I’ve often been asked to share my secrets of food photography, but to be completely honest, there is really no secret to taking good photos. You just need to practice more and find your own style.

Today, let me share with you 10 of my favourite food shots. Do leave a comment and let me know which is your favourite photo.

For those of you who are on pinterest, you can also check out some of the popular pins on ladyironchef posted by other readers.

The cover photo for this post is taken during a shoot for a client. I love it because I composed it from scratch, and I managed to get a very nice shot of it.

I do not mind eating salad everyday if they are as pretty as Salt Grill’s Salad – seasonal baby vegetables, slow poached egg, buffalo mozzarella, walnuts.

I know this is not a food shot, but it is one of my all time favourite photos. Brasserie Les Saveurs at The Regis is easily one of the most romantic restaurants in Singapore. If you ever go there for champagne brunch, I think you will fall in love with it too.

A good custard bun (also known as Liu Sha Bao) has soft pillowy dough which is filled with egg custard and salted egg yolk. Taste Paradise’s version has it all – definitely one of the best custard buns in Singapore.

Who needs love when you can have macarons from Pierre Herme?

“EAT ME!” That was the first thing on my mind when I saw the lobster at Don Quijote Spanish Restaurant.

The flower pot salad from Mandarin Grill in Hong Kong is one of the most stunning things that I’ve ever eaten.

A really good chocolate lava cake from Max Brenner. The picture tells you everything.

There is only one word to describe the éclairs from Chihuly Lounge (The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore) – wow! I posted this photo on instagram and it received more than 500 likes within the first hour. The best part is, they taste as good as they look.

I am not a fan of ravioli, but the one that I had at JAAN Restaurant – with organic hen egg, artichoke, melanosporum truffle – was phenomenal. And of course, it was a bonus that the dish was beautifully plated.

Food Photography has a big role to play because we feast with our eyes first. If you are venturing into food photography, here are some basic food photography tips to get you started.

#1 Understand your camera.

Be it a Dslr, digital compact camera or your phone camera, the most important thing is to understand the different functions and how to use it. This may sound like a no-brainer, but it is not surprising to know that many people always take photos in the ‘auto’ mode. Take the effort to learn the different functions, and you will be rewarded with good photos.

#2 Visualise the picture in your mind.

Before taking the photograph, visualise how you want the photo to turn out. This will not only help to reduce the time in taking photographs, but also make you a better photographer.

#3 Know your subject well.

There are some food that look good on their own and do not require much effort to take the shots. On the other hand, certain food like soup, cheesecake and ice cream can be challenging to shoot as they are simply not photogenic. For soup, add some garnishing and scoop the ingredients with a spoon. For a plain cheesecake, you might want to add some fruits on top to make it look prettier.

In short, know the subject well. There are many different ways to play around with food.

#4 Keep things simple.

People tend to try too hard and include many objects in a shot. The important thing is to know the main focus of the shot. If the plate has many different items, focus on the main dish.

Cliche as it may sound, simplicity is beauty.

#5 Shoot in natural lighting.

The main challenge for any photographer will always be lighting. Forget about studio lighting, or Dslr external flash, natural lighting is your best bet for a good photo.

#6 Get feedback from others.

Never be afraid to exchange ideas and ask for their opinion on the shots that you took. You can learn a lot through comments and constructive criticisms from others.

#7 Always have fun.

Photography is all about having fun. Don’t be too stressed up in trying to get the perfect shot. There is no such thing as a perfect photo.

#8 Practise, practise and practise.

While going for a photography workshop/class can indeed teach you the basic photography techniques, ultimately you have to practise and take more photographs in order to improve.

#9 Hold the camera steady.

And lastly, learn to control your shaky hands. This may sound simple, but there are people who always end up taking blur shots.

The Montage tickets giveaway is now closed, i will email you guys shortly

Photography is an incredible thing. It allows you to feel and appreciate all the little details, to make friends and share your thoughts, to discover and learn new things, and to witness and capture all the beautiful memories.

I have never look back ever since I started to dabble with it. Photography is an expensive hobby, with all the expensive cameras, lens and accessories but I have never regret picking up photography.

// Montage Seminar Tickets Giveaway at the end of this post

I’m very sure you will have heard of Montage if you are into photography. Montage is an annual photography event organized by The Photographic Society of NUS (NUSPS), and this will be the 12th Montage.

The Montage Seminar is on the 5th June 2010 from 1330 – 1830 hr at Suntec Singapore.

Kelvin Koh of lightedpixels is my favorite wedding photographer. His shots are simply amazing and if I ever get married one day, I’d definitely save up and ask him to take my wedding photographs. The style and method of shoot that Kelvin employs is experiential in nature and he will be sharing about his experience during the Seminar.

Having met Nic Ong in person during the Montage open judging, he’s a very funny guy and I am really looking forward to his entertaining speech! Felix Hug is a famous travel and destination photographer. Having shot for National Geographic Traveler and the cover of the Lonely Planet Thailand guide, he’s the third speaker to complete the lineup.

If you will like to come for the Montage seminar to listen to our distinguished speakers, I have 5 pairs of tickets to giveaway. Here’s the details:

HOW TO ENTER NUSPS MONTAGE TICKETS GIVEAWAY

1. Leave a comment and tell me what photography means to you.
2. Only one entry per person.
3. FIVE PAIRS of Montage Seminar Tickets will be given out
4. Giveaway will end on 28th May 2359h and I will contact the winner via email.

Note: If you will like to purchase tickets and get more friends to go for the seminar, please email ticketing@montage.sg, tickets are priced at $10 for public and $6 for student.

For more information, please go to www.montage.sg

It’s Monday again, and i thought it will be nice to share some desserts to chase the blues away. But before I do that, I’d like to tell you about what I’m currently thinking.

Gratitude and thank you!

Both words sum up my feelings towards everyone who likes my food blog. It gives me a sense of accomplishment to see my baby grow and I’m really proud of my blog. You think you know, but you have no idea. Love is a funny thing, it’s like having butterflies in the stomach and everyday feels like the first day I started my food blog, like you never know what will happen next.

Success will always follow someone who finds joy in everything he does.

I am a firm believer in that statement. No matter what you do, it is important to have passion for it, and once you really enjoy what you are doing, success will naturally follow behind.

Food photography is something that I really like as it helps to capture all the beautiful moments of all the delicious food that we shared with our loved ones. Passion is very important, you need to like taking photographs, and after which, put in a lot of hard work in practicing to make every shot perfect. I’m no photography expert, but I think the trick to a good photograph is this: use your heart to taste the food and visualize how it will come up on the computer screen. Simple, right?

Do you remember how I usually describe ice cream? Ice cream is always irresistible; it’s like dew drops to a thirsty man in the desert, like air after being underwater for a long time, like sex to the forty year old virgin, like that Gucci bag to the fashionista – it is joy.

To be creative, we should do happy things, such as eating food we like. There, I just gave you the perfect excuse to indulge. Everyone always blames me when they get hungry, and I’m perfectly fine with it. Go on, you know you are hungry! Give up the fruitless resistance, and succumb to your wildest temptations – food will never let you down.

It always give me great pleasure when someone tells me that I make them hungry, or tempt them to try a new restaurant. Knowing that there are people waiting for me to update my food blog, this is the real motivation that keeps me going. Joy is contagious. It makes me happy to know that I’m making others happy, and this is such a priceless experience. My greatest satisfaction lies in making people hungry, and my dear, that is joy.

What does Joy means to you? Submit your photos together with a story/statement to the BMW Facebook page and exclusive BMW lifestyle merchandise will be given out to the Top 3 stories.

BMW PRESENTS JOY 3D
Date 5 & 6 May 2010 (Wed/Thur)
8 pm sharp: 3D projection begins
Venue Fountain Of Wealth at Suntec City, Towers 2 and 3

I will be going for this event this Wednesday, hope to see you there!

// Update: Mykii Brasserie Cafe is now closed

Many food lovers always like to go Holland Village as it has always been one of the popular dining spots in Singapore that has so many different restaurants. I recently came to know that Mykii restaurant actually serves brunch on weekends. It wasn’t  even on my list of Brunch Places in Singapore when I had compiled it back then.

Breakfast at Mykii Brasserie Cafe is available on weekends from 11.30am – 4pm, and there are three brunch menus to choose from: Hearty Deluxe ($38), Gourmet Chic ($28) and Classique ($28). We had a Hearty Deluxe brunch set which came with a starter of homemade bread & muffin/scone/cupcake, Mykii Brunch platter, a choice of main course, dessert, coffee/tea and fruit juice. I know, that’s quite an handful isn’t it? In addition to that, we shared another Gourmet Chic brunch set which was essentially about the same as the Hearty Deluxe brunch set – less the main course.

