centre, be sure to order the Kway Chap from stall 138. There’s always a long queue when I go there during weekends. My mother is a big fan of the huge fishballs from Teochew Fishball noodle, (Stall 179) as well as the dark sauce wanton mee from Stall 197 Happy Wanton Noodle. To end the hawker feast on a sweet note, have the smooth beancurd and Tang Yuan (glutinous rice balls) from Soyako (Stall 166).

// Bukit Timah Food Market & Hawker Centre is within walking distance from Bukit Timah Shopping Centre, and Bukit Timah Plaza. For other options, there’s a stretch of eateries and restaurants at Cheong Chin Nam road, Chun Tin road and Lorong Kilat opposite Beauty World.

Singapore Hawker Food Review
Bukit Timah Food Centre
116 Upper Bukit Timah Road

Because you are readers of my food blog — today I’m going to let you into one of the best kept secrets in Singapore.

Chef Daniel’s Kitchen is one of the latest Iluma Bugis Restaurant located at level 7 of the shopping mall’s Sky Garden. For just $10.50, the 3 course set lunch at Chef Daniel’s Kitchen ought to be one of the best value for money lunches in Singapore. Everyone starts a soup of the day with herbed bread, a main course from more than 15 choices to choose from, and a dessert of the day.

The choices for the Chef Daniel’s Kitchen set lunch are rather diversified. For a Japanese fusion meal, go for the tonkatsu don, otherwise there’s the popular grilled beef burger, fish & chips, or spaghetti. If you are looking for something different, there’s always the lamb stewed navarin and beef stew.

Prawn & Crab Meat Burger

Portions are petite, but should be substantial for most. Most of the main courses come with a generous helping of fries and greens. Coupled with the soup and dessert, it should be enough to send you into a food coma until the afternoon high tea time.

Coated with a layer of melted cheese, the Grilled Beef Burger was seemingly small initially, but I found myself struggling to finish the whole meal. I didn’t quite take to he deep fried buns though.

The Grilled Sirloin Steak arrived last, and our friend attacked it immediately. “Mmm, very good.. Mmm, very good..” was all that she could muster. “This is one of the best set lunches in Singapore! We really need to come back again!”

Spaghetti with pan-fried dory fillet

For just $10.50, there’s really nothing you can complain about the 3 course set lunch at Chef Daniel’s Kitchen. With a nice setting in the high ceiling restaurant at the level 7 of Iluma Sky Garden, this is one of the best value for money restaurants in town. So if you are working near the Bugis area, grab your colleagues and go down to Chef Daniel’s Kitchen for a good lunch today! Have a good weekend guys!

Restaurant Review
Chef Daniel’s Kitchen
201 Victoria Street #07-02/03
Iluma @ Bugis Singapore
Tel: +65 6509 9888

After sharing a nutella tart at Everything with fries, we continued our rendezvous at The Garden Slug, and having desserts at The Cheesecake Cafe in the middle of the night never tasted so good. Slurping down KOI Bubble Tea, checking out a new yogurt place and wandering around Parkway Parade for a Sushi high tea; all seems part and parcel of the perfect Saturday. We took everything With a Pinch of Salt and now I’m left wondering: what’s next?

I know honey, lets have Thai food tonight! Mmmm, but, but I am craving for a burger too! Two Fat Men is a no-frills cafe/bar located at East Coast road which serves Thai street food and Western Bar food.

Actually, I’m quite hesitant to describe them as a cafe since it isn’t one technically. Lets try again: Two Fat Men is somewhat like a watering hole set in a kopitiam setting, and interestingly, their menu has both Thai and Western influence.

The Grilled Pork Neck with tamarind spicy sauce ($8.90) was divine. Seriously, that’s all you need to know. No matter how much I raved about it, no amount of words would do justice to the beautiful and rosy pork neck, with a railway track of proportional fats running along the side of the meat. It was fatty, yet not cloying, luscious and so, so tender!

The shot of the Basil Chicken Fried Rice ($6.50) was less than flattering and all of us were obviously visual creatures when it arrived on the table.

“Eh, why did we order the fried rice?”

It was wrong for us to judge the fried rice by the plain appearance. I’m quite critical when it comes to fried rice, it’s either good or bad, no in between. But Two Fat Men’s Basil chicken fried rice totally won me over. Every Grain of rice seemed to capture the essence of the wok-hei. Honestly, I had no idea how to describe the fried rice – this was simplicity at its best. I’d definitely recommend you to try the fried rice and the grilled pork neck at Two Fat Men.

Like what I’ve mentioned in my previous post, size does matters when it comes to burger.

In this aspect, Two Fat Men didn’t really meet the requirement. The burger patty was substantial but not filling. My dining companion had the Cajun Chicken Burger ($6.90) which I felt was better than the Two Fat Men’s Beef Burger ($7.90).

After having a ‘main course’ each, there were still room in the stomach and we decided to order the Brats with fries ($6.90). It was an unfortunate closure for the dinner at Two Fat Men as the sausages and fries were run-of-the-mill.

Two Fat Men is somewhat like the Smok’Inn Frogz Kitchen of the East. Both Aston Specialties and Everything with fries are kind of over-hyped popular now, if you are looking for cheap and affordable food in the East of Singapore – I’d definitely recommend With a Pinch of Salt Cafe, and Two Fat Men. I’m so coming back again to try the other Thai food!

Restaurant Review
Two Fat Men
376 East Coast Road Singapore
Tel: +65 6346 0046
Open Daily 5pm – 3am

// Read my list of Thai Restaurants in Singapore.

I have never been shy to declare my undying love for breakfast. Be it a simple breakfast of kaya toast & soft-boiled eggs, or the Western All Day Breakfast; I love to explore and discover new breakfast places in Singapore.

OverEasy at One Fullerton is an American restaurant that serves comfort favorite food. The menu is refreshingly simple. It consists of popular choices like burgers, sandwiches, pastas, breakfast food, and milkshake — all done the American style.

Scanning through the menu, my eyes immediately locked onto three words: All Day Breakfast.

On its own, the sausages and eggs are probably not worth a second look. But when you have both of them together, the sausages and the eggs somehow blended together effortlessly; the salty bacon enhanced the taste of the fresh and creamy eggs, while the eggs provided the counterbalance to the otherwise over-salty bacon — the resulting combination was something very simple, yet sophisticated.

We were barely aware that there’s the bacon, potatoes, tomato and the delicious sauteed mushrooms in the hotplate too. I didn’t see the crispy and crackly bacon streaks by the side of the plate, nor the slightly tanned & toned hash browns – together with the cherry red grilled tomato and the juicy sauteed mushrooms – they would have to wait till later.

