I happened to be at Causeway Point one of the evening after a game of sports so my friends and I were deciding somewhere casual for dinner. Ended up we went to Watami as I had a fantastic experience previously dining at their Raffles City branch.I always enjoyed their signature salad so we had the Half Watami Salad ($9.80) to share and I'm not too sure was my expectations too high because the mayo in the center of the salad didn't taste as fresh as it had a very mild aftertaste which seems weird to me. However, my friends being just hungry, feels that the salad was only not bad. The salad comes with a saucer of ponzu dressing that is lightly savoury and has a tinge of citrusy flavour. My main was disappointing. I ordered the Tokyo Gyudon ($9.80) because I love runny eggs over my beef slices but the so called "hot spring" egg was more of semi-hard boil instead of runny which I wanted it to be. I told the service staff to get it changed and the staff said that they will prepare an additional egg which is runny for me. I continued with my dinner and as I was almost finishing my bowl of Tokyo Gyudon, the staff brought out an egg for me. To my disappointment, similarly, it was semi-hard boil.

The service and food was a far cry compared to their Raffles City outlet and I really wish the standard can be the same across all other outlets.

Tucked in the quiet corner of Tiong Bahru is my regular hideout for me to satisfy my fruit tart craving. Located along Seng Poh Road, Drips Bakery is famous for their fruit tarts that people from across Singapore flock here to grab a slice of it.

That's because, according to Chef Alfred, the master bakery behind Drips, he only bakes 60 tarts a day and once it is sold out, he won't be baking any more for the day. Reason behind is that he only uses the freshest seasonal fruits available so not to compromise the quality of his tarts. Coming from a background from being the head patisserie chef behind Shangri-la Hotel and many years behind many other famous bakeries from around the world, I can understand why his insistence on using the best ingredients he can find. From the growing popularity of Drips Fruit Tarts since two years ago, word about it has been spread far and wide. I couldn't wait to have a bite of it so I got a friend along with me on one afternoon to savour some of their signature fruit tarts.

First we ordered the Cherry Brandy Tart ($8) which at first glance, makes it so irresistible with the cherries nicely slice at the side with a jelly layer. We took a bite into it and we were surprise how crisp, buttery and fresh the crust was holding that decadent amount of toppings on it. The brandied cherries has a light tinge of sourness yet has a sweet after taste that complements the yummy crust. 2 thumbs up for this delicious goodness! Being a fruit lover, I couldn't resist not having the Mixed Berries Tart ($8.50) too. With beautifully stacked berries in a circle, it was surely a pleasure to the eye and I believe, to the stomach too! On first bite, the sourness from the black berries hit my sense and the mini prune-like fruit gives off a mellow sweetness. When eaten together with the custard layer that holds the fruits together with the crusty tart layer, it was indeed paradise to each bite. How do you wish to have one of it now? Being a hot afternoon, I need an Ice Cappuccino ($5.80) to cool myself. I enjoyed the smoothness and aroma from the coffee but a pity there was too much ice cubes in it, causing it to dilute more than I expected it to be and the coffee tasted blend near the end. It is a good note to myself to have non-ice coffee the next time here.

Overall, the I had a great tea time and I have to say that the quality of the fruit tarts lives up to the premium price it commands. Although it is not as magnificent looking as "Fruit Paradise", they do not use cheap, fatty cream to make it pretty and a lot of emphasis is on the quality control and freshly handmade by the chef every day. Nothing will be kept for the next day, making this a good value for artisan tarts.

Service was terrific as the cosy cafe is always kept clean, making it a great ambiance for diners to chill over wonderful fruit tarts that deserves to be praise. I'll be definitely coming back to Drips again to try some of their other seasonal fruit tarts!

Ain't weekend afternoon suppose to be enjoyable with good desserts and coffee? My friends and I were in Holland V area and decided to check out some cafes (yes we are cafe junkies) and decided to pop by CRAFT as many bloggers were raving high and low about it recently. So we decided to forgo our initial plan to visit to d'GoodCafe and come to this cafe that is on the other side along the row of shop-houses.Yes, the 3-Inch-Sin Original Molten Cake ($9.50). I had quite decent ones at the original 3-inch-sin but this is way too disappointing. They didn't even bother to heat it up before serving us. The reason why we know it because the cake was took out from their chiller and it was still cold in the middle when we cut into it. The chocolate lava ain't flowing and we had to ask for it to be heated up and finally, it melted a little and became gluey.I had a Regular Cafe Latte ($5) and it has nice latte art on it but I thought this is the saving grace for my weekend afternoon.No way I've waited 15 minutes (as indicated on their menu waiting time is 10-15mins) for this Orange French Toast ($7.90). It is suppose to be egg mixture with orange zest as stated on the menu but it came out heavily loaded with maple syrup and sugar icing with almost unnoticeable trace of orange flavour. Another disappointment.