Most of the time, I prefer to order from the ala carte menu, rather than having a brunch buffet. There’s no need for so much variety for breakfast, I’m a cereal-eggs-pancakes-desserts kind of guy. I like to keep brunch simple – nothing too heavy.

The scones are sturdy, yet crumby, hard on the outside yet so moist inside, it’s the type that I will love to have every morning. On the other hand, the Oreo cupcake was just okay, very sweet and a little too dry. The homemade bread, however was excellent. While waiting for the food to come, we couldn’t help but spread the room-temperature butter onto the bread and wolfed down two slices each.

The Eggs Benedict was more than just a pretty face. The magical combination of eggs and bacon always works. While the holladaise sauce wasn’t as buttery as I would like it to be, it’s just assuring to have Eggs Benedict for breakfast.

Mykii’s Brunch platter consisted of French chipolata sausage, grilled fresh tomatoes, streaky bacon with farmhouse eggs. For the eggs, we chose to have the ocean’s catch omelette with squids and prawn with a tangy thai-sweet chili mayonnaise. Hearty and satisfying, this is my classic interpretation of a big breakfast.

By the time the Iceland Smoked Salmon Sandwich arrived on our table, our stomach was already almost filled to the brim. I had no idea why it was named the Iceland smoked salmon sandwich, but I do know for a fact that the fries that accompanied the sandwich were delicious. It was nicely cut, and had a great potato taste. They were also light and not too salty; we finished every fry without feeling guilty.

If you have been around for some time, you will know that I have always been against the marriage of chocolate and banana. There are plenty of different options like orange chocolate and chocolate mint, but yes, I do not like chocolate banana.

The Chocolate Banana cake here did not change my opinion of the popular dessert, but at least it wasn’t that bad. For one, the bulk of the cake was chocolate ganache and only a thin layer was the banana component. I have nothing against banana, but chocolate banana doesn’t work for me.

I was elated when the dessert menu had a choice of Sweet Morning Platter, which was petite old English pancakes with pear compote, smoothie shooter, and vanilla bean gelato. When the dessert came, the size of the pancakes caught us by surprise. Again, I blamed myself for not reading the menu carefully, petite old English pancakes.. Yes it’s petite, small, tiny or whatever vocabularies you can think of.

Well, it wasn’t too bad. It’s pancakes, you know – pancakes always taste good. The slightly sourish smoothie shooter provided a good counterbalance to the sweet duo of pear compote and ice cream. Ooh, there’s vanilla beans! Perfect. Just the way I wanted to end a good and hearty brunch.

Compared with the other brunch places in Singapore, Mykii probably won’t be among my favorites, but that’s not because it’s not good. The food was pretty decent, not top-notch, but good enough. Their brunch menu really spoils me with so much food, and I’m very sure that my stomach will hold a protest very soon if this goes on.

Actually come to think of it, the beautiful part about breakfast food is the simplicity of it. Having a cup of coffee while reading Sunday Times, beginning breakfast with starter-eggs-mains-desserts, and most importantly, having it with your favorite person – what more can you ask for?

Go and have a good breakfast today! Sundays are meant for brunch.

Restaurant Review
Mykii Brasserie Cafe
17d Lorong Liput
Holland Village
Tel: +65 6468 2838

Here is a guide to the best buffet restaurants in Singapore.

Basilico – Italian Buffet
1 Cuscaden Road
Level 2 The Regent Singapore
Tel: +65 6725 3232
// Weekday Lunch Buffet $42++
Saturday Lunch Buffet $46++
Sunday Brunch Buffet $69++
Daily Semi Buffet Dinner $69++

Bar & Billiard Room
1 Beach Road Raffles Hotel
Tel: +65 6412 1816
// Mon to Sat Lunch Buffet $60++
Mon to Sat Dinner Buffet $75++
Sunday Champagne Brunch $178++ ($158 without champagne)

Carousel Halal Buffet Restaurant
25 Scotts Road
GF Royal Plaza on Scotts Singapore
Tel: +65 6589 7799
// Weekday Halal Buffet Lunch $46++
Weekend Halal Buffet Dinner $50++
Weekday Halal Buffet Dinner $62++
Weekend Halal Buffet Dinner $75++

Cafe L’Espresso – English High Tea Buffet
22 Scotts Road
GF Goodwood Park Hotel
Tel: +65 6730 1743
// Mon – Thu English High Tea Buffet $34+++
Fri – Sun English High Tea Buffet $36++

Cherry Garden – Champagne Dim Sum Brunch Buffet
5 Raffles Avenue
5F Mandarin Oriental
Tel: +65 6885 3538
// Weekend Dim Sum Brunch
Sat – Sun 10am to 3pm
$48++ without Champagne
$118++ with free flow Champagne

EDGE – seven live food theatres and a whimsical dessert island
Pan Pacific Singapore, Level 3
7 Raffles Boulevard
Tel: +65 6826 8240
Nearest Station: City Hall/Promenade

Jing Restaurant – Weekend Brunch Buffet
One Fullerton, #01-02/03
1 Fullerton Road
Singapore 049213
Tel: 6224 0088
// Weekend Brunch Buffet $38++

Melt The World Cafe – International Buffet
5 Raffles Avenue
4F The Oriental Singapore
Tel: +65 6885 3082
// Weekdays Lunch Buffet (Mon – Sat) $56++
Sunday Brunch Buffet $88++ (Non-alohol)
Sun – Wed Dinner Buffet $68++
Thu – Sat Dinner Buffet $78++

One Ninety Restaurant – European Buffet
190 Orchard Boulevard
GF Four Seasons Hotel
Tel: +65 6734 1110
// Mon – Fri European Buffet Lunch $48++
Saturday Asian High Tea $45++
Sunday International Brunch Buffet $138++

Sabroso Tapas Wine Bar – Tapas Buffet Dinner
26A Lorong Mambong
Holland Village, Singapore
Tel: +65 6766 0053
// Sun – Thu Spanish Tapas Buffet Dinner $32++

Seasonal Tastes
32/F The Westin Singapore
Asia Square Tower 2
12 Marina View
Mon to Sat Lunch Buffet S$35++
Mon to Sun Dinner Buffet S$55++
Sunday Champagne Brunch S$110++
Nearest Station: Downtown/Marina Bay

Straits Kitchen – Singapore Hawker Food (Halal) Buffet
Grand Hyatt Singapore Hotel
10 Scotts Rd
Tel: +65 6732 1234
Daily Halal Buffet Lunch $42++
Daily Halal Buffet Dinner $48++

The Line Shangri La – International Buffet
22 Orange Grove Road
Basement Shangri-la Hotel
Tel: +65 6213 4275
// Weekday International Buffet Lunch $47++
Sat International Buffet Lunch $50++
Sun Brunch $78++ (non alochol)
Fri – Mon International Buffet Dinner $68++
Tue Buffet Dinner Oyster Night special $88++
Wed Buffet Dinner BBQ Night Special $78++
Thu Buffet DInner Seafood Night Special $88++

Town Restaurant – International Buffet
1 Fullerton Square
GF Fullerton Hotel
Tel: +65 6877 8128
// Mon – Fri International Lunch Buffet $48
Sat Local High Tea $32++
Sun Champagne Brunch Buffet $148++
Sun – Wed International Dinner Buffet $48
Thu – Sat Seafood Dinner Buffet $58++

Tea Lounge Regent Singapore
1 Cuscaden Road GF
The Regent Singapore
Tel: +65 6725 3246
// Weekday English Afternoon Tea
Afternoon Tea Set ($38++):
Mon to Fri 12.30pm – 5pm
// Weekend High Tea Buffet ($45++):
Sat & Sun 1.30pm – 5.30pm

Triple Three Restaurant
333 Orchard Road
Level 5 Meritus Mandarin Singapore
Tel: +65 6831 6271
// Weekday Lunch Buffet $68++
Mon to Thu Dinner Buffet $89.9++
Fri & Sat Dinner Buffet $72++
Sun Brunch Buffet $138++ (free flow sparking) $99++ (no Alcohol)
Sun Dinner Buffet $108++
// 1 for 1 with DBS credit cards is valid for Sun – Thu dinner & Mon – Sat lunch

Yan Ting Restaurant – Weekend Dim Sum Brunch Buffet
29 Tanglin Road
The St Regis
// Weekend dim sum brunch $88++
Weekday 11.45am – 2.30pm
Weekend 11 am – 3.30pm
Tel: 6506 6888
Read post here, here, here, and here

I will be adding this list to the top of my Delicious page. Given that it’s already April, that means on average, I need to check out at least one buffet restaurant each month. Get going, save up for the indulgence and report back to me every time you ticked off a restaurant off this list.