The perfect choice for all day breakfast – OverEasy’s Eggs Skillet ($15).

I am a very superficial guy. Size does matter when it comes to burger!

While OverEasy’s “To-die-for” Burger ($19) wasn’t exactly ‘big’, it was pretty satisfying with the beef patty done medium. Other than the distasteful deep-fried buns (too sinful), the burger was decent with the aided of the flavorful (salty) fries. The presence of pickles reminded me of the McDonald’s cheeseburger. Other than that, a glass of coke, or a pint of beer would be excellent to go with the OverEasy’s burger.

Okay, so the to-die-for burger at OverEasy wasn’t really to-die-for. While it was decent, I had better burgers that were cheaper elsewhere — I’d probably order the breakfast food over the burger on my next visit.

Cool vibe, reasonable prices, decent food – I can definitely see myself coming back to OverEasy at One Fullerton again. Especially when they offer all day breakfast on the menu.

A couple of my friends were at OverEasy for drinks at night, and they mentioned that it’s one of the chill out bars in Singapore that they frequented. Will you come to OverEasy at One Fullerton for food, drinks, or both?

Restaurant Review
OverEasy One Fullerton
1 Fullerton Road
#01-06 One Fullerton
Tel: +65 6423 0701

The Garden Slug’s Waga Wagyu Beef burger ($18.90)

Of late, I have been hanging out in the East almost every week. I’ve mentioned on twitter that I needed some suggestions for my list on the best food places in the East of Singapore.

There were many responses pointing to the stretch of restaurants along East Coast road, with Aston Speciality and Everything with Fries among the more popular options there. But the whole area was a little hyped-up and I preferred a quieter place for a simple dinner.

I’ve been to The Garden Slug previously for a food photography workshop organized by Samsung Singapore. When my partner said that she wanted comfort food for dinner, the cafe immediately came to mind.

Housed in the same cluster together with a few pet stores, The Garden Slug is somewhat like an indie cafe at Lorong L Telok Kurau. It serves homely comfort food – think big portions of Western food at reasonable prices.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Rustic Bolognese pasta ($9.90). There wasn’t any fanciful ingredients, just a light tomato sauce created with topside beef and carrot chunks and topped with zucchini. It was a very simple yet satisfying pasta done the Garden Slug way – comfort food in large portions.

The Hickory Babyback ribs ($29.0 for full and $18.90 for half rack) was bright, and hearty. The perfect dish to whet your appetite when you don’t feel like eating, and it’s also the dish to make us hungrier when we are feeling hungry. Having half a rack alone was probably not enough, so we ordered the full rack to share.

Risotto looks like baby food, except that it’s much nicer.

I have a love-hate feeling for the risotto. It’s heavy, yet comforting. It’s a dish that I will want to order every time, but never wise to do so since I always can’t finish it on my own. It’s silly and downright foolish to try and finish a serving of risotto alone. Risotto is meant to be shared.

Subconsciously, I found myself scooping mouth after mouth after mouth of the Grilled Ocean Scallops with Mushroom risotto (on the weekend special menu). I adored the huge chunks of mushroom, and the risotto was somewhat similar to porridge. It’s warm and charming – the perfect thing for rainy days. This is comfort food at its best.

The portions of the dishes at The Garden Slug are big and filling, and the Pan Seared Dory Fillet ($17.90) is no exception.

* * *

Like what I have mentioned, most people would probably think of the stretch of restaurants along East coast road, or Siglap centre when they think of the best food places in the East of Singapore.

If you are looking for a place that is away from the crowded East Coast area, The Garden Slug is a great hidden gem to bring your family, friends or date to. The cafe is simple and unpretentious. Most of the main courses are priced under $20, and I can see myself returning to the garden slug for their all day breakfast soon.

Restaurant Review
The Garden Slug
55 Lorong L Telok Kurau
#01-59/61 Bright Centre
Tel: +65 6346 0504

The Garden Slug is listed as one of ladyironchef’s favorite restaurants in Singapore.

I know it seems like I am always scheming and teasing to get you hungry, but trust me: everything that I do is for your own good. Today is Sunday. And as my favorite saying goes: Sunday is made for brunch.

If you are still looking for a place, take a look at my list of brunch places in Singapore. But if you ask me directly, I’d highly recommend you to check out Epicurious Cafe, which is voted Best Breakfast in Singapore by Time Out Singapore.

Epicurious Cafe has always been well known for their weekend brunch. It’s almost impossible to get a table without waiting if you reach after twelve noon, and here’s the good news – Epicurious has recently opened a new branch at Railmall. And the best part? The breakfast menu at railmall is exactly the same as the one at Robertson Quay.

Sharon the co-owner of Epicurious Cafe recommended me to go for the Baked Eggs with Toast Soldiers ($6.50 for 1) and I agreed that it’s absolutely divine! Eggs and bacons are the best couple in this world. The latter always makes eggs become so much better!

When the trio of eggs, bacon, and cheese are baked together, there’s only a word to describe everything – magic! I believe that the Baked eggs are more than capable of defending Epicurious Cafe title of Best Breakfast in Singapore.

Having tried the Eggs Benedict on my previous visit, I decided to go for the Ratatouille Omelette ($12). Tomatoes and eggplant added color and contrasting texture to the smooth and silky egg. If I may add, the side potatoes were really tasty, and I like the combination of the slightly sourish fillings with the omelette.

Where’s the best pancakes in Singapore?

I get this question very often, and the first thing that comes to my mind will be the Pancakes ($7 for 3) at Epicurious. I can’t say if this is the best pancakes in Singapore, but one thing’s for sure, the pancakes here are definitely one of the most value-for-money.

Breakfast is all about eggs and pancakes.

For desserts, we had the Apple Crumble and a slice of carrot cake. The apple tart was lovely. Warm and soft and tart, it had a very appley flavor, with a scoop of cold ice cream – this was the perfect fairytale ending to our wholesome breakfast.

* * *

In my opinion, Epicurious Cafe is still one of the best brunch places in Singapore. If you are one of those who have problems waking up early for breakfast and never seem to be able to get a table at Epicurious Robertson Quay; dude, it’s time to go to the Rail Mall branch.

The same good old breakfast – now available in the West.

Restaurant Review
Epicurious Singapore
392 Upper Bukit Timah Road
The Rail Mall
Tel: +65 6894 5926

Everything With Fries Cheese Burger

I was joking on twitter that restaurants are coming up with all sorts of fanciful name to catch the attention of diners. We have Mad for Garlic (an Italian restaurant at Suntec that is obsessed with Garlic), Once Upon a Milkshake (the ice cream/milkshake parlour), and now Everything With Fries (but apparently not everything comes with fries).

