I have never eaten at Marmalade Pantry before, but I had heard good things about their desserts. However, when my colleagues suggested that we go there for lunch, I was a little skeptical- I believe that good dessert places probably don't do good mains.

Anyway! We were given the menu to peruse, and I felt the pinch in my wallet. Don't get me wrong, the prices weren't sky high, but I felt that $24 for pasta (which was what I paid) was a little much for a cafe setting? In any case, I settled for the scallop pasta in prawn bisque because a) it was cheaper than the other options, and b) it sounded not bad. When it came, I felt mildly comforted, mostly because it looked not bad and smelt really good. There was a strong prawn-y aroma which told me the bisque/broth was flavourful and likely to be very yummy. After my colleagues' food came, we dug in.I'm not sure if its evident from the picture, but the linguine was very good- al dente texture that wasn't soggy despite the abundant broth and also not undercooked. There was also plenty of hebi (small prawns) buried in the pasta. I realised that that was what gave it such a strong aroma, and while it was slightly unerving to eat at first- I don't like fusion foods- I got used to it and it was actually a very comforting flavour that reminded me of homecooked food. I soon found myself scooping up every bit of broth and wishing there was more heh.

The meal was really yummy, and I was very happy with my pasta. However, the thought of $24 for noodles with hebi and 2 pieces of big prawn and scallops each didn't feel very satisfying. I guess this would be one of those places to go once in a while. If you want somewhere for a date or a nice place to talk with friends and feel slightly more high-class though, I thoroughly recommend Marmalade Pantry!

(I didn't get to try their desserts, but the table beside us were eating and it looked really good!)

My friend and I were on our way to Harry's at Boat Quay and decided to grab a quick dinner first. Hearing the good reviews about Suzuki, we decided to give it a try. Walking in, it seemed nice enough, there was a bar area where people eating alone could sit and slurp up a bowl of noodles, and also tables for patrons. The crowd moved relatively quickly and we could tell it was a place for office execs to grab lunch or dinner. When we sat down, a few things struck me. Firstly, there were bowls of eggs on our table, and the menus came with a sort of form with a lot of options. We were seriously lost, so we asked a waiter what to do.

His instructions were to look at the menu provided and choose what ramen we wanted. Then, we could use the form to customise our ramen- how flavourful we wanted it, how springy the noodles, whether we wanted extra toppings etc. He also explained to us that the eggs were hard-boiled and free-flow for customers, together with rice and shredded cabbage, which were on a table at the side of the restaurant. We were very amused with this and rather impressed, and we immediately went to work on a few eggs heh. A plus point, the eggs were still warm! (They must change them regularly/ only put them out when there are customers)

After all the admin work of ordering was done, we sat back and relaxed. A waitress placed a jug of cold tea on our table, this was rather nice of them as it was complimentary, and would come in very useful later on.My ramen, which came quite promptly, was the signature original ramen, smelled really good. I also ordered tamago, which was an extra, but to my dismay, it was too cooked While the texture and that sweet flavour was still there, the yolk didn't ooze when I bit into it. On the other hand, the ramen noodles were just the way I liked them, springy and al dente. The soup was really flavourful as well, I really liked it, but after a few slurps, I realised that perhaps I shouldn't have opted for the extra-flavourful option; it was too salty :/ I ended up having to drink quite a few cups of tea to combat the saltiness.MY friend ordered the squid ink ramen, and it smelled really good when it arrived ^^ I tasted some of her soup, and it was good- there was a slight seafood flavour and a saltiness, but because she had not opted for the extra-flavourful option, it didn't become too salty. From the way she was gobbling up her ramen, I could tell it was delicious!

Suziki ramen bar has ticked all the mandatory boxes, good flavourful ramen, nice japanese bar-ish ambience/setup, and good service. They even tried to differentiate themselves with the free eggs, which adds points to them. However, I do feel that perhaps their ramen might be a little too salty. But oh well, other than that, it was great, and I still would come back again!

I had wandered into IKYU without any knowledge about it, but it had looked rather nice, and my friend and I were both hungry. Since they were offering a set lunch at around $25, so figured, why not!The decor of the place is really nice, classy and elegant with a little industrial feel- plenty of dark wood and metal, with slightly darker (and more romantic?) lighting. The bar area, where patrons could sit, and where two sushi chefs- one Japanese and one Malaysian- were preparing sushi and entertaining everyone with their banter and stories. It was a very friendly and chill sort of vibe.

So after some consideration, we decided on what we wanted! We also ordered drinks, I got a yuzu iced tea (which was very normal and therefore not deserving of a photo) and he got a cocktail with milk and japanese strawberry liquer.Tadaaaaa! It doesn't look like much, but it was actually really good! The alcohol taste was really subtle, and even though I don't like milk, I would have gladly drunk the whole glass!