I have this mad obsession with list, so here’s the list of German restaurants in Singapore for you (and me) to try out. Due to their strategic location in the popular shopping malls, Brotzeit & Paulaner Brauhaus are arguably the better known German restaurants when it comes to German food in Singapore.

But I have heard good things about Werner’s Oven in the East, and I’m quite keen to go for Magma’s weekend brunch too. I already went to Paulaner Brauhaus a couple of weeks ago, so hopefully this list can spark your crave for German Beer, pork knuckle and sausages.

I just found my new love, her name is pork knuckles.

Bacchus
Blk 7 Dempsey Road
#01-02
Tel: +65 6474 6628

Brauhaus
101 Thomson Road
#B1-13/14 United Square
Tel: +65 6250 3116

Brotzeit Bier Bar & Restaurant
1 Harbourfront Walk
#01-149/-151 VivoCity
Tel: +65 6272 8815
Also available at Raffles city & 313 @ Somerset

Erich Imbiss & Backstube
40 Sago Street
Kreta Ayer Conservation Area
Tel: +65 6224 4420

Magma German Wine Bistro
2 Bukit Pasoh Road
Tel: +65 6221 0634

Paulaner Brauhaus
9 Raffles Boulevard
#01-01 Millenia Walk
Tel: +65 6883 2572

Stammtisch
805 Bukit Timah Road
#01-04 Sixth Avenue Centre
Tel: +65 6468 1649

Werner’s Oven
6 Upper East Coast Road
#01-02 Hacienda Grove
Tel: +65 6442 3897

* * *

I will be adding this list to the top of my Delicious page page, if there’s any good places for German food that I’ve missed out, feel free to let me know and I’ll add on to this list. Please call the restaurant to confirm a reservation before going down.

Pork Knuckles is calling. Race you to try all the German restaurants in Singapore. Hurry up!

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.

* The Palm Beach Seafood Giveaway is now closed. The winners are Daniel (29), Chloe (18), HahazZ (57), Vivian (37). Thank you for participating, better luck next time! *

“My all time favorite is chili crab with deep-fried mantou, what’s yours?” I asked on twitter.

Everyone replied enthusiastically, the popular choices are pepper crab, chili crab, crab bee hoon, salted egg yoke crab and butter crab. Even though I just had chili crab and double baked cheese crab at Palm Beach Seafood recently, I find myself craving for  the thick, sweet-and-spicy gravy of the chili crab, with deep fried mantou of course.

While we are at the topic of crab, I realize people like to debate on which restaurant has the best crab in Singapore. Like what I always say: whichever place you like – has the best crab!

HOW TO ENTER THE PALM BEACH SEAFOOD CRAB GIVEAWAY

I totally understand how it feels to be on your end, looking at all the photos and yet cannot get to taste the food; so I’m happy to announce that Palm Beach Seafood has kindly agreed to giveaway $50 vouchers (no minimum spending required) to 4 lucky readers. If you want a chance to win, here is what to do:

1. Leave a comment on this post

Tell us what’s your favorite crab and why. I’m asking for your favorite style of cooking for the crab, it does not have to be from a particular restaurant. Just tell me what style do you like, and if you happen to like an exotic way of cooking crabs which can be anything for example, Double Baked Cheese Crab, let us know! (***updated***)

And ONE entry per person, you are encouraged to get your friends to join the contest but please play fair and do not post multiple comments under different names.

2. Use a valid & contactable email

Please use a valid & contactable email when you post the comment. I will email the winners shortly after the contest ended, remember to check your email on Monday.

3. And the Four lucky Winners . . .

The four lucky winners will be decided by a highly sophisticated method, and I reserve the right to re-pick if there’s any discrepancy or foul-play involved. I know there are folks from the States, Malaysia, Australia, and other countries reading my blog, but unfortunately this contest is only open to those currently residing in Singapore. But all of you are welcome to share your thoughts too!

The closing date for this giveaway is Sunday 28th of Feb 2359 hrs, and so you have exactly forty eight hours before it ends.

I hope you enjoy the little gift I have for everyone!

Brunch is the nation’s favourite meal. Eggs Benedicts, waffles, pancakes, baked eggs, steak with eggs, big breakfast… Who can resist brunch? It is the only reason for waking up early on a weekend morning. The best part? Even if you are not a morning person, there are many places that are serving all-day breakfast. Hooray!

I hope this list of brunch places in Singapore will help on your hunt for the perfect breakfast.

Artichoke Cafe & Bar
Sculpture Square
161 Middle Rd
Tel: +65 6336 6949
Weekend Brunch: 11am – 4pm
Nearest Station: Bugis

Bakers & Cook
77 Hillcrest Road
Tel: +65 6469 8834
Sun to Thu: 7am – 8pm
Fri to Sat: 7am – 10pm
Nearest Station: Botanic Gardens

Bar Bar Black Sheep
86 Robertson Quay
#01-04 Robertson Blue
Tel: +65 6836 9255
Daily: 12pm – 12am
Weekend Breakfast: 9am – 1pm
Nearest Station: Clarke Quay

On a lazy weekend, all you need is brunch. Here’s my guide to the best eggs benedict in Singapore.

Boomarang
60 Robertson Quay
#01-15 The Quayside
Tel: +65 6738 1077
Weekend Brunch: 8am – 3 pm
Nearest Station: Clarke Quay

Common Man Coffee Roaster
#01-00 22 Martin Road
Tel: +65 6836 4695
Daily Breakfast: 7am – 9.30pm
Nearest Station: Clarke Quay

Cafe Epicurious
60 Robertson Quay
#01-02 The Quayside
Tel: +65 6734 7720
Weekend Brunch: 9am – 2 pm
Nearest Station: Clarke Quay

Cafe Melba
90 Goodman Road
#01-56 Goodman Arts Centre Block N
Tel: +65 6440 6068
Weekend Brunch: 8.30am – 4pm
Nearest Station: Mountbatten

Carpenter and Cook
19 Lorong Kilat
#01-06 Singapore
Tel: +65 6463 3648
Tue to Fri: 12.00pm – 10.00pm
Sat: 10.00am – 10.00pm
Sun: 10.00am – 7.00pm
Nearest Station: Clementi

Canopy Garden Dining & Bar
1382 Ang Mo Kio Ave 1
Bishan Park II Singapore
Tel: +65 6556 1533
Weekend Brunch: 8am – 5pm
Nearest Station: Ang Mo Kio/Bishan

Club Street Social
5 Gemmill Lane
(Off Club Street)
Tel: +65 6225 5043
Mon to Fri: 11am – 10.30pm
Sat: 9am – 10.30pm
Sun: 9am – 9pm
Nearest Station: Chinatown/Tanjong Pagar

Choupinette 
607 Bukit Timah road #01-01
Tel: +65 6466 0613
Weekday Brunch: 9am – 5pm
Weekend Brunch: 8am – 5pm
Nearest Station: Botanic Gardens

Department of Caffeine
15 Duxton Road
Tel: +65 6223 3426
Mon to Fri: 10.30am – 7.30pm
Sat & Sun: 9.30am – 7.30pm
Nearest Station: Tanjong Pagar

Drury Lane Cafe
94 Tanjong Pagar Road
Tel: +65 6222 6698
Mon to Fri (Except Tue): 9am – 9pm
Sat & Sun: 10am – 6pm
Nearest Station: Tanjong Pagar

d’ Good Cafe
273 Holland Avenue #02-01/02
Tel: +65 6219 9807
Sun to Thu: 10am – 10pm
Fri & Sat: 10am – 11pm

eM by the River
1 Nanson Road #01-05
The Gallery Hotel Singapore
Tel: +65 6836 9691
Weekday Breakfast: 9am to 3pm
Weekend Breakfast: 8am to 3pm
Nearest Station: Clarke Quay

Five and Dime Eatery
297 River Valley Road
Tel: +65 9236 5002
Weekend Brunch 10am – 3pm
Nearest Station: Somerset

Forty Hands
Blk 78 Yong Siak Street
#01-12 Singapore
Tel: +65 6225 8545
Weekend Brunch: 8.30am – 6.30pm
Nearest Station: Tiong Bahru

Food For Thought Cafe
1 Cluny Road #B1-00
Singapore Botanic Gardens
Tel: +65 6338 4848
Daily Breakfast: 8am – 8.30pm
Nearest Station: Orchard

Group Therapy Cafe
49 Duxton Road #02-01
Tel: +65 6222 2554
Tue to Thu: 11am – 6pm
Fri & Sat: 11am – 11pm
Sun & PH: 10am – 6pm
Nearest Station: Tanjong Pagar

Have a good brunch, drink a cup of coffee, read a book, watch the world go by. Read our guide to the best cafes in Singapore.

