Food Republic is a nice enough place for meals. Slightly more on the pricey side, but it's air-conditioned, and food quality has so far been pretty well above what you might find at other food courts locally.

But I wouldn't have pegged it for a crowd puller. Which explained my surprise when I saw not just queues but loooong queues out side Koh Grill & Sushi Bar at Food Republic, Wisma Atria. And it wasn't a one-off phenomenon but a consistent sight especially during dinner time.

I decided to beat the crowd and try it for myself.
Foodie tip: Best time to avoid the hordes and long waiting times is around 11-1130 on weekdays. Got seated immediately and it was quite empty that the waitresses had the time to attend to us nearly exclusively.

My first guess about Koh Grill & Sushi Bar was wrong. It wasn't some super discounted $1 sashimi. In fact, it was about cheap food in town at all!

What I HadJapanese Fried Rice - $10
Very alike any seafood fried rice one might be able to get at a random zi char stall. Admittedly it did past the olfactory test when it was served, piping hot and smelling just awesome to whet the appetite for things to come.
But at $10?Beef Steak - $12
Definitely a letdown. The beef wasn't sufficiently thick to be enjoyable. Neither was it moist or juicy enough to warrant the $12 dollar price tag. Shiok!! Maki Gen 1 - $16.80
Star of the menu and small wonder. The cyborg sounding Shiok!! Maki Gen I actually packs quite a foodie-licious punch and is more than deserving of the 2 exclamation marks in its name. An assorted seafood maki, the signature dish has avocado, unagi and wrapped in rice with a tender piece of salmon draped on top, capped with seared cheese and fish roe. Ooh La La.

With hits and misses all round, it's questionable whether I would return to Koh Grill & Sushi Bar. I might if just for the Shiok!! Maki Gen II to test limits of shiokness, but definitely not if I have to queue.

This review is so titled because Note di Sicilia really wows in more ways than one. Nestled in the cluster of restaurants and bars/pubs at Quayside Isle, the cafe first caught my eye with a chic array of neon-colored, lighted pedestal seats outside the cafe.

It was a total juxtaposition for the cafe interior - one can definitely feel the efforts made to recreate the ambience of an authentic Italian gelateria. Classy murals adorn the walls along the sitting area, and there's even a very traditional pushcart by the side to complete the feel.

Gelato wise, Note di Sicilia brings a lot more to the table as well. There's 3 broad categories available: 
1. Granita - fruit flavored ices with a slight granulated texture
2. Gelati - creamy flavoured ice creams made from fresh milk
3. Sorbetti - desserts made only from fruits and spring water

All 3 categories tasted very much different, I had the Pistachio from the Gelati range - the ice cream was silky smooth and the fragrance of the pistachio nut can literally be savoured with every mouthful. 

The other flavour I tried was the Coffee from the Granita family. Intense and slightly more on the bitter side, the coffee granita came across as a coffee slurpee with a very generous, concentrated dose(s) of espresso. Maybe because of the ice content, it melted way faster, but it was still some pretty passable iced coffee.

The Italian dessert experience would not have been complete without trying the Cannolo, a traditional Sicilian sweet treat of creamy ricotta stuffed in a crispy biscuit pipe and a healthy sprinkle of chocolate chips on both ends. It was definitely something new, the creamy ricotta tasted quite nice with the crunch of the biscuit, and the chocolate chips just added a touch of diversity to the overall flavour profile. The ricotta did get a tad cloying to the end as I hit the centre of the Cannolo without the chocolate chips.

The last surprise Note di Sicilia sprang on me came with the bill. There weren't any price tags displayed prominently, so I went into the cafe assuming the general price point of $6-7 a cup for gelato. The total bill I was presented with was $31.35; $8.50 for the Cannolo and $10 a cup for the gelato. Ouch.

It was indeed a nice place to hang out, the perfect ambience by the quay. But the price just stings for te unprepared. For chocolate lovers like me, I'd advise visiting the cafe earlier as the more popular flavours are usually sold out by 5-6pm.

After the success of Cookyn Inc, private chef Mervyn Phan set out to set up a warm, cosy environment where people could meet and share awesome good food. The result: GRUB.

Located at Bishan Park, GRUB doesn't look like much from afar, especially when the blinds are down in an attempt to ward off the heat. Outwardly, it was just this grey block sitting amidst the surrounding greenery. One of the few things that really stuck out a mile during my visit to GRUB was the wait - nearly 1 hour long, with no shelter available whatsoever once the sun went directly overhead.

Dispensing my first piece of foodie advice: If you are looking at a late weekend brunch, don't. Not unless you have a sure-fire way to get into the restaurant without much waiting.

And maybe it's because of the throngs of customers, service standards at GRUB was in no way adequate either. It took nearly 5 mins starting the moment we were ushered to our seats for a waiter to pass us the menu. The table was still littered with the remains of the previous diners if I may add.