Gimmicky names are fine since they help customers to remember and associate the restaurant’s brand identity. For example, if it’s just called ‘another Italian restaurant’, chances are no one will take notice of it. But you know, if it’s up to me, I’d totally call my cafe Death by Nutella!

Okay that aside, I have been to Everything with Fries’s original outlet at Joo Chiat before, but I only had their popular Nutella tart that time. Fast forward half a year later, now they have a new branch at Lorong Mambong, Holland Village.

Everything With Fries Lamb Burger

Top of their main course list on the menu is the Cheese Burger ($9.90). All mains at Everything With Fries are served with a choice of fries and a coleslaw or baby caesar. While this is not as confusing, nor as complicated (or comprehensive if you prefer to say it in a nicer manner) as Aston Specialties just a stone throw down the road, there was some problems when it comes to deciding the fries.

Given it’s call Everything With Fries, nobody expects it to have just one type of fries. There’s two types to choose from, shoestring and straight cut – and five different ‘flavors’: Original, Curry, Salt & Vinegar, Sour Cream and Onion, Garlic and herbs.

I’m just guessing here, but they probably got the inspiration from potato chips. Doesn’t Sour cream and onion reminds you of Lays potato chips? Anyway among the few of us, we preferred the Straight cut (thick fries) to the Shoestring (skinny fries).

The staff strongly recommended the One Egg Soup. It was pretty value for money granted that the soup was only $3.90. Taste wise, it was not too bad, with a deep fried egg in the middle of chicken broth. But personally, I’d rather order an additional dessert.

Among the main courses that we have tried, I like the Pork Cutlet Sandwich ($8.90). There’s something about a pork cutlet sandwich that makes it so nostalgic.

If you do not want something so sinful, then go for the Grilled ham and cheese sandwich ($8.90). Lightly toasted bread with ham and cheese enveloped in between, accompanied by shoestring Sour cream and Onion fries, and coleslaw.

For desserts, we opted for the Mille Crepe ($5.90). On it’s own, the crepe was weak, bordering on bland. But when I dipped it in the chocolate sauce from the nutella tart, everything tasted so good! Maybe it’s the chocolate sauce then.

Mention Everything With Fries, chances are people will reply Nutella Tart ($4.90), which is one of their popular items on the menu. For five dollars, I am not complaining, but it will be perfect if it comes with a bigger scoop of ice cream.

* * *

It’s a very simple formula: Decent food + Catchy marketing + Affordable prices. But most places just don’t get it. They either tried and failed completely, or missed out on one of the factors.

I am hoping that the folks at Awfully Chocolate who are the ones behind Everything With Fries (EWF), will not go down the cafe-chain route. It’s cool to have two to three branches so that we can visit Everything With Fries without having to go all the way to Katong, but I think it will be a mistake if they are going to open a dozen cafes all over Singapore.

Everything with Fries is affordable, serve pretty decent Western food and now that there’s a new branch at Holland V, I’m very sure they will have many new supporters in the West.

Restaurant Review
Everything With Fries
458 Joo Chiat Road
Tel: +65 6345 5034

40 Lorong Mambong
Holland Village
Tel: +65 6463 3741
(Closed on Monday)

Where and what to eat in Robertson Quay?

I get that question a lot, as people always ask me for recommendations on nice restaurants in Robertson Quay. I’m not sure if you have been there before, but there are actually plenty of options if you want to check out the restaurants at Robertson Quay.

Boomarang Bistro & Bar is one of them. It’s located further down from the Alkaff Bridge at Robertson Quay, away from the main stretch of restaurants. If you can’t find it, look out for Red House Seafood and walk towards that direction.

Boomarang Bistro is one of the few Australian restaurants in Singapore – it was set up by a true Aussie owner and his chef with the aim of introducing their interpretation of authentic Australian cuisine to Singapore.

It’s astonishing to hear that the actual size of the Chicken Parmigiano ($22) was thrice that of the tasting portion that we had in the picture. That’s huge! With the cheese, tomato and ham on top, I thought it was a pizza.

To my surprise, the base was actually a chicken breast fillet. For someone who usually hates the hard and dry chicken breast meat, I found the one here to be extremely tender and incredibly juicy. 22 bucks for something so big and rewarding? I’d definitely order this dish when I come back the next time!

I’m not sure if it’s because I was hungry, but the toasted Brioche was absolutely delicious! Forget about the salmon and salad on top, just give me the bread!

Marina suggested that we should try the Lemon & Lime Calamari, which is one of her favorite items on the menu. We squeezed not just lemon, but also lime, and that was it. I’m a big fan of citrus fruit, and it’s definitely a fantastic idea to have both lemon and lime.

The calamari however, could be better. It was slightly soggy and lacked the crunch.

Made for ladies

I’m sure there’s a tag like this on the salmon. All the girls in town will definitely fall in love with the Panfried Salmon Fillet ($28) with Saffron Baby Potatoes. Earlier on, we caught a glimpse of the chef handling the raw salmon in the kitchen, it was an entiree slab of meat. Fresh? You bet!

Oh boy oh boy oh boy oh boy!

Wow! Kangaroo meat!

I didn’t know there’s Kangaroo meat in Singapore!

I was so excited when I saw it on the menu. Now I can proudly say that I have tried Kangaroo meat before! Just ticked the box on my checklist – kangaroo meat – done!

Charred on the brim, the Peppered Kangaroo Loin ($28) was done medium, retaining the pinkish-red tinge in the middle. I have no idea how a good kangaroo meat should taste like, but it was somewhat familiar to beef, just slightly tougher. It was chewy, and there was none of the gamy smell I thought it’d have.

The desserts are so beautiful. Oh gosh, I’m hungry again!

Looking at the dessert menu, the Flourless Chocolate Cake caught my attention immediately. It sounds good, and it looks very pretty too! The chocolaty top was a little too much for Ju, but it tasted just right to me. It’s not too sweet, and there’s this slight bitterness in the dark chocolate – it would be perfect if there was a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

“This is the best sticky date pudding ever!”

Initially, I wasn’t quite convinced when Marina told us that Boomarang Bistro serves the best sticky date pudding. I was actually afraid to try the dessert when it arrived on the table. What if this isn’t good? What if it’s just that I simply don’t like sticky date puddings and it has nothing to do with the dessert?