Grub
510 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 1
Bishan Park
Tel: +65 6459 5743
Weekend & PH Brunch: 9am – 2.30pm
Nearest Station: Ang Mo Kio/Bishan

Hatched Restaurant
267 Holland Avenue
Tel: +65 6463 0012
Tue to Sun: 9am – 11pm
Nearest Station: Holland Village

House Dempsey
8D Dempsey Road
#01-01 to 06 Tanglin Village
Tel: +65 6475 7787
Weekend Brunch: 11am – 4pm
Nearest Station: Orchard

Jewel Cafe & Bar
129 Rangoon Road
Tel: +65 6298 9216
Weekday Breakfast: 9am – 11pm
Weekend Brunch: 9am – 3pm
Nearest Station: Farrer Park

Jimmy Monkey Cafe
9 one-north Gateway
#01-51 one-north residences
Tel: +65 6777 8470
Weekend Brunch: 8.30aam – 4pm
Nearest Station: Buona Vista

Jones the grocer
9 Dempsey road
#01-12 Tanglin Village
Tel: 6476 1512
Weekday Brunch: 8.30am – 12pm
Weekend Brunch: 8.30am – 3pm
Nearest Station: Orchard

Kith Cafe
9 Penang Road
#01-01E Park Mall
Tel: +65 6338 8611
Daily Breakfast from 8am till 3pm
Nearest Station: Dhoby Ghaut

Lola’s Cafe
5 Simon Road
Tel: +65 6343 1808
Tue: 3pm – 11.30pm
Wed & Thu: 10am – 11.30pm
Fri to Sun: 10am – 12 Midnight
Nearest Station: Kovan

Whether you are an executive who is always working on-the-go, or a student looking for free wifi spots to work on your projects, or a tourist who needs internet to catch up with your social media timelines, our guide to Cafe with free wifi will come in handy.

Maison Ikkoku
20 Kandahar Street
Heritage Centre
Tel: +65 6294 0078
Weekend Brunch: 9am – 7pm
Nearest Station: Bugis

Marmalade Pantry
2 Orchard Turn
#03-22 ION Orchard
Tel: +65 6734 2700
Weekend Brunch: 10am – 3pm
Nearest Station: Orchard

Marmalade Pantry at the Stables
55 Fairways Drive
Tel: +65 6467 9328
Daily Brunch: 10am – 11pm
Nearest Station: Botanic Gardens

Nassim Hill Bakery
#01-03 Tanglin Post Office
56 Tanglin Road
Tel: +65 6835 1128
Daily Brunch: 8am – 5pm
Nearest Station: Orchard

Necessary Provisions
Eng Kong Park
21 Eng Kong Terrace
Tel: +65 9231 7920
Tue – Thu: 10am – 10pm
Fri & Sat: 10am – 12 Midnight
Sun: 10am – 6pm
Nearest Station: Clementi

Nosh Restaurant
9 Rochester Park
Tel: +65 6779 4644
Weekend Brunch: 10.30am – 2.30pm
Nearest Station: Buona Vista

November 8 Cafe & Company
#01-30, Thomson V Two, 11 Sin Ming Road
Tel: +65 6554 4388
Daily (except Wed): 12pm – 12am
Nearest Station: Marymount

OverEasy One Fullerton
1 Fullerton Road
#01-06 One Fullerton
Tel: +65 6423 0701
Mon to Fri: 11.30am – 2.30pm, 5pm – 10.30pm
Sat: 5pm – 2am
Nearest Station: Raffles Place

One Man Coffee
215R Upper Thomson Road
Daily: 9am – 5pm
Nearest Station: Marymount

Open Door Policy
19 Yong Siak Street
Tel: +65 6221 9307
Weekend Brunch 11am – 3pm
Nearest Station: Tiong Bahru

Pancakes for breakfast. Pancakes for lunch. Pancakes for dinner. Read here to find out where you can get the best pancakes in town.

Osteria & Pizzeria Mozza
2 Bayfront Ave #B1-42/46
The Shoppes @ Marina Bay Sands Singapore
Tel: +65 6688 8522
Sunday Brunch: 12pm – 2pm
Nearest Station: Bayfront

OZ Specialty Coffee
#01-30, Thomson V Two, 11 Sin Ming Road
Tue to Fri: 12pm – 11pm
Sat & Sun: 10am – 11pm
Nearest Station: Marymount

Pique Nique
#B1-01 Takashimaya Shopping Centre
Ngee Ann City Tower A
391A Orchard Road
Tel: +65 6238 6705
Daily Brunch: 10am – 9.30pm
Nearest Station: Orchard

PS Cafe
390 Orchard Road
#02-09A Palais Renaissance Singapore
Tel: +65 6887 2207
Weekend Brunch: 9.30am – 5pm
Nearest Station: Orchard

Rabbit Carrot Gun
49 East Coast Road
Tel: +65 6348 8568
Weekday Breakfast: 9am – 12pm
Weekend Brunch: 9am – 2.30pm
Nearest Station: Eunos

Revolution Coffee
21 Media Circle, #01-03A
Off Portsdown Road
Mon to Fri: 8am – 5pm
Sat & Sun: 10am – 6pm
Tel: +65 6777 2110
Nearest Station: Buona Vista

Roadhouse
13 Dempsey Road #01-07
Tel: +65 6476 2922
Weekend Brunch: 9am – 4pm
Nearest Station: Orchard

Relish
1 Maju Avenue
#02-07/09 myVillage at Serangoon Garden
Tel: +65 6634 3422
Mon to Fri: 12pm – 3pm, 6pm – 11pm
Sat & Sun: 12pm – 11pm
Nearest Station: Serangoon

Riders Cafe
51 Fairways Drive
Bukit Timah Saddle Club
Tel: +65 6466 9819
Weekend Brunch: 11am – 2pm
Nearest Station: Botanic Gardens

Rokeby Bistro
15-9 Jalan Riang
Tel: +65 9106 0437
Tue to Fri Breakfast: 9.30am – 12pm
Sat Brunch: 9am – 12
Sun Brunch: 9am – 3pm
Nearest Station: Serangoon

Southcoast
10 Bayfront Ave #L1-85
The Shoppes @ Marina Bay Sands
Tel: +65 6688 7600
Daily breakfast: 8am – 3pm
Nearest Station: Bayfront

Selfish Gene Cafe
40 Craig Road
Tel: +65 6423 1324
Mon to Fri: 10am – 5.30pm
Sat & Sun: 9am – 5pm
Nearest Station: Tanjong Pagar

Skyve Elementary Bistro & Bar
10 Windstedt Road
Blk E #01-17
Tel: +65 6225 6690
Weekday Breakfast: 830am – 10.30am
Weekend Brunch: 10am – 4pm
Nearest Station: Newton

Spruce
320 Tanglin Road
Phoenix Park
Tel: +65 6836 5528
Weekend & PH Brunch: 9am – 3.45pm
Nearest Station: Orchard

Strictly Pancakes
44A Prinsep Street
Tel: +65 6333 4202
Mon: 6pm – 10pm
Tue to Thu: 11.30am – 10pm
Fri: 11.30am – 12 midnight
Sat: 10am – 4pm, 6pm – 12 midnight
Sun: 10am – 4pm, 6pm – 12pm
Nearest Station: Dhoby Ghaut

Symmetry Cafe
9 Jalan Kubor #01-01
Tel: +65 62919 901
Sat Brunch: 9am – 3.3pm
Sun Brunch: 9am – 9pm
Nearest Station: Lavender/Bugis

The Bravery
66 Horne Road
Daily (except Tue): 8am – 8pm
Nearest Station: Bugis

The Coastal Settlement
200 Netheravon Road
(Near Changi Village)
Tel: +65 6475 0200
Weekend & PH Brunch: 11am – 4pm
Nearest Station: Pasir Ris