This is probably my first and last time visiting CRAFT and I guess I won't be coming back again. Besides the nice lady staff there, there was indeed nothing to rave about my afternoon tea.

I was at Bugis Junction recently with my friends and we decided to have dinner at somewhere casual, quick and not costly. Being not a fan of fast food, we decided to check out this place which calls itself "Beansprouts Chicken". We love Hainanese Chicken Rice but what on earth is Ipoh Chicken?Over at their store, we have to made our orders at the counter and we were presented a number where the staffs will serve us shortly. This casual eatery was busy on a weekend night so it took the staffs a while to clear the tables but they were very friendly, offering to help us to "chope" our tables after cleaning them while we made our orders at the counter.Our food didn't take long (about 5-10 mins) to be served. The 3 of us ordered the Whole Kampong Chicken ($19.90) which was glistening under the light. The chicken was nicely sliced up and it was so tender to the bite. Doused with light soy sauce, sesame oil and coriander, it was very flavoursome that I couldn't resist even eating the skin of the chicken too! Thankfully, this is a kampong chicken so the chicken was very lean and delectable to the bite.
Each of us also had a plate of chicken rice for our meal at $1.20 and the stock was flavoursome yet not overly oily.The auntie at the counter told us that in Ipoh, the bean sprouts are eaten together with the chicken to add a crunchy factor. So we ordered a small plate of Bean Sprouts ($3) that has a generous serving topped with scallions, spring onion and a shake of pepper to enhance the flavour of it. I would say that this is a very delicious alternative to our usual pairing with "oyster sauce kailan" that is very oily and unhealthy. The tasty bean sprouts complements with our rice and chicken very well. No doubt the secret is in the "lou yau" sauce!Adding onto our side dish, we ordered a small Mix Braised Dish ($4.90) to share which consist of an hard-boil egg, bean curd and pork belly. This is indeed a bang for the buck as you get 2 items on the dish which is good enough for a person's meal to simply go along with their yummy chicken rice.

Of course, they do have set meals for 1 person that ranges from $6 and if you not a fan of chicken, they do have options such as their famous Ipoh Hor Fun ($2/bowl) too! Overall, we enjoyed the food at a good price and our meal is complete with a friendly auntie to advise us what to order.

I was at Grandstand with my friends the other day and decided to check out Pasarbella which has been widely talked about with lots of variety of seafood, pastries, coffee and cakes to fill the stomach. After looking and eating around different stores, this store by the name of Le Patio (stall #27 within Pasarbella) caught my eye and left a very HUGE impression on me.That is because it has 2 HUGE traditional paella pans that was cooking on the mega stove. As the chef was placing a decadent load of mix of seafood ingredients (including prawns, squid, mussels and chicken) on it in full view of the crowd, everyone couldn't resist snapping photos of it. Although my friends and I weren't hungry but from the mouth-watering aroma that fills the air, we couldn't resist ordering it to try how does the Seafood Paella on that huge pan taste like.

As we took lots of photos of it, the friendly staff there joked with us that if we can finish up the pan of paella, he would give it to us. Of course, he was just begin hospitable, friendly and obviously pulling our leg on that. As we ordered the Mix Paella ($13.50) which is their signature and most popular choice over there, we were served in a biodegradable pack that is environmentally friendly. I love the flavour of the saffron rice which has slightly burnt parts that was crunchy to the bite. It came with a lime and sweet Thai-style chilli that enhances the flavours of seafood too. It was way too delicious that we can't help finishing up every bit of it that's in the box.Later, I realized that the utensils are made from wood instead of plastic! That is really very new as it was my first time using a wooden spoon and fork. The decision of Le Patio to be environmental friendly deserves a huge applause!

There wasn't a designated place for Le Patio's customers to sit and dine as the style of Pasarbella is like a Europe food market. Diners can sit at any common dining area you like but you have to clean up their utensils after that. Hence, the place wasn't exactly clean as some diners are rather inconsiderate not to clear the mess they have left behind after eating. The F&Bs here are mostly self-service so you just order at their cashier of the particular store, pick up, and find somewhere to eat.

I would recommend this place for families who wants to bring their kids here to enjoy the food market experience at Pasarbella and also a group of friends so to dine around, trying out different types of food from stores all over. Do expect crowd on weekends as there are limited dining areas.