I leaned forward cautiously, keeping my fingers crossed. I took a corner of the pudding, and mixed it with the pretty vanilla bean ice cream. Compared with the ones that I’ve before which crumbled way too easily, Boomarang Bistro’s Sticky date pudding ($10) was a lot firmer, and it was actually quite good! Best sticky date pudding? I don’t want to pass a judgment, but for the first time, I think I actually enjoyed a sticky date pudding.

Go to Boomarang Bistro and order their Sticky date pudding. After that, let me know if it’s the best sticky date pudding you have tried.

If you are looking for a sugary sweet dessert, the Pavlova is definitely the one. It is like a meringue-based dessert. I had it once before, and I thought it tasted like pure sugar. The happy smile on everyone’s face – there’s nothing like a sweet dessert.

* * *

I’ll like to thank Marina from Croc Media for inviting and hosting the lunch. The prices at Boomarang Bistro & Bar are very reasonable for the huge and hearty portions. It’s a great chill out place for dinner with a group of friends, and if you are considering a restaurant at Robertson Quay for dinner, why not check out Boomarang Bistro? And oh yes, they serve all day brunch until 3pm during weekends too!

Restaurant Review
Boomarang Bistro & Bar
60 Robertson Quay
#01-15 The Quayside
Tel: +65 6738 1077

When Arnold from Mr Gadget was in town last weekend, our plan was to meet for brunch. It was a choice between having Sunday Brunch at Prive or our familiar local Singapore breakfast of kaya toast. But above all, Valerie and I wanted to show him the beautiful Keppel Bay.

Prive Bakery & Cafe at Keppel Island serves all day breakfast, burgers, pastas, sandwiches, milkshake and desserts. The menu is simple, nothing fancy – just causal and comfort food.

“I want pancakes, I want pancakes..” I could almost hear my heart whispering to itself.

Oh my, the pancakes – they are so good! This is one thing that I can have everyday without getting sick of it. They taste great with a scoop of ice cream, or if you are like me, I’d rather have them with just syrup and butter. Lots of butter. Prive’s Bakery Cafe Fluffy Pancake ($13.5), the one you see on the picture up there, gave us a little surprise – there was a small honeycomb that came along with the pancakes. Do I like it? I love it!

As it was a late brunch at 3pm – no, no one overslept – the rationale decision was to go for something light and share. The choice of the Ultimate Breakfast ($17) was unanimously agreed by the three of us. Two poached eggs, bacon, mushrooms, baked beans and toast. I-love-breakfast!

Breakfast all day, everyday.

My eyes darted to the ‘burger’ section subconsciously; just like how a guy would suddenly straighten up when a pretty girl stepped into the room.

“Burger?” I gave my dining companions an innocent look.

“No! We are having Italian dinner at 7pm, remember?”

Bummer – I sulked, and protested. Oh well, at least there’s an Italian feast waiting with all the pasta, risotto and tiramisu. Anyway, the alternative was the Seafood wrap. I was pretty skeptical. I mean, how good can a wrap be when there’s burger? This is their famous 200g Wagyu beef burger that we are talking about. To my our surprise, it’s actually very decent. Generous fillings of the seafood ingredients were kept in the thin yet sturdy wraps.

Prive Bakery Cafe remains one of my favorite place for brunch. There’s nothing fantastic about the food, just simple, well-executed comfort food served at reasonable prices. It’s hard not to like this place, if you haven been here, I’m sure you’d like it. Trust me.

After coming up with the list of breakfast places in Singapore, I have this crazy idea to indulge in brunch every weekend, lets call this project #brunch52. On the quest for the best brunch in Singapore, get on with it!

Sundays are meant for brunch – Prive serves brunch daily till 5pm.

Restaurant Review
Privé bakery café
2 Keppel Bay Vista
GF Marina @ Keppel Bay
Tel: 6776 0777

With so many new Burger joints popping up in Singapore, which one do you go to? I have my fair share of going to some of the burger places in Singapore. I’ve tried Wagyu beef burgers with foie gras, expensive gourmet burgers, incredibility tiny burgers at some of the chic drinking places. But at the end of the day, I’d go to Smok’inn Frogz Kitchen at Bar Bar Black Sheep when I’m craving for a really good burger.

The thing about a good burger, to put it simply – they are so seducing! There’s nothing as sexciting like a gorgeous burger. Some places try too hard, they come up with fanciful names or throw in exotic ingredients, but you know what? All I want for a good burger is: a good juicy beef patty topped with melted cheese sandwiched between two toasted fluffy buns.

And Smok’Inn Frogz Kitchen is just exactly all about that, there isn’t any fanciful name – just a simple ‘homemade beef burger‘. Considering the burger is $12 nett, I’d think that it’s very hard to beat them.

Besides their popular Homemade Beef Burger, we also had the Grilled chicken burger and the Mushroom Cheese burger. Having tried the homemade beef burger on the previous two occasions, I was keen to go for the other burgers available on the menu and I chose the Grilled Chicken Burger. It was decent, but not wow. Maybe it was my fault as I was expecting to have a thick chicken patty, but instead there was chunks of grilled chicken stacked up together to form a patty.

We couldn’t really differentiate between the Homemade Beef Burger and Mushroom Cheese Burger since both had beef patty and came with cheese. The only exception to the latter was the inclusion of the mushrooms instead of caramelized onions. Beer goes so well with burger, needless to say, we finished every crumb of it and even most of the fries.

* * *

Maybe I shouldn’t hype too much about the burgers lest all of you have too much expectations of it, but I think it’s definitely up there among the best burgers in Singapore. If you are going to check out Smok’Inn Frogz Kitchen at Bar Bar Black Sheep, try to go before 6.30pm as it gets really crowded after that, and they are not open for lunch during weekdays.

Now you need to tell me: where’s your favorite burger place in Singapore?

Restaurant Review
Smok’Inn Frogz Kitchen
879 Bukit Timah Road
Weekdays: 5pm-11pm
Sat: 1pm-11pm
Sun: 9am-11pm
Bar Bar Black Sheep

If there’s anything that I will not get sick of, it will definitely be eggs. I love eggs! Be it scrambled eggs, poached eggs or sunny side-up, I can have them every day.

I always envisage the idea of a restaurant serving all day brunch. By that, I mean a place which has all day breakfast for not just breakfast, lunch but also dinner – serving nothing but breakfast food.

In the past year, we have seen the entrance of many new brunch places in Singapore. Hatched at Evans Lodge is a restaurant that serves all day breakfast. I went to Hatched during a weekday lunch. Even though it wasn’t very crowded, there was a slight hiccup as the staff forgot to pass my order to the kitchen and we waited for slightly longer than 30 minutes.