The Plains Cafe
50 Craig Road
#01-01 Singapore
Tel: +65 6225 4387
Daily Breakfast: 7.30am – 7.30pm
Nearest Station: Tanjong Pagar

The Providore
#02-05, Mandarin Gallery, 333A Orchard Road
Tel: +65 6732 1565
Weekend Brunch: 9am – 3pm
Nearest Station: Somerset

The White Rabbit
39C Harding Road
Tel: +65 6473 9965
Weekend Brunch: 11am – 2.30pm
Nearest Station: Orchard

Toby’s Estate
8 Rodyk Street
#01-03/04 Singapore
Tel: +65 6636 7629
Daily: 7.30am – 6pm
Nearest Station: Clarke Quay

TWG Tea Salon
10 Bayfront Avenue #B2-89
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands Singapore
Tel: +65 6535 1837
Weekend Brunch: 10am – 3pm
Nearest Station: Bayfront

Wild Honey
333A Orchard Road
#03-02 Mandarin Gallery
Tel: +65 6235 3900
Daily Brunch: 9.30am – 9.30pm
Nearest Station: Somerset

Wheeler’s Yard
28 Lor Ampas
(Off Balestier Road)
Tel: +65 6254 9128
Tue to Sat: 11am – 8pm
Sun: 10am – 8pm
Nearest Station: Toa Payoh/Novena

W39 Bistro & Bakery
39 Jalan Mas Puteh
Off West Coast Road
Tel: +65 9646 5372
Weekend & PH Brunch: 9am – 3pm
Nearest Station: Clementi

The most amazing thing about having a food blog, is knowing the other food bloggers. Besides the food blogs in Singapore, I got to meet up with the KL food bloggers during my trip up north last year, and when I went for a holiday in Australia during December, the good Sydney food bloggers hosted and brought me around for the best food in Sydney.

When Howard & Linda (eatshow&tell) told me that they were stopping-over in Singapore for a few hours before flying to Hong Kong, I knew that I had to bring them to have our famous Chili Crab.

It’s a tough decision trying to choose a place, since there’s so many restaurants claiming to serve the best chili crab in Singapore. I finally decided on No SignBoard restaurant because it has always been one of my family’s favorite place for crabs. As there were 6 of us, the staff advised that we probably need two crabs, so our second choice was the Salted Egg Yolk crab ($40 per kg). It was an irony since No SignBoard is famous for their white pepper crabs in Singapore, but I’m not a fan of pepper. Besides, I know I want the salted egg yolk, and I wanted it immediately. You know, like now!

Drop-dead gorgeous.

Look at that, the golden cluster of the salted egg yolk! I licked off the salted egg yolk coat on the crab pincers, and it simply disintegrated. The sauce reminded me of the salted egg yolk in custard buns, both equally as good but this one was slightly saltier, and very fragrant.

Hand over your passports, nobody leaves Singapore without trying Chili crab.

Photogenic it is not, but in the mouth, one struggles for words, and everything is forgiven. There’s different renditions of Chili crabs, with each claiming to be better than the other; so how do you actually define what’s a good Chili Crab? I like it slightly sweet, and spicy. I like to dip my beloved deep-fried mantou into the thick and awesome gravy, pour a whole bowl of it onto the white rice and finish everything.

Six deep-fried Mantou please, no wait, make it twelve. Okay, give us another six more. Oh those incredibly delicious, tiny devils.

Coming from a poor chili eater, I find the Sambal Kangkong extremely spicy. Herein lies the question: do we like sambal kangkong because it is hot, or do we like it hot so we like sambal kangkong?

Anyway, I like my sambal kangkong to be hot even though I can’t take chili very well. And the one here, is damn hot.

I’m not sure about you, but it seems to me that people always order Cereal prawns not so much because of the prawns, but rather they like the crispy cereals. I’m not going to talk about the niffy gritty part on how to peel a prawn, forget every single thing that I’ve said – just swallow the whole prawn.

Without a doubt, Chili Crab is the face and ambassador of the Singapore food scene, and No Signboard has the best chili crab in Singapore – because I like them. And no, we are not going to start the controversial debate on ‘where is the best chili crab in Singapore’. Whichever crab you like, is the best crab.

If you have hang around for long enough, you’d know that I’m not a big fan of steamboat, so it’s always an once-a-year thing for Chinese New Year reunion dinner. Most reputable fine-dining Chinese restaurants are probably fully booked by now; so instead of having steamboat, how about Seafood for Chinese New Year? Sounds like a plan to me.

Restaurant Review
No Signboard Seafood
414 Geylang Road
Tel: +65 6842 3415
Daily 12pm – 1am

Updated: Read my list of Valentine’s Day Restaurant: 2011 Edition for more choices, and my guide to Valentine’s Day Gifts: Food Edition.

Saint Valentine’s is a strange little thing, it comes and leaves in a hurry, but memories will always stay behind. Even though it is a day where retailers, florists and restaurateurs rejoice – I believe in Valentine’s day. The idea behind it (less the commercialise plots), is very sacred; Valentine’s is all about you and me.

Have you decided on a romantic restaurant for your Valentine’s Day Dinner?

Everyday is Valentine’s, so long we are happy together. Yes that’s true, but Valentine’s is the only day that you can walk around with big bouquet of roses without having the whole world staring at you. This is the day where you have the perfect excuse to splurge on an expensive meal without feeling guilty. This is the day where you can justify spending a bomb to get the Tiffany blue box or that Gucci wallet without any nagging feelings. This is Valentine’s day.

Many people always have problems finding a nice restaurant for Valentine’s day. The guys will have a headache on where to bring their girlfriend, wife, and mistress, while the ladies will dream of where their man will bring them to, or in a slightly unfortunate twist, planning for their ideal Valentine’s day venue.

I’m no male chauvinist, but I firmly believe that a guy should plan the surprise, and search for a suitable Valentine’s day restaurant to bring their other half, well at least for Valentine’s day.

Here is a list of romantic restaurants in Singapore to celebrate Valentine’s Day:

Au Petit Salut
40c Harding road
Tanglin Village (Dempsey)
Tel: +65 6475 1976
$148++ per person (5 Course dinner on 14th)

Bistro One Zero Three
103 Pasir Panjang
Tel: +65 6476 6373
(Closed on 13th-23rd feb, for early Valentine’s only)

Boat House Fullerton
3 Fullerton Road
#03-01 The Fullerton Waterboat House
Tel: +65 6538 9038
(Please call restaurant to check if they are open on 14th)

Flute at the fort
21 Lewin Terrace
Fort Canning Park
Tel: +65 6338 8770
$228++ per couple (First seating 6.30-8.30pm)
$298++ per couple (Second seating 8.30pm onwards)
(Closed on 15-17th Feb)

Prive Restaurant
2 Keppel Bay Vista
GF Marina @ Keppel Bay
Tel: +65 6776 0777
$108++ per person (8 course dinner at restaurant)
$68++ per person (3 Course dinner at Bakery cafe)

Wild Rocket
10A Upper Wilkie Road
GF Hangout @ Mount Emily
Tel: +65 6339 9448
(Closed on 13th-18th Feb, for early Valentine’s only)

The White Rabbit
39C Harding Road
Dempsey
Tel: +65 6473 9965
$98++ per person (5 course dinner with glass of champagne)
(Closed on 15th-16th feb)

* * *

I will be adding this list to the top of my Delicious page if you need to find this page the next time. Remember to call the restaurants in advance and make your reservations. Have a good Valentine’s Dinner!

I have a problem when it comes to ice cream. You see, I tend to stick to places that I’m comfortable with: like Island creamery, U.d.d.e.r.s, and Haato. So I decided that I need to try out more ice cream parlours this year, especially so when there’s so many new ice cream places in Singapore.

Vanilla bean, chocolate, cookie & cream, durian, strawberry, hazelnut, lemon sorbet, rum & raisin, orange chocolate, tiramisu, baileys, chunky monkey, cherry, salted caramel, earl grey, pistachio, matcha, sesame, and nutella. Whichever flavor it is, I hope that you are eating it.

I’m deeply in love with ice cream, for a split moment of insanity, I thought that she might actually like me back.  Ice cream is always irresistible; it’s like dew drops to a thirsty man in the desert, like air after being underwater for a long time, like sex to the forty year old virgin, like that Gucci bag to the fashionista – it is love.

I hope this list of ice cream parlours in Singapore will help on your hunt for the perfect scoop. Because ice cream will never let you down.

