It was a chilly evening because it rained the entire day, so when I met up with *Helen for dinner in town, we decided to go for Shabu Sai, for some Japanese hotpot that serves shabu-shabu and sukiyaki.There were cooked food, mainly assortments of sushi and rolls. At SGD$24.99 per adult on a weekday night and SGD$29.99 on a weekend night, this shabu-shabu hotpot buffet concept was very worth it. The only catch was that upon entry, they informed that there was a time limit of one-and-a-half hours, meaning, you were supposed to wolf down your hotpot buffet dinner within an hour and a half.We grabbed an assortment of mushrooms, vegetables, eggs, seafood and sushi back for cooking and consumption. The set itself consisted of three different types of meat - pork, chicken and beef. For each table, we could choose 2 soup base, and we chose Spicy for one, and Tonkotsu (pork bone) for the other.  The soup was good and the vegetables were fresh. The meat was tender; I was already full but just had to eat more of the really succulent strips of beef.Finally, time for some palate-cooling dessert. The soft-served ice-cream came in vanilla flavour only, and there was hot fudge sauce, rainbow chips, raisins etc to add on. It was not bad - not too sweet, but lovely enough to make for a nice, simple dessert.

For full review and more detailed information, please feel free to visit:
http://thearcticstar.blogspot.sg/2015/06/dinner-at-shabu-sai-orchard-central.html

Lunch today was at Five Izakaya Bar @ Collyer Quay (formerly known as Hitachi Towers); had thought the colleagues were joking when they suggested having beer over lunch at first. Anyway, by day, this area is a Rice Bar, with a variety of burgers and rice sets (don) to serve the lunch crowds properly. One has to place their orders at the counter.Most of us ended up with ½ pint of Beer (SGD$5.00) each, Asahi, I think, a rather smooth soother on a hot day.One of us tried the Ebi Curry Don (SGD$10.55), with crispy fried battered prawns and nice Japanese potato curry, thick and rich in texture.*V had Teriyaki Don (SGD$10.00) – same as the previous time when she was here because she recalled it as being good. The chicken thigh was still kind of crispy on the outside despite being doused with teriyaki sauce, adding some notes of sweetness to the savoury dish.I chose the Mapo Don (SGD$12.95) – spicy tofu with minced meat, simply because usually I like mapo dishes. I was expecting the tender cubes of tofu, reddish gravy and a delicious spicy flavor draped nicely over the (supposed) pearl rice. Instead, I was disappointed to see the brown mess on top of my rice. The gravy had congealed into a thick, sticky goo and was not spicy at all. The only things I managed to pick through and eat were the tofu cubes and a bit of rice (the portion that wasn’t covered up in the gooey concoction).

For full review and more detailed information, please refer here, thanks:
http://thearcticstar.blogspot.sg/2015/06/lunch-at-five-izakaya-rice-bar.html

Anyway, Time Table Cafe was the most spacious looking one with the poshiest decor in comparison to the other joints here, hence we decided to grab our pre-dinner coffee here. I loved the black, white and silver decor magnified by the presence of mirrors, as well as the comfortable leather seats.*V chose an Affogato (SGD$7.40) - shot of espresso with a huge scoop of ice-cream. She went for pistachio flavour. The ice cream was creamy but not too rich, hence retaining the distinctive flavour of pistachio. It paired off rather well with the aromatic coffeeI had a Chocolate Cookies Latte (SGD$5.80) that was prettily decorated, as is the trend these days. The coffee contained strong hints of berries and a little sour overture, but was sweetened beautifully by the chocolate cookies.
The service was good and there was free wi-fi for all, making it a perfect chillout or work cafe. What's best is that they currently have this "2nd cup at 50%" promotion! So, say, if I finish my Chocolate Chips Latte and wish to try their Affogato, I bring my empty cup back to the counter, pay SGD$3.70, and get to enjoy another delicious cup of hot beverage.

For full review and more detailed information, please feel free to refer to:
http://thearcticstar.blogspot.sg/2015/05/coffee-break-at-time-table-cafe-east.html

It was time for lunch with the colleagues, headed for Guo Fu Steampot Restaurant, the perfect choice for a rainy afternoon as such. Besides buffet meals, this place offers personal hotpot set meals as well, ranging from SGD$13.90 to SGD$17.90 per set, depending on personal preference.Four of them had the Pork Set (SGS$13.90), served with fresh-looking, pinkish slices of pork and arranged neatly on a tray with potato slices, radish slices, fishballs, egg, and other vegetables etc. One may also choose rice or noodles as staples for the set.I had the Special Beef Set (SGD$17.90), since they are well known for having the best fatty beef in town. The beef was thinly-sliced and extremely succulent, sweet with freshness. The potato and radish chips were cut thinly as well; as were the rest of the crisp and fresh vegetables.One of them had the Spicy soup base (ma la), with numbing hotness. The degree of spiciness was high, and I choked at it at first sip, hence I suggest taking it slow when selecting this soup base.As for me, I had the Kimchi soup base. Disappointingly this soup was rather diluted; while aromatic with kimchi's flavour, it was rather mild in taste. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed it.

For full review and more detailed information, please feel free to visit:
http://thearcticstar.blogspot.sg/2015/05/lunch-at-guo-hu-hotpot-steamboat-at.html

After a hardworking day of volunteering work on a Saturday morning, we decided to reward ourselves a little by having a ramen meal at the nearby mall, hence Menya Musashi it was! When this outlet first opened, there were always long queues, so the I-will-not-queue-for-food me have yet to try it till now.First ramen to be served was the Black Shabu Ramen (SGD$14.90), using a variety of black sauce, garlic and onion, giving it a heavier flavor that is nonetheless very aromatic. The shabu pork was rather tender, making for a satisfying but rather average ramen meal, served with the essential flavored egg, bamboo shoot and spring onion.The White Chashu Ramen (SGD14.90) features the signature white tonkotsu broth made by boiling a substantial amount of pork bones, giving it a rich and creamy taste. The succulent slices of chashu pork was the highlight of this dish naturally, infused deliciously in the tasty broth.I chose the Red Seafood Ramen (SGD$15.90), a pool of supposedly spicy soup base laden with lots of seafood - prawns, squids, scallops, flavored egg etc. The soup was not spicy at all, so I kept dousing Japanese red chilli powder onto it; the noodles were rather limp as well. While it made for a passable bowl of ramen when one is hungry (and I was), I have had better ones elsewhere.

For full review and more detailed information, please refer to :
http://thearcticstar.blogspot.sg/2015/05/lunch-at-menya-musashi-raffles-city.html