Otherwise, the menu is perfect for me. Hatched has all kinds of eggs; boiled, poached, baked, scrambled, fried, and omelette. There were so many different type of eggs on the menu – it took us a while to read through the menu.

And of course, brunch is all about Eggs Benedict. Hollandaise sauce is the key to a good eggs benedict, but the one here could be more buttery. Sir Benedict ($16 for two) however, is no ordinary stuff. Eggs and bacon are the best couple ever, no one can resist the temptation when eggs meet bacon.

Lets have a pancake party!

Soft and fluffy, the Pancake Party ($10 for 3) is the perfect start to a good breakfast. I’ve decided, pancakes are my favorite breakfast food. You know what I’d do? Dip the pancake into the honey syrup, and mix it with the fresh butter cream; this is sheer luxury.

I love the sauteed mushrooms and juicy tomatoes that came together with the Papillote ($12). The sliced smoked salmon of bright red hue was wrapped around the scrambled eggs and presented on top of the toast.

* * *

If you are craving for breakfast food during dinner, Hatched is definitely an ideal place. All day brunch, anyone?

Restaurant Review
Hatched
26 Evans Road
#01-06 Evans Lodge
Tel: +65 6735 0012
Closed on Monday

As a kid, I grew up having Pizza Hut’s Pan Pizzas. Before the invention of the thin crust pizza, I always thought that there’s only one type of pizza – the thick crust one – and I liked it a lot. Even after I came to discover the existence of the Thin pizza with crispy base, I still preferred the thick doughy ones.

I mean eating pizza is all about the thick crust. It doesn’t feel right to have a pizza, which has such a thin base, that it’s almost like just having the toppings. That’s why when it comes to Pizza; my family will always go to Pizza Hut.

Pizza Hut is all about family time. It is the time where the whole family gets to enjoy dining out together. It is also the time to call for pizza delivery to satisfy my brother’s craving, or when my mom is too tired to cook.

Sitting in the familiar environment, it felt like we were kids again. I can remember the excitement while anticipating for the pizza to come. When it comes to Pizza Hut, I’m sure many of you remember their popular Sweet ‘N’ Spicy Drumlets, as well as the garlic bread. Forget about everything else, I will exchange anything for all the Drumlets – just give it all to me.

I like my pizza to be crusty, and doughy and filling. Most importantly, it has to be cheesy – just like the one up there in the picture. The sight of the entangled cheese is always so alluring, evidently my tame effort to resist it always fails – but at least I tried. Now it’s time to have our pizza party!

All along, I’ve always thought that pizza hut was only about pizza, but during the tasting session, we were introduced to Pizza Hut’s Pasta Perfetto series. Pizza Hut currently has 12 selections on their pasta menu, which includes 8 classic and 4 specialty pastas.

The 8 Classic pastas are the following: Chicken Pomodoro, Creamy Porcini Mushroom, Pep ‘n’ Spice, Prawn Aglio Olio, Spicy Chicken Pomodoro, Traditional Bolognaise, Turkey Bacon Carbonara and Veggie Pomodoro.

As for the 4 specialty pastas, they are: Basil Crayfish (above picture), Fish in Tomato cream sauce, Peppery Ribs, and Seafood Vongole. The prices range from $5.90 for the classic selections to $12.90 for the specialty ones.

The latest addition to the menu is the Soft Shell Crabbiatta ($12.90). I am not very good with words, nor am I lyrical enough to describe how the Soft Shell Crabbiatta taste like.

But, I think it tasted like Chili Crabs.

Yes, Chili crabs. It was spicy yet sweet, tangy to the tongue and appealing to the palate. The sauce was a bright hue of orange-red, I know – it’s definitely not the most photogenic pasta out there. But then again, when is pasta ever photograph-able? Pastas are meant to be messy, and disorganized, but yet when they are tossed and mixed together – somehow, everything looks just right.

What aspects do you look out for in pasta? Do you like the rich and heavy cream base ones, or the sweet and mellow tomato base pasta? There are a lot people who like the meatball rendition, but personally I’d prefer seafood pasta. Having tried the Soft Shell Crabbiatta, it was actually quite decent. Deep-fried to a handsome shade of golden-brown, the soft shell crab was partially immersed in the sauce. The pasta would taste even better if they had added in chunks of crabmeat.

It’s inevitable that people will judge it against chilli crab, but it’s not even fair to compare it that way since it’s not even chili crab to begin with. Look, here’s a pasta that somewhat tasted like chilli crab; I’m not telling you if it’s good, go try it for yourself!

The Soft Shell Crabbiatta is available at all Pizza Hut restaurants from now till 30th April.

Join us for Food Tasting on Pizza Hut

Date: 18th March 2010
Time: 7pm to 9pm
Location: City Square Mall – Pizza Hut #01-19/21

If you are keen to try out some of the pastas (and of course pizza), Pizza Hut will like to invite you to join me for a second round of tasting. Send your full name & contact details to bradleyfk@gmail.com, we will choose 15 readers and be in contact with you shortly to confirm the dinner. The closing date for this will be 11th March.

You can check out their full range of pastas here.

There’s nothing sweeter in life to witness your friend tying the knot; be it a simple dinner of having your close friends to  celebrate the special moment, or a grand affair of getting the whole world (including people that you do not know) to be there – this must be it, happily ever after.

I often receive emails from readers and friends, asking me for suggestion of places, to hold their wedding reception and birthday parties. After going to Barracks at House for my friend’s big day, I’d think that the Greenhouse room in Barracks, is a very good place to throw a party.

‘With that, I declared you husband and wife.’

Such a simple statement, yet it meant so much. Tears of joy, surely. This will be the moment when you look back in ten, twenty, thirty years time down the road, and smile.

Dinner was a simple affair. On this special day, everything and anything, will taste good. We had a choice of the immensely popular Ahi Taki Salad and a seafood platter.

The presence of seafood compelled me to go for the latter, Deep Sea Threesome. A plateful of spicy calamari, appetizing prawns, intriguing black mussels, with the sweetest pineapple and mango.

I know this sounds wrong, but I have been feasting way too much nowadays. With a heavy dinner the previous night, and another tasting the next day, against my better judgment, I decided on the lobster Linguine over the House Ribeye Steak.

And when the first steak arrived on the table, I immediately knew that I was going to regret the decision.

Well, my eyes went wide open when I saw the two words, ‘lobster & linguine’. Unfortunately, I did not read the description of the pasta carefully. The menu goes like this: Lobster Linguine, Crab meat & Prawn Bolognese, homemade black pepper sauce.