Anderson Ice Cream
6 Raffles Boulevard
#02-207A Marina Square
Tel: +65 6334 4727
Also at other outlets

Awfully Chocolate
1 Harbourfront Walk
#01-156 VivoCity
Tel: +65 6410 9725
Also at other outlets

Azabu Sabo Ice Cream
6 Eu Tong Sen Street
#01-46 The Central @ Clarke Quay
Tel: +65 6534 7178
Also at Marina Square, Taka, Plaza Singapura

Ben & Jerry
8 Dempsey Road
#01-14 Tanglin Village
Tel: +65 6473 3231
Also at other outlets

Blic Ice Cream Cafe
Blk 802 Tampines Ave 4 #01-23
Tel: +65 6786 0860

Buttercake N Cream
Blk 106 Clementi St 12
(Sunset way) #01-52
Tel: +65 6777 3477

Canele Patisserie
252 North Bridge Road
#B1-81 Raffles City shopping centre
Tel: +65 63347377
Also at Shaw, Paragon, Robertson Quay

Cold Rock Ice Creamery
24A Lorong Mambong
Holland Village
Tel: +65 6763 1323

Coccogelo Artisan Gelato
89 East Coast Road

Estivo Gelateria
26 Greenwood Avenue
Hillcrest Park
Tel: +65 6469 6763

Futta La Viva
21 Lorong Kilat
#01-01 Suncourt
Tel: +65 6838 8986

Gelare
181 Orchard Road # 04-23
Orchard Central Shopping Centre
Tel: +65 6509 9113
Also at other outlets

Gelatissimo
350 Orchard Road
#01-01 Shaw House
Tel: +65 6736 1618
Also at Singapore Flyer

Gelato Art
Blk 105 Clementi St 12
#01-16 Sunset Way
Tel: 9734 6243

Gelato Twist
3 Temasek Boulevard
#03-025F Suntec City Mall
Tel: 9226 2785
Also at Pearl Centre

Gusttimo di Roma
2 Orchard Road
#01-17 ION Orchard
Tel: +65 6509 9380

Haagen-Dazs
3A River Valley Road
#01-07 Clarke Quay
Tel: +65 6337 0846
Also at other outlets

Haato @ Ridgewood
5 Ridgewood Close Unit G1
Tel: +65 6464 9607
Also at Liang Court, Suntec, Thomson Plaza

Ice Cream Chef
520 East Coast Road
#01-06 Ocean Park
Tel: +65 6446 6355

Ice Cream Frenzy
Blk 501 West Coast Drive
#01-250
Tel: +65 6778 4498

Ice Cream Gallery
491 River Valley Road
#01-20 Valley Point
Tel: +65 6235 0870
Also at Eastwood Centre

Ice Cream Kingdom (** closed)
40 Holland Grove Road
Tel: 9699 9916

Ice Edge Cafe
2 Kovan Road #01-10
Simon Plaza Singapore
Tel: +65 6858 5729

Island Creamery
10 Jalan Serene
#01-03 Serene Centre
Tel: +65 64688859
Also at Great World City

Ice3 Cafe
11 Kensington Park Road
Serangoon Garden Estate
Singapore 557263
Tel: +65 6282 8126
Also at Bedok Library

Icekimo
8 Sin Ming Road
#01-03 Sin Ming Centre
Tel: +65 6455 7585

Lick Little Ice Cream kafe – Ice Cream Buffet
258 Tanjong Katong Road
Tel: +65 6440 8526

Maggie Moos Ice Cream & Treatery
313 @ Somerset #B3-54
Orchard Road

Marble Slab Creamery
201 Victoria Street
#04-01 Iluma @ Bugis
Tel: +65 6884 5933
Also at Cluny Court

Marvelous Cream
2 Orchard Turn
#B4-81/82/83 ION Orchard
Tel: +65 6509 8427
Also at Raffles City Link

New Zealand Natural Ice Cream
290 Orchard Road
#B1-K2 The Paragon
Tel: +65 6737 6259
Also at others outlets

Once Upon A Milk Shake
32 Maxwell Road
#01-08 Maxwell Chambers
Tel: 9823 3779

Raffles Creamery
1 Beach Road
Raffles Hotel
Tel: +65 6337 1886

Scoopy and Cream – Ice Cream Buffet
1 Pasir Ris Close #02-119
E!Hub @ Downtown East Singapore

Tiong Bahru Plaza #04-00
302 Tiong Bahru Road #04-00
Tiong Bahru Plaza Singapore

Scoopz
80 Marine Parade Road
#B1-154 Parkway Parade
Tel: +65 6440 3412

Seven Heaven
10 Raeburn Park
#01-24 Marketing Institute of Singapore
Tel: +65 6227 7787

26 Sentosa Gateway #01-207/208,
The Forum Resorts World Sentosa

Simply Shiok
9 One North Gateway #01-39
One North Residences Singapore
Tel: +65 6779 7926

Swensen’s Cafe Restaurant
68 Orchard Road
#03-23 Plaza Singapura
Tel: +65 6837 0650
Also at other outlets

Swirl Gelateria
557 Bukit Timah Road
#01-04/05 Crown Centre
Tel: +65 6464 6180

Taste Matters
501 Bukit Timah Road #02-19
Cluny Court Singapore
Tel: +65 6297 9713

The Daily Scoop
41 Sunset Way
#01-04 Clementi Arcade
Tel: +65 6463 3365
Also at Chips Bee Garden

The Ice Cream Man
7 Haji Lane Singapore
Tel: +65 6398 0919

Tom’s Palette
100 Beach Road
#01-25 Shaw Leisure Gallery
Tel: +65 6296 5239

U.d.d.e.r.s Ice Cream
17 Lorong Kilat
#01-08 Kilat court
Tel: +65 6466 1055
Also at Novena Goldhill, West Mall

Venezia Gelateria
1 Fifth Avenue
#01-01 Guthrie House
Tel: +65 6468 3656
Also at Tiong Bahru Plaza.

I will be adding this list to the top of my Delicious page, if there’s any place that I’ve missed out, feel free to let me know and I’ll add on to this list.

. . . In ice cream we trust

I’ve said it before, and I’m not afraid to say it again, Kim’s Family Restaurant is my favorite place for Korean food in Singapore. I like it because they always serve ten side-dishes (I like to call them appetizers) no matter how many main dishes you ordered, I like the tasty and affordable Korean food there, and I like the fact that they are just ten minutes away from my place and I can have Korean food whenever cravings call.

I like it, because I like it. Why am I even explaining? Make a trip there and you will know.

As for kimchi, I’m sorry to admit, she’s just not my type. Even after trying it for a few times, kimchi just doesn’t do it for me. Sure, it’s a great appetizer, sour, slightly spicy – the perfect combination to get your palate going, but I’m just not that into kimchi.

I know there’s at least a dozen of people will hate me if I say this, but I have never been a fan of Ramen. Fine, maybe it’s just me, but ordering ramen makes me feel like we are paying restaurant price for instant noodles. With the increasing number of Japanese Ramen restaurants opening in Singapore, all the ramen-lovers are rushing to compare which place has the best ramen, but you know what, I don’t crave for ramen, so unless someone drag me along, it’s highly impossible for me to explore any ramen restaurants.

Okay this is tricky, since we did ordered Ramyeon ($8) with meat. It wasn’t too bad, I like the intense flavor of the stock, and the presence of egg, meat, seaweed that made the ramen, uh, tasty.

Bibimbap ($10) is, of course, delicious with chili, lots and lots of red spicy-sweet chili. Topped with ingredients like meat, seaweed, beansprout, and vegetables, and mix together with chili; the hot stone pot kept the temperature of the rice pipping hot – it’s perfect!

The Seafood pancake ($10) is a lovely appetizer, but do not let the word appetizer mislead you; the portion of the Korean-style pancake was more than enough to feed the four of us.

If you have another place that serves affordable Korean food with lots of side dishes, please let me know. For now, I will stick to Kim’s Family Restaurant.

Restaurant Review
Kim’s Family Restaurant
17 Lorong Kilat #01-06
Singapore 598139
Tel: (65) 6465 0535

Kim’s Family Restaurant is listed as one of ladyironchef’s favorite restaurants in Singapore

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Dim sum, for the uninitiated, is a style of Chinese food prepared in small bites. In Singapore, we are very lucky that there are many fantastic Chinese restaurants serving good dim sum.

