Fine Palate Cafe

Quick lunch with M and I didn’t want to eat at Koufu so I suggested trying Fine Palate Cafe out since G had gotten the entertainment app and there was a 1 for 1 deal for mains. The cafe can be a little tricky to find and it was pretty deserted when we got there for lunch. An empty cafe does not always bode well… M wondered out loud if it was really good.

Hifumi Japanese Restaurant

Catching up with the girls and G said that she would eat anything except Chinese food. Since we were in Plaza Singapura which has a new annex building with a huge number of Japanese restaurants, it made sense to try something new. We were quite pleasantly surprised to fine that Hifumi comes with a free flow appetizer buffet (as long as one buys a main course). It seemed like a bargain especially since the main course prices were not unreasonable. Apparently the menu changes every month but this is what we were able to try:

Spize and a little journey to La Maison du Whisky

Had a craving for Japanese whisky so I asked J to come out for drinks and she kindly agreed. Went over to La Maison du Whisky where unfortunately they did not have the Yamazaki 12 years, but I was recommended the 18 years single malt which turned out to be deliciously smooth. Before I knew it, I was on my third glass with a hefty bill to reflect my few minutes of alcohol bliss.

Hang Kang Teochew Restaurant

The highlight of Chinese New Year, besides the visiting and eating of bak kwa, is the reunion dinner. These days, most families eat out to erase the burden of cooking, thus allowing everyone to enjoy reunion dinner with no cooking/cleaning up duties! Being teochew (on mom’s side), we usually opt for a teochew style reunion dinner and for the past few years, we have been returning to Hang Kang Teochew Restaurant for some good wholesome Chinese cooking.

Baikohken Ramen

Last Tuesday was one of those days where I was shopping at 4pm and really needed to fill my hungry stomach, having had a really early lunch. On a hunch, I made my way down to basement 1 at Taka. Since young, Taka basement has always been synonymous with good food (I wonder if anyone still remembers the black carrot cake stall there which unfortunately has now disappeared). Hence, I decided to try this ramen stall situated right at the end of the basement.

Fern and Kiwi

It’s kind of interesting when your family decides to go out to dinner on eve of Valentine’s day and the restaurant you pick is decorated with heart shape balloons. Thankfully, the patrons didn’t seem to be all couples. M decided to get the V day set menu (yes you can get it if you’re just one person, though it’s obviously a little cheaper for couples who get it together).

Lim Hai Sheng Carrot Cake

If someone tells you they like carrot cake (the Chinese kind) in Singapore, the follow up question would be “the black or white kind?” Personally, I’ve always preferred black but there is this one stall where I’m willing to set aside my preference and eat white carrot cake.

Scallops and Chorizo Aglio Olio

Let’s face it. I’m never going to be able to spend hours in the kitchen creating wonderful, mouth watering sumptuous recipes that take a whole day of cooking, finally culminating in that one OMG dish that everyone just digs into and licks the bowl clean. Such is life. I love cooking, but reality demands that I find shortcuts to cook myself something tasty that I might have the courage to cook for someone else one day. One dish meals are my favourites and this particular one was inspired after a chat I had with a classmate about how the aglio olio served in school always smells nice, but can be rather disappointing when she buys it.

Rokeby

Unlike most of my family, I spent most of my twenties overseas and developed an infinity for western cuisine and meal concepts such as “brunch”. Despite being back in Singapore, I still kept my western cuisine preference and sometimes, my parents indulge me by letting me choose the place to eat at. In turn, I try not to bring them to overly crowded places far away from home where we end up waiting one hour and brunch becomes lunch or afternoon tea…

Lolla

Came here for dessert with the girls after a disappointing experience with the staff at PS Cafe Ann Siang who insisted on a minimum one main per person order if we wanted a table with them. Seriously guys, don’t mess with ladies looking for a sugar high. Lolla had just called in their last order when we arrived, but I guess the wait staff noticed our desperation and they told us that if we were cool to squeeze at the bar, they would be happy to put in our order. Within 5 mins, we were seated and had given our orders – we were that fast.