Oh, there’s black pepper. Homemade black pepper sauce to be exact. I’m not a fan of anything-black-pepper. The lobster was delicious of course, but I couldn’t finish my linguine. The others were full of praises for the pasta. Anyway, desserts next.

Warm Chocolate Toffee Cake. Swoon. Did I just read warm, chocolate, toffee, and cake? It sounds good, it looks even better. Despite trying a few places for toffee cake, I still couldn’t find a good one that can satisfied me. After having Barrack’s interpretation of this popular dessert, I believe, the missing puzzle for sticky toffee cake – is warm chocolate. I’m a very happy boy.

If you need a place for your birthday party, wedding solemnization, the Greenhouse room at Barracks will be a very good option. Alternatively, there are also other rooms with special theme in Barracks that are available for other events.

* * *

To my awesome Joy & her Bunny, stay happy forever.

Restaurant Review
Barracks at House
8D Dempsey Road
#01-01 to 06 Tanglin Village
Tel: +65 6475 7787

January is like pressing the reset button and we start anew. Whatever sinful indulge that we have last month, the seafood feast the month before last month, or even the slice of rich and good cake three months ago; all these are behind us – we shall eat our way through all over again.

To begin the new year, I will like to start with an awesome Home-made Beef burger ($12); it’s best not to resist, you know you want it. I like burgers, not those from MacDonald, or Burger King. I mean real burgers with a gorgeous beef patty covered by a slightly toasted fluffy bun, throw in some lettuce, add in a slice of cheese, and even better if there’s caramelized onion – there you have it, a good hearty burger.

I can think of all sorts of excuses just to have a bite of this; honey it’s just a ten minute drive from our place; sweetie lets not cook dinner, it’s easier to eat-out; darling shall we go for supper?

Fancy it ain’t, but who cares, because this burger is a keeper. The only problem is not getting addicted to it.

A word of advise: stick to the homemade beef burger, I made the mistake of being too adventurous and went for the Steak sandwich ($12), and it’s not because the sandwich isn’t satisfying, but nothing can beat a big, hearty burger. While I did not like the steak sandwich, my friend enjoyed it thoroughly; steak is after all, steak, and unlike the beef patty that is made of minced meat.

There has been a mad rush of new burger joints; Burger Shack, Freddie’s burger, R Burger, The hamburger, Sunshine @ Carries, Fatboy’s burger bar, even though I have yet to try most of them, Smok’Inn Frogz Kitchen at Bar Bar Black Sheep is still by far one of my favorite place for a good, hearty burger. See you there!

Tell me, where’s the best burger?

Restaurant Review

Smok’Inn Frogz Kitchen
879 Bukit Timah Road
Weekdays: 4pm-11pm
Sat: Noon-11pm
Sun: 9am-11pm
(Near brewerkz)

Smok’Inn Frogz Kitchen is listed as one of ladyironchef’s favorite restaurants in Singapore

Many months ago, a long time before I fall in love with food, I have totally no idea what eggs benedict is, much less heard of hollandaise sauce.

I always remember my first encounter with Eggs benedict, it had a hefty price tag and I wasn’t willing to splurge twenty bucks on two poached eggs, or what I called the most-expensive-eggs-you-ever-eaten.

I immediately regretted it when I saw the heavenly holladaise sauce that was drizzled on top of the gorgeous poached eggs. And ever since then, I went on a brunch-frenzy to make up for what I have been missing out. My goal? To seek all the lovely breakfast food in Singapore

Excluding the ones that I had while I was traveling overseas, it suddenly occurred to me that it was a long time ago since I last had brunch in Singapore. There’s nothing like an all day brunch when you can have breakfast at any time of the day, as and when you crave for it. Cafe Hacienda does not serve all day brunch, but it’s pretty close – they have brunch till late afternoon everyday.

I find the idea of having my breakfast in the afternoon very alluring; sitting down in a chic and cozy cafe, sipping a cup of coffee and tweeting “I’m having brunch while the rest of you are busy at work”.

Credits go to Choupinette of course, it’s a shame that I have not tried eggs benedict and holladaise sauce before that, but it really does not matter now. Although I’m twenty years late, but it’s always better to be late than never. Honestly, I do not understand what’s the big fuss with wild rocket, Yes, it’s pretty, but other than that, it doesn’t really goes down well in the mouth, but maybe it’s just me.

Hacienda’s Eggs Benedict ($13.50) is a replication of Prive’s, I always prefer bacon rather than salmon with poached eggs; there’s nothing like a sinful fried bacon streak to make me go ga-ga.

Memories they say, are the stuff that make our life worth living for. I remember a ferrero rocher cake that I had a year ago, it was definitely one of the best I had. Fast forward to the present, taking a sniff of the cake, I actually felt butterflies inside my stomach.

Please, please let this be good.

I leaned forward cautiously, desperately wanting to get back the moment that I’ve before; I took the dessert with a fork, and carefully placed it into the tip of my tongue. The cake went down, and I refused to acknowledge the ugly truth, so I took another mouthful, and another mouthful, until it was clear that the Hazelnut Praline ($6.80) was really not as good as before.

This was a great disappointment. My friends had warned me that the cake had lost it’s former glory – I refused to believe it until I tasted it myself. The praline base used to be one of the thickest, but now it’s reduced to a mere thin layer which lacked the crunch of the ferrero rocher cake.

* * *

Cafe Hacienda is Prive without the seafront view, but nestled in the greens of Dempsey. It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Michel Lu, the dining concept that he brings about is simplicity; a nice cafe that serves delicious comfort food at a reasonable price – but some people just don’t get it. See you there!

Cafe Hacienda
13A Dempsey Road
Tel: 6476 2922
(Opposite PS Cafe)

Cafe Hacienda is listed as one of ladyironchef’s favorite restaurants in Singapore

The idea was to eat, eat, and eat, but plan b, or rather the lack of a proper plan, meant that we start at Plan B. We started off easy, but it was surely one of the best burgers that I’ve.

It took everything that I got to resist ordering another burger for myself, and missed out on all the stuff that was about to come – and so three hungry dude shared one burger.

Plan B by Becasse is famous for their wagyu beef burger, and at just ten bucks, you must try this burger! What is wagyu, anyway? When even the MacDonalds in Sydney sell Angus beef burgers, you probably think it’s not a big deal.

But the real wagyu burger, comes in the form of a thick beef patty, everything was kept simple; there’s no exotic ingredients like foie gras, nor were there redundant sauce – it was so good that you could feel the sauce gushing out! Interesting, beetroot was used, and it provided the contrast from the other burgers.