Here is a list of the best dim sum restaurants in Singapore. I hope it will be useful when you are looking for a place to satisfy your dim sum cravings.

Asia Grand Restaurant
331 North Bridge road
#01-02 Odeon towers
Mon to Sat: 11.30am – 2.30pm
Sun: 10am – 2.30pm
Tel: +65 6887 0010
Nearest Station: City Hall

Bosses
1 Harbourfront Walk
#02-156/157 VivoCity
Mon to Thu: 10am – 10pm
Fri & Sat: 10am – 10.30pm
Sun: 10am – 10pm
Tel: +65 6376 9740

Cherry Garden Chinese Restaurant
Mandarin Oriental Singapore
5 Raffles Avenue
Tel: +65 6885 3500
Mon to Fri: 12pm – 2.30pm, 6.30pm – 10.30pm
Sat & Sun: 11am – 3pm, 6.30pm – 10.30pm
Nearest Station: City Hall/Promenade

Crystal Jade Palace
391 Orchard Road
#04-19 Ngee Ann City
Weekday: 11.30am – 2.30pm
Sat: 11am – 2.45pm
Sun: 10.30am – 2.45pm
Tel: +65 6735 2388

Din Tai Fung
290 Orchard road
#B1-03 Paragon
Mon to Fri: 11am – 10pm
Sat to Sun: 10am – 10pm
Tel: +65 6836 8336

East Ocean restaurant

391 Orchard Road
#05-08/09 Ngee Ann City
Tel: +65 6235 9088
Mon to Fri: 11.30am – 3pm, 6pm – 11pm
Sat, Sun & PH: 10am – 3pm, 6pm – 11pm
Nearest Station: Orchard

Fortunate Yum Cha Restaurant
360 Orchard Road
#02-01 International Building
Weekday: 10am – 10pm
Weekend: 8am – 10pm
Tel: +65 6262 1717
// All day dim sum

Hai Tien Lo
7 Raffles Boulevard
37F Pan Pacific hotel
Weekday: 12noon – 2.30pm
Weekend: 11.30am – 2.15pm
Tel: +65 6826 8338
// Weekend Dim sum brunch $68++

Hua Ting Restaurant
442 Orchard Road
Orchard Hotel
Weekday: 11.30am – 2.30pm
Weekend: 11am – 2.30pm
Tel: +65 6739 6666

Imperial Treasure Cantonese Restaurant
1 Kim Seng Promenade
#02-06 Great World City
Weekday 11.30am – 3pm
Sat 11am – 3pm
Sun 10.30am – 3pm
Tel: +65 6732 2232

Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck
#05-42/45 Paragon
290 Orchard Rd
Tel: +65 6732 7838
Weekday: 11:30am – 2.45pm
Saturday: 11am- 3 pm
Sunday: 10.30am- 3pm

Jade Palace Seafood Restaurant
583 Orchard Road
#B1-13 Forum The Shopping Mall
Daily: 11am – 3pm
Tel: +65 6732 6628

Jade Fullerton Restaurant
1 Fullerton Square
GF Fullerton Hotel
Weekday 11.30am – 2.30pm
Weekend 11.30am – 1.15pm, 1.45pm – 3.30pm
Tel: +65 6877 8188

Jia Wei Chinese restaurant
Level 2 Grand Mercure Roxy Hotel
50 East Coast road, Roxy Square
Weekday: 11.30am – 2.30pm
Weekend: 11am – 4.30pm
Tel: +65 6340 5678

Jiang Nan Chun
190 Orchard Boulevard
Four Seasons Hotel
Mon to Sat: 11.30am – 2.30pm
Sun: 10.30am – 2.30pm
Tel: +65 6831 7220
// Weekend dim sum buffet $58++

Jing
1 Fullerton Road
#01-02/03 One Fullerton
Weekday: 11.45am – 2.30
Weekend: 11.45am – 2.30
Tel: +65 6224 0088
Weekend ala carte dim sum buffet $48++

Li Bai Restaurant
39 Scotts Road
GF Sheraton Towers
Mon to Sat: 11.30 – 2.30pm
Sun: 10.30 – 2.30pm
Tel: +65 6839 5623
(*More dim sum selection on weekends)

Lei garden Restaurant
30 Victoria Street
#01-24 Chijmes
Daily: 11.30 – 2.30pm
Tel: +65 6339 3822

Majestive Restaurant
31-37 Bukit Pasoh Road
New Majestic Hotel
Weekday: 11.45am – 2.30pm
Tel: +65 6511 4718

Man Fu Yuan
80 Middle road
2F Intercontinental Hotel
Daily: 11.30 – 2.15pm
Tel: +65 6825 1062
// Weekend Dim Sum Buffet $88++

Min Jiang
22 Scotts Road
Goodwood Park Hotel
Daily: 11am – 2pm
Weekend High Tea: 3pm – 5.30pm
Tel: +65 6730 1704
// Weekend Dim Sum High Tea Buffet $32.80++

Old Hong Kong Legend
252 North Bridge Road
#02-18 Raffles City Shopping Centre
Tel: +65 6336 3038
Daily 10.30am – 2pm

Paradise Pavilion
8A Marina Boulevard
#02-01 Marina Bay Link Mall
Tel: +65 6509 9308
Weekday: 11.30am – 2pm
Weekend: 11.30am – 3pm

Peach Garden
65 Chulia Street
#33-01 OCBC Centre, Singapore
Tel: +65 6535 7833
Daily: 11.30am – 2.15pm
// Weekend buffet $20.80++ only available at Thomson Plaza branch

Peony Jade Restaurant
10 Bukit Chermin Road
Keppel Club
Tel: +65 6276 9138
Daily: 11am – 2pm

Red Star Restaurant
#07-2354 Chin Swee Road
Daily: 7am – 3pm
Tel: +65 6532 5266

Royal China
1 Beach Road
#03-09 Raffles Hotel
Tel: +65 6338 3363
Mon to Sat: 12noon – 2.30pm
Sun: 11am – 2.30pm

Si Chuan Dou Hua restaurant
80 Raffles place
#60-01 UOB Plaza
Tel: +65 6535 6006
Daily: 11.30am – 2pm

Shang Palace
22 Orange Grove Road
Lobby Level Shangri-la Hotel
Tel: +65 6213 4473
Weekday: 11.30am – 2.30pm
Weekend: 10:30am – 2.30pm

Summer Palace
1 Cuscaden Road
3F The Regent
Mon to Sat: 12pm – 2.30pm
Sun: 1.30am – 2.30pm
Tel: +65 6725 3288

Summer Pavilion
7 Raffles Avenue
3/F Ritz-Carlton Millenia
Daily: 11.30 – 2.30pm
Tel: +65 6337 8888
// More dim sum selection on weekend

Taste Paradise
2 Orchard Turn
#04-07 Ion Orchard
Tel: +65 6509 9660
Mon to Fri: 11.30am – 2.30pm
Sat & Sun: 11am – 12.30pm, 12.30pm – 2pm, 2pm – 4pm

Tung Lok Signatures
6 Eu Tong Sen Street
#02-80/81/87/88/89 The Central @ Clarke Quay
Mon to Sat: 11.30am – 2.30pm
Sun: 11am – 2.45pm
Tel: +65 6336 6022

Victor’s Kitchen
91 Bencoolen Street
#01-21 Sunshine Plaza
Daily: 10.30am -8pm
Tel: +65 9838 2851
// All day dim sum

Wan Hao Chinese restaurant
320 Orchard road
3F Marriott hotel
Mon to Sat: 11.30am – 2.30pm
Sun: 11am – 2.30pm
Sun: 11am – 2.30pm
Tel: +65 6831 4615

Wah Lok Cantonese restaurant
76 Bras Basah road
2F Carlton Hotel
Mon to Sat: 11.30pm – 2.30pm
Sun: 11pm – 2.30pm
Tel: +65 6311 8188

Wen Dao Shi
126 Sims Avenue
Daily 24 hours
Tel: +65 6746 4757
// All day dim sum

Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe
8 Grange Road
#02-11 Cathay Cineleisure Orchard
Mon to Thu 11am – 2am
Fri to Sun 24 hours
Tel: +65 6235 6480
// All day dim sum

Yan Ting
29 Tanglin Road
The St Regis
Weekday: 11.45am – 2.30pm
Weekend: 11am – 3.30pm
Tel: +65 6506 6888

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

It started with another email thread again, this time Camemberu suggested to check out the famous Founder Bak Ku Teh and a date was set. I don’t usually write posts about hawker food. It’s not like I don’t eat hawker food, but the problem is I have too many backlogs of the nice places that I went recently.