Grumbling aside, the air-conditioned interior of the restaurant was a welcome reprieve from the sweltering heat from the outside. I liked the brick feature wall adorned with an assortment of posters lit up by a single bulb. Crispy Fish Burger - $11
The fish burger would probably be the burger you see most people ordering. A gleaming burger top sandwiching a delectable looking fillet long enough to stretch miles outside the burger is rare indeed. The usual complaint of not finding the fish in between your bread is simply non-existent here. Couple that with the fake that they use Hake instead of Dory at GRUB, I was pretty happy with the burger.Belgian Waffle with dark chocolate ice cream - $8 Simple, plain, unpretentious. It's a good ol' waffle toasted to perfection with a delightful scoop of dark chocolate ice cream. A tad expensive at $8, but I'll give them that.Churros with dark chocolate or creme anglais dip - $8
Waaaay overkill with the sugar. Entire sticks of churros look as if they had every square mm of surface area plastered solid with sugar. It was to the extent that I could not really detect the original flavour of the snack through all that sugar crystals.

Quick Fix: Get your hands dirty yourself and start swabbing each churro of sugar before proceeding with the dips. That's quite nice enough.

Chef Phan's celebrity status locally has indeed drawn the crowds. But whether or not GRUB deserves the gourmet bistro status still remains to be seen, with a fair amount of hits and misses alike. Personally, while I don't mind visiting again to try other dishes on the menu, I really wouldn't want to go through that amount of waiting again.

Another notable addition to the local dining scene would be the opening of popular Malaysian eatery, Madam Kwan's, at Vivocity earlier this month. Touting authentic Malaysian cuisine at its best, I was very eager and lucky to be one of the first in to try it over lunch.

The premises of the restaurant is huge. With both indoor and al fresco dining, Madam Kwan's can seat up to 200 pax comfortably. But to get a table during lunch/dinner hours, I wouldn't leave it too late. It took just 30 minutes after 12 to pack the restaurant up to the rafters.

Looking at the menu, one familiar with the local dining scene might naturally draw references to the Grandma's restaurant chain already operating in Singapore. Both eateries are building on the cornerstone of authentic flavours and recipes handed down through the generations by the matriarchs of the family. First impressions wise, Madam Kwan's certainly won hands down - diners at the restaurant could see the lady herself doing meet and greets, photo taking, general seat assignments. I got to talk to a food icon! *Achievement Unlocked*

My lunch at Madam Kwan's consisted of a starter, a main course and dessert:Otak-Otak - $15.90
6 cubes of the spicy fish paste grilled and served in banana leaf. A familiar dish here n Singapore, the Otak-Otak at Madam Kwan's certainly set itself apart in terms of quality. The Otak was thicker than what you would get anywhere else, and the flavour was just spot-on, without too much spice ruining the taste with excessive heat.
Recommended - A great starter dish not to be missed.Fried Beef Kway Teow - $14.90
Okay, the name of the dish befuddles me. No matter how I look, that just looks like hor fun to me, nothing fried to it. Naming conventions aside, the beef kway teow just lacked that wow factor for me. I have tasted better and at much more economical prices. Compliments could be paid to the individual strips of kway teow though. They were tender and separate unlike others which I've tried that had the kway teow slightly on the rubbery side and clumped together.Banana Fritter with Ice Cream - $8.90
This is probably THE dessert to end of your meal at Madam Kwan's. Hot meets cold in some yin and yang style of cooking. The deep fried banana had a crisp outer layer slick with caramelization, covering a mushy banana centre. 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream served on the side just help to add to the contrast in flavours, and also take an edge of the intensity of the banana fritter.

Verdict: A trip to Madam Kwan's is definitely a must to test the hype out for yourself. But coming down to the taste factor, there are a few hits I must say, but whether or not it is enough to warrant the higher than average price points is really up to the individual.

Somewhere sometime, Hainanese Chicken Rice has become a Singaporean staple and local favourite. Anywhere you look in Singapore, you can find a representative proudly claiming to be THE authentic chicken rice flavour that has placed Singapore on the map.

Hainanese Delicacy at Far East Plaza is one of those contestants. Suggest having chicken rice in Orchard and there is a high chance the shop would get mentioned, if not in the same breath as Chatterbox at Mandarin Orchard. Located on level 5 of Far East Plaza, the stall is spartan, with coffee shop-style furnishings. Packed as it is during meal hours, it might get a tad claustrophobic for those sitting in the tight confines at the far end of the restaurant.Diners can opt to order single portions or half/whole chicken to be shared. There is also the choice of roast chicken or the traditional hainanese chicken with it's oily, slightly more fatty skin. Together with a colleague, we ordered a plate of roast chicken rice each and a side of bean sprouts.The Verdict: Hainanese Delicacy might be another case of the product not living up to the hype. The chicken rice was not as fragrant as what you might find else where, and personally the chicken was drier too.
Though at $5.50 per pax for a plate of chicken rice with an additional dish of bean sprouts, it's as economical as it gets around the Orchard belt.