Plan B, 204 Clarance sheet, have you taken down the address?

It will be disappointing if one did not step into any pub/bar when in Australia. The folks here simply love (read: adore, head over heels, cannot do without) drinking. Be it a glass of the fine wines from the vineyard, or a pin of beer straight from the brewery, say cheers! There’s a strong drinking culture here; it’s not surprising to see people drinking during lunch time, or 3pm in the afternoon.

I was glad when Richard proposed that we make a trip to his favorite pub, Bavarian Bier Cafe for some beer to chill down the hot afternoon heat. Since I always have a sweet tooth, I went for the Mango, which had a smell consistency of the fruit. The taste however, did not have such a strong mango flavor.

No one in their right mind will pass on the chance to have German Sausages, and so we ordered a platter to share. There was a krunching sound when I bite the cracking roast pork, as with the German food that I visualize, it was hearty, tasty and definitely not enough.

‘Deep-fried sushi?’

Richard casually asked if we are keen to try it out, but I could sense the excitement in his seemingly-subtle-tone.

‘I don’t know, I’m not so sure.. about this’

And the next thing I know, we were standing in front of Kana Express kiosk. This is one place where most people wouldn’t have heard of, much less try the snacks here; an oblivious kiosk by the corner of a back alley.

The sushi was done Korean-style, and there’s other popular Korean snacks like spicy rice-cake, but our focus was on these two words: Deep-fried, & sushi.

As the guest, or so they said, I was entitled to the first bite. It was edible. I think one’s enjoyment of this sushi comes from the revelation of deep fried to the mind. On it’s own, the sushi tasted very tame, but the addition of the fiery hot chili sauce enhanced the flavor greatly.

I love summer. I really do.

Summer, is the perfect excuse for us to indulge with ice cream, and more ice cream. We dropped by Passionflower, a dessert cafe which exotic ice cream flavors. The choice of vanilla hazelnut & burnt caramel was made by me, the former was evidently the favorite, and I liked the nutty taste in the vanilla ice cream, while the latter had a strong burnt caramel taste.

Summer, is not summer, without ice cream.

I stole a glance at Krispy Kreme when we walked by the shop, and was immediately dragged in and convinced to have one (just one) of the original donut. This should be the definition of how a good donut taste like: glazed with a layer of sugar, yet not to the point of being cloyingly-sweet, there wasn’t any hint of oilyness that a poor donut will have. One, simply isn’t enough.

Our original plan was to have tonkatsu at a nearby Japanese restaurant, but it was closed by the time we got there, so we went to Harry’s instead. I’m sure, any reputable guidebook will list the pies & hotdog at Harry’s Cafe de Wheels as one of the must-try in Sydney. Tiger pie is particularly famous, but to be honest, I’m not very certain of it. Mashy and meaty, maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t really enjoy it.

On the other hand, we thoroughly enjoyed the hotdog, it was a shame that we only had one to share. I’d imagine one to hold the big sausage with both hands, and put the whole thing into the mouth!

While on the way to Max Brenner, we passed by Le Patissier and decided to stop here for some sweets instead. For a small place, they have quite an array of desserts to choose from. I wanted to try vanilla pastry cake but it wasn’t available that day, so we had the Lemon Ganache. The sourish lemon ganache provided a good counterbalance to the sweet chocolate layers, but the whole cake was too dry, and I’m not a big fan of kirsch that’s also present in the cake.

When the fork first sank into the Creme Brulee, we already came to the conclusion that it failed. And unsurprisingly, the surface of the dessert was not caramelized properly; it was either a leftover, or they had torched and caramelized too early. However, the custard underneath was actually quite decent, and there’s even vanilla beans used.

* * *
Just in case you are wondering again, yes, we ate all of these in one afternoon.

Plan B by Becasse
204 Clarence Street, Sydney 2000
Tel: 9283 3450

Bavarian Bier Cafe
24 York Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
Tel: 02 8297 4111

Kana Express kiosk
Corner of Central Street

Passionflower
580 George Street
Sydney NSW 2000

Krispy Kreme
Queen Victoria Building
429 – 481 George Street,
Shop 95 – 97 Lower Ground Floor,
Sydney, NSW 2000

Harry’s Cafe De Wheel
Haymarket, NSW 2000
Next to Paddy Maguires Pub
Tel: (02) 9281 6292

Le Patissier
50 Clarence Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Tel: (02) 9299 0015

Any tiramisu will do the trick, but if you want a particularly good one, I would recommend the one at Galbiati Deli. This timeless favorite never fails to thrill me with the awesome combination of coffee, liqueur, & mascarpone cheese.

I’m sure you know I have a sweet tooth, and really, I can’t imagine a day without having any dessert. I’m also sure all of us have different favorite desserts. but whatever yours is, I hope you’re eating it. There’s simply no excuses if you don’t even spend some time for a slab of chocolate or a scoop of ice cream; well all I can say is you are missing out. Since the New Year is coming, maybe you should do some reflection, and set a new, new year resolution – have more sweets.

. . . I eat desserts first

Galbiati Gourmet Deli
400 Upper Bukit timah road
RailMall
Tel: 6462 0926

There’s no other meat that can get me excited like kurobuta pork, not even wagyu. I know the Japanese beef is great, but my heart is already stolen the first time I had kurobuta.

I was skeptical when I saw that Grill-out is offering the kurobuta T-bone as part of their set lunch at only $11.50. Admittedly, the cut is T-bone and not the prized collar bone, but still, it’s kurobuta – the pork version of Kobe beef. Is this some gimmick? No, wait, cancel the last part.

Ho ho, just look at that piece of meat up there! It looks so sexy right? All my doubts were gone the moment I had the first bite. The pork was everything you could ask for; tender, juicy, with the fats providing the melt-in-the-mouth sensation: it was good!

You have to try kurobuta pork unless a) you absolutely hate and will not touch pork, or b) you want to save it for me. Aww.. Jokes aside, I think it’s important that you understand my point – get your hands on a piece of kurobuta pork, now!

Despite being very hungry, we only ordered one main course to share as we had an eye for the desserts next door. But I will definitely come back for the other premium meats they offered. If you are a meat-lover, here’s the place for you!

Grilled-out!
Blk 106 Clementi st 12
Sunset way #01-38E
Tel: 6774 7001

I always dread to have dinner in Orchard, well the place is great for shopping, people-watching, movies, but food? It is always an issue whenever my friends want to meet there and if you ask me, there’s hardly any place that I like in Orchard.

It was a coincidence that both Lingzie and Kenny were in town, so there was a minor crisis in deciding the place for dinner. Initially I wanted to bring them to my favourite place in Orchard, but we ended up at KPO Cafe.