Founder is one of the few popular choices that most people will think of them when you mention Bak Kut Teh. You know a place is famous when we actually queued up twenty minutes for a table by the road side of Balastier road, watching the others slurping down their warm peppery soup.

The fact that the walls are filled with the numerous photographs of famous celebrities, and there’s hardly any empty space for new photographs that they probably paste it over some of the fallen-stars. Or the fact that even when we left the place, there’s still a snake-like queue waiting outing for their turn to get in – just for a bowl of bak ku teh.

While the highlight of the show should be the pork ribs, but the pork trotters was even better. Surprisingly, the proportion of lean meat to fats was just right; there wasn’t much fats like the usual pork trotters. The meat was so tender that it falls off the bone and melts in your mouth splendidly.

We also had an pig organ soup that consisted of kidney, liver and small intestines. I like how the medium-rare liver retained it’s tinge of pink, and the robust flavour of the kidney, but the soup lacked the wow factor.

The Bak kut teh was quite a let-down – we were expecting a lot for the fact that we queued twenty minutes for this. Or for the fact that we ordered wrongly and had the normal tough pork ribs instead of the supposedly superior loin ribs. There was the usual side-dishes like youtiao, beancurd skin, salted vegetable, and braised taupok (beancurd).

Founder Bak Ku Teh
347 Balestier Road
(under New Orchid Hotel)
Singapore 329777
Tel: 63526192

When all my friends raved about Kim’s family restaurant, I know I have to check it out. Prior to this, my past experience with Korean food was limited to two places, so yes, up till now I have no idea how exactly an authentic kimchi taste like. The comprehensive menu meant that we spent another additional ten minutes flipping through before we finally decided on our orders.

Had I not been prepared by my friends recount of their experience, I’ll definitely be swamped by all the appetisers that arrived on our table. There was nine of them, and it even included a whole fish! There’s the usual kimchi, anchovy, spicy-sweet cucumber, and I particularly enjoyed the macaroni potato salad.

The braised beef claypot ($10) was excellent – sweet thinly sliced beef that came with cellophane noodles (dong fen) which fully absorbed the essence of the beef. We also had the kimchi fried rice ($10) which I somehow forgot to take a picture. The fried rice came with a sunny side-up on top; it looked good, but I would prefer it if it’s slightly more sourish and spicy. Bibimbap ($10) or hot stone pot rice completed the lineup for our dinner. What’s there not to like when you have hot piping rice in a hot stone mixed with so many ingredients and splashed with lots of chilli?

With the generous appetisers, and the value-for-money dishes, I will definitely return when my friends need a Korean fix, and the best part? It’s only ten minutes away from my place. See you there!

Kim’s Family Restaurant
17 Lorong Kilat #01-06
Singapore 598139
Tel: (65) 6465 0535

Kim’s Family Restaurant is listed as one of ladyironchef’s favorite restaurants in Singapore

I’m a simple person, with a simple taste bud, however nobody ever believe me. Even though the food at fine dining restaurant is good, but it’s not me, I prefer going to small, unpretentious, and cozy places instead.

Escargot, escargot, you really need to hand it to the French. They cook anything that can crawl, and make everything taste so good! The escargot that I’ve tried before, have a very strong garlic and buttery smell from afar, but La Petite’s rendition did not involve the use of these, instead the sweetness of the snail was deeply captivated within the croissant. The bread was so good; it absorbed the essence of the juice from the escargot (6 pieces for $12) – it was heavenly!

Foie gras, has long been one of the sacred food that I promise myself I’ll try in this life. Up till now, I’ve not exactly eaten it before, not unless you count the one which hardly had any foie gras. Let me describe more about the encounter: she tasted familiar, hold on, it seems to be like pig liver. Oh no, it’s even better than that! With the gamy taste, it’s bound to be an acquired taste, but to everyone out there, go on, try it! And you can proudly declared: I’ve sample foie gras before!

We were contemplating between the foie gras pan fried w/orange confit ($17), or the ravioli of prawns and foie gras in light lemon creme ($14.5). And we went for the latter. The uncanny similarity with the Chinese dumplings, but this one had foie gras and a big prawn instead. Initially, we thought that there would be hardly any foie gras inside, but we were wrong. The foie gras fillings were substantial, enough to experience the goose liver taste!

In my eyes mouth, duck will always be better than chicken. But most places doesn’t serve duck, and even if they do, its usually duck confit or pan seared duck breast. There’s nothing better for a duck drumstick than a duck confit! I enjoyed slowly peeling off her clothes, admiring everything there’s for us to see, before bringing my nose to smell her fragrance. Oh my, she smells so good! I closed my eyes for a second, and imagine the unimaginable. In my excitement, I brought up the fork again, and poke it into her. Slowly, we teased each other playfully, until to the point where we couldn’t take it no longer. Then, I tucked in. It’s good! Confit de canard w/gratin ($15)

For more recommendations, read my list of the Best French Restaurants in Singapore

La Petite Cusine
10 Jalan Serene
#01-05 Serene centre
Tel: 6314 3173

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The idea of a Venezuelan feast started when one of my reader, and friend, Mike asked whether I was keen to sample some Venezuelan food. I agreed immediately, it’s not everyday where you get to try authentic Latin America cuisine, so we had to try the food prepared by Mike’s wife who is from Venezuela.

Our Latin America adventure started with the rhythmic and contagious latin music played in the background. When the rhythm starts to play, dance with me, sway with me. Like a fool who will never say no, hold me close, sway me more.

Trekking in the dense, but serene jungle, with every step closer to Angel falls. The roaring sound of the water amplifies as we approach it; the magnificent waterfall was a sight to behold. This was all but a scene that we could almost imagine ourselves when we close our eyes for a second.

The “sandwich” that we had, was awesome! It’s like totally, God’s gift to mankind. Made with just corn flour, water and salt, the Arepa is a staple in Venezuela, the folks there eat it everyday. It tasted something like our popiah skin, and the mcgriddles, but in much thicker portions. It’s good to eat on its own, but I wanted more! And it came in the form of the excellent carne mechada (pulled beef).

The Carne mechada was oh-my-god, so good, and I’m really not exaggerating. Flank steak is cooked in a pressure cooker for hours until it is tender enough that you can pull it off in strips – and then cooked again in a tomato/onion sauce. The beef was so tender and flavourful! We added two slices of halumi cheese together with the pulled beef into the arepa; it’s a creation that would rival any worthy burger/sandwich. It might just be beef wrapped within bread made from corn flour, but in the right company and atmosphere, it’s divine.

Even the rice that they eat, is prepared differently. Instead of just water and rice, there’s garlic and salt added in to enhance the flavour of the rice. I’m not going to continue to rave about the carne mechada, okay just once more, I had a lot of it, with the arepa, and on its own too! Interestingly, there’s tajadas which was quintessentially fried plantains, a bigger, and uglier cousin of banana, but it was as good as our goreng pisang (fried bananas). Except, it was sliced thinly and fried instead of the whole banana.

We actually started with the Empanadas, some sort like our Chinese dumplings, but they call it stuffed pastry where it can be filled with different ingredients. They are made all over Latin America – but in Venezuela’s case, they are made from a corn flour/white flour mix, and deep-fried. The ones we had were filled with Halumi cheese – a salty white cheese from Cyprus that is popular in the Greek/Middle Eastern world – the closest to Latin American cheese in Singapore! Even the corn flour that they used were imported from Australia, Mike would always buy back tons of flour when he travel there, nothing but flour!

Go on, give it a bite, succumb to your temptation. Savour the rich pickings of every sweet, and wonderful taste. I’m running out of superlatives now, but the tres leches, was truly amazing. The three-milk cake is a butter-free sponge cake that’s soak in three kinds of milk; evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream. Poking lots of tiny holes within the sponge cake, it fully absorbs the essence of the different milk. Topped with a layer of meringue, the tres leches was in every way a close reminiscence of the bread pudding, but definitely so much better!

* * *

The Venezuela feast was way beyond my expectations, thank you Mike and family for hosting us! We saw some videos and photos of the beautiful country, the Angel falls was magnificent! The current Venezuela population in Singapore is still very small, which explains for the absence of their food here. We are keen to let more people to sample some of their authentic Venezuelan food, so if you are keen, rise up your hand and let me know. If there’s enough interest in it, we will think of ways to prepare the food for a large group, and I’ll organise an outing at Mike’s place.