Anyway, our appetities came soon after. He stuck with the safe option- potato salad- while I went for the salmon spring roll. His potato salad was nothing amazing I felt, but he was happily gobbling it down, so I guess if you love potato you'd like it haha. I really like my spring roll though, the skin felt like the rice paper used for wrapping vietnamese spring rolls, but crispier, giving it a crunch, and the proportion of rice and salmon and roe was just nice, allowing me to taste and savour the buttery texture of the salmon ^^ The bonito flakes sprinkled on top were a nice touch too!

Then came our mains! I was super excited because I had got the chirashi don, which i love- sashimi slices on rice, what not to love!- and he got the seven sisters sushi (basically 7 pieces of sushi lol)
Here's his sushi! I couldn't take a nice picture because it was too long, but presentation was actually very nice! Moreover, the server was super nice too, he took the time to explain each sushi so that we could fully appreciate it. I tasted the tuna sushi, which had very nice, fat, sticky rice with a thick slice of tuna on top. While not the best tuna I've had, it was not bad.And then my set arrived! I was super happy when I saw it ^^ While the sashimi was chopped up instead of in slices, it was more than compensated by the huge amount of fish. The chirashi was really yummy, with each sashimi having different textures (the salmon was the best I feel, buttery and fat, it was smooth and slid down my throat) and mixed with the lightly seasoned rice There was also this sweet pickled gourd in it? I'm not sure what it's called, or if it even is what I think it is, but it went really well with the fish because its sweetness brought out the sweetness of the fish as well!Close-up of my yummy yummy lunch!

All in all, it was a great lunch with good food at fair prices. But what was really worth mention is actually the attentive and personalised service at IKYU. I have rarely had such great service, with prompt removal of dishes and topping up of water, and smiles all round. It was very impressive and made my lunch so much better! 5/5 stars!

I went on a food exploration trail a few weeks ago around Tiong Bahru after hearing that there had been an explosion of cafes and good food/coffee around that area. First on my trail was PS Cafe Petit; I had never been to PS Cafe before and so was looking forward to the experience. The interior was very very nice, very classy and plush, like a gentleman's club in New York or something.They had a really nice bar area, a huge selection of wine and even magazines to browse- they had the New Yorker! After we went in, the barista/bartender explained to us that it was more of a takeaway place, which explained the small size of the cafe, but that if we could eat in the cafe if we were willing to eat from takeaway plates, so we started our food journey with a latte and a meatball and mozzarella calzone.It might not look amazing in this picture, but it was actually not bad- the crust was thicker and more pastry-like than other calzones that I've tried, but it was steaming hot when we broke into it, and the meatball and mozzarella were perfect complements for each other. However, as we continued eating, it started to become reallyyyyy jelat, because of the cream and cheese. Here's a close up.It was then that we discovered the highlight of the dish- the chilli that they gave at the side. It looked like sambal, but it wasn't really spicy, instead, it tasted sweet with a tinge of tangy-ness and spiciness- from what we could tell, it was chilli fried with garlic, so it was really fragrant and crunchy and really really good when eaten together with the calzone, lightening the heavy cream and cheese. We also ordered a latte that was really good. It was smooth and creamy, but light, and the coffee wasn't sour or acidic at all, which I loved. Moreover, the barista was really really nice, chatting with us and making sure that we were comfortable, even asking for feedback about his coffee and about the food.

We went on to look about the rest of the Yong Siak area, but I really enjoyed PS Cafe Petit. While I might not come back for the food- it really was a bit too creamy for me- I would definitely come back for a cuppa.

Having wandered Orchard Central many times, I had come across this little concept store tucked away in a corner and was intrigued. It sold clothes and other 'designer/tumblr-ish' items, but had a food area as well, so I decided to give it a try one lunch break. The setup was simple but classy, with wooden blocks for chairs and a bar area for people eating alone. It was quite busy with the lunch crowd- mostly corporates with a few angmohs - but my friend and I were seated rather quickly.

The menu was a simple one, with rice dishes (like japanese dons), sushi rolls and ciabatta sandwiches. There was also a lunchs set going on, a drink and a sandwich/rice bowl for $15, and we went for that- I took the salmon and avocado ciabatta, while my friend took the wagyu beef rice bowl.

My sandwich arrived...slightly late I felt, but it's prettiness in presentation made up for it. Very smart of them to cut with the cross section showing, I love veggies so it looked REALLY good. When I bit into it, the ciabatta crust was crisp and lightly toasted but not hard, and the filling of salmon (which was rather generous i felt) complemented the creamy avocado, while the rocket, onion and cucumber added a crunch and sweetness. There was also a sort of tangy dressing which I couldn't place but really enjoyed.

My friend's beef rice came soon after; compared to mine, his seemed much less. Either way, he seemed to enjoy his meal, and complimented the beef slices as juicy and done just nice- the edges were seared well, but the middle was still slightly pink, making it not overdone and thus chewy.

Overall, it was a nice lunch, but it certainly was not the most filling lunch nor the most value-for-money one that I've had. It's great for the ambience and cool chill vibe, but I don't think I'd be returning soon.