Most people will have thought that KPO stands for Killiney Post office since the cafe is located on the premises of Killiney post office. But the name actually comes about because it’s at the intersection of Killney, Penang, and Orchard road.

We started dinner with the Pizza Yorkshire ($25). The 10 inch thin crust pizza was thoroughly enjoyable; sweet thin slices Yorkshire pork and well-baked crust with mozzarella cheese matched perfectly with the natural crust.

Even though the Grilled juicy mini beef patties were tiny, I love the way they are done – topped with melted Emmental cheese and served in home-made baguette. The Patty Melt ($12) is one of those things that you wish it would come in bigger portions. And oh yes, the home-made chips were great too! But for the kind of price, it’s more like a snack to go along with drinks rather than a main course for dinner.

The KPO Pork Ribs ($23) was the other signature dish of the cafe. A full slab of ribs marinated with the tantalizing sauce, we have to agree that the marination was very done-well. But having tried better pork ribs elsewhere, KPO’s rendition lacked the ultimate melt-in-the-mouth sensation. Still, it was pretty good.

* * *

I have no doubt that KPO, situated right in the middle of town and yet seemingly away from the hustle of the city, will be a success. The location is already a hit, with the chic environment, it is definitely the place-to-be-seen-at. While it’s a great watering-hole, with the food being pretty decent, but they really need to improve on the service.

I got a shock when the first question they asked, was not what I’ll like to order, but whether I’m paying by credit card or cash. No matter how nice the ambience was, or how excellent the food tasted – that was a total turnoff. But oh well, at least there’s no service charge & GST. Anyway, with the good location plus the chill-out atmosphere, I went back again the following Saturday.

KPO @ Killney post office
1 Killiney road
Killney Post Office
Tel: 6733 3648

It’s not difficult to associate District 10 with Wild rocket, not when they have the bitter green for almost all their dishes.

Much as I agreed that Wild rocket is aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, but it’s too much when all the appetizers and the mains are adorned with the same greens. And yes, we started our first appetizer with Wild Rocket Salad ($10).

The Selection of traditional cold cuts ($14) had an assortment of parma ham, salami, chicken, with grilled ciabatta bread.

How about some Deep fried calamari and tiger prawns ($10) to get you started? Oh yes! I was actually looking at the portion and realise there’s at most one prawn and two calamari for each of us, so I immediately took my fork and started eating. And after that? I kept a lookout for signs to see whether the others wanted their share!

Wow, there’s even duck in spring rolls now?

The name Homemade duck spring roll ($10) caught my attention first, from the exterior you would have think that it’s just like the other normal spring roll, but there’s shreds of duck meat enveloped within the crispy fried skin. There’s a subtle taste of duck meat, and I like how the sweet sauce actually complimented the dish very well.

The Chili crab pizza definitely has the “Made-in-Singapore” brand stamp all over it. While credits have to be given to the chef who came up with the audacious creation, but the chilli gravy meant that the crispy pizza was moist and soggy. There’s other interesting new school selections such as the sambal chilli prawn and chilli flakes pork floss pizza.

Wagyu meat balls? Isn’t that a waste of the Japanese beef! I’m never a fan of penne, and this case the pasta was a bit over-cooked. But somehow I got hooked to the fulsome tomato sauce in the Rigatoni ($18)

When we were browsing through the menu, I knew we had to order the Crispy Duck Confit ($24). One of the things that I always lamented about, was the lack of duck dishes in restaurants, there’s nothing like a good duck confit to make you happy all day! The duck confit here was a lot smaller than expected, and while I tried very hard to convince myself this will be good, but it wasn’t. The lack of the crispy skin and the dry duck meat – let’s just say I had better duck confit elsewhere.

I thoroughly enjoyed the steak fries that came along with the Country style baby back ribs ($24), but the portions of the ribs were not as hearty as I would like it to be. Come on, give me a full rack, I can finish it!

Did I tell you how I like the way District 10 presented their fish and chips on the old-fashioned newspaper? And how excited I got when I saw peas (yes green peas) served along side the chunky fries and beer battered fish? Fish & chips is all about the crispy battered fish, the thick-slab of fries, with tartar sauce and green peas! I couldn’t remember much of the beer-infused taste in the soggy buttered crust though. But everything’s forgiven with the fresh fillet, and not to mention I totally adored the way they dressed up the fish & chips ($19).

I was tempted to order the beef burger but reckoned that we should save some room for the many desserts that were coming up. And luckily among the six of us that night, there’s four desserts enthusiasts, so we ordered almost everything from their dessert menu. The tiramisu ($9) caught my eye immediately, I’m a sucker of the Italian dessert and all of them tasted good to me.

The American Bramley apple pie ($9) was sweet-licious too. We ignored the accompanying butterscotch set cream and attacked the crusty apple pie. Every mouthful was filled with delightful apple flavour.

This wasn’t the typical heavy type, you know the thing about cheesecake; it’s the kind where you either love it or hate it. For those who preferred the creamy texture, this was a no-no, while for those who enjoyed the light airy cheesecake, the white chocolate and strawberry cheesecake ($10) will be the one for you.

I always wanted to try profiteroles ($9) and you must thinking how can I have not tried since I absolutely swore by my cream puffs. Taking a spoonful of the choux pastry, I carefully placed it into my mouth, and swoon! At that precise moment, I kicked myself for not knowing you earlier, it was good – it was damn good. If cream puffs with whipped cream is wonderful, imagine what’s it like when there’s ice cream in cream puffs!

For a split second, I thought that my taste bud must have gone haywire as punishment for being a glutton. There’s liqueur taste in creme brulee! But luckily the others reassured me that I’m not the only one who tasted that, there’s really rum-infused with the burnt cream. Traditional creme brulee with Bourbon vanilla & rum ($9).

Oh-oh-oh! the Palvova must be the prettiest among the rest. She’s so sweet, and charmed everyone with her beautiful red coat. You like meringue? You will like her here.

There’s something about old school that’s irresistible to me; the charming environment as though you are taking a trip back in time, with flashbacks of your carefree innocent school days. It was District 10 (by Bonta Italian restaurant) second week of operation when we went, and they were packed full house (160 seaters) on a Tuesday night. That’s something to reckon with! To be frank, there wasn’t any particular memorable dishes which wow me, but the reasonable prices and charming location might just do the trick. I’ll like to thank Hungrygowhere.com for the invitation to the food tasting session.

District 10 Bistro
10 Winstedt road
#01-17
Tel: 6738 4788