Read the full review at http://herpenandfork.blogspot.sg/2015/01/the-hangar-review-for-well-made-sarnies.html
It's hard to find good sandwiches around. No not those that are made with 2 slices of white bread from the supermarket. A good sandwich, or a sarnie (as the Aussies call it), typically consists of artisanal bread, like rye or sourdough, with a flavourful filling. The Hangar has received fairly positive reviews, and pictures of the food looked tantalising on Instagram, so I had to make my way there. We got to meet the owner, who had previously worked at Sarnies and he explained that the cafe's concept was modelled upon the ones in Melbourne.Located on Arab Street, the place is some distance away from Bugis MRT, but still reachable by foot. It looks just like any other nondescript cafe from the outside, with a fairly spacious interior. The tables aren't cramped together, but if I have to comment, it seems to be a littleee cluttered near to the kitchen.Otherwise, it makes for a good place for a catch-up over coffee and food. From the menu, all-day breakfast mains are available, but the sandwiches are the recommended dishes to have. They have the usual hand-pulled coffees too, but what's interesting is that they offer the upsize option here. For just $1/$2, you can upsize your cup to a medium/large cup, which makes it worthwhile for sharing between 2.The Hangar Menu - BrunchThe Hangar Menu - Sandwiches and SaladsDrinks MenuUpsized Large Mocha ($7.50)

Our Mocha had a nice balance between the chocolatey and nutty tones. My friend even commented that it was one of the best she ever had.Lemongrass Steak ($12)

Recommended by the cafe, and also our clear preferred choice. The beef was done nicely to a medium rare and every bite was very enjoyable. The lemongrass brought a refreshing taste to the steak. The beef slices were sandwiched between 2 piececs of toasted sourdough/rye. Very good. You definitely won't go very much wrong by ordering this.At $12 for most of their sandwiches, The Hangar really is a good place for sandwich lovers(like me) with their well-made sarnies. The coffees pulled here are more than decent. If there's a place I would drop by again for their sandwiches, it would be here.

For full review & more photos - http://midas400.blogspot.sg/2014/03/bijin-nabe-at-tsukada-nojo-chinatown.html

Finally got to try this popular Bijin Nabe (Collagen hotpot) at the Chinatown Point outlet. We arrived at the restaurant at 6.30pm on a weekday and was told to join in the queue for a table.This outlet operates differently from the PS branch where customers are required to leave their contact numbers with them to join the waiting list, and do not need to be physically queuing for the table. However, they do provide complimentary Japanese tidbits and magazines at the waiting corner for customers to kill time as the wait can be long sometimes.In between the wait, we noticed some customers arriving with a 'reservation'...what? We always thought that no reservations was allowed for dinner after 6pm, but they were indeed being given priority to next available table when everyone in their party has arrived. Ok, we shall ask about it later. Meanwhile, we checked out the menu and decide what to order for our dinner.

We ordered the Must Try Bijin Nabe 美人鍋 Set ($25++ per pax, min 2pax to order), and some sides to go along with the hotpot. The friendly waitress took our orders when we have reached the first in the queue. Our wait lasted about 30mins with 2 groups of people jumping the queue with their reservations. Shortly after we placed order, our table was ready and we were being ushered in swiftly with the entire shop yelling "irasshaimase!!!"...officially welcoming us in to dine.
Table setting with built-in induction cooker and hotpot utensils.The much anticipated collagen 'pudding' arrived with a friendly Jap waitress explaining what we're gonna be eating. The pudding-like Jidori soup was made with highly prized free range Jidori chicken, raised in a controlled environment in Miyazaki prefecture, Kyushu. The chicken bones were stewed for over 8hrs and left to cool to produce this collagen pudding. The pudding is imported on a daily basis directly from their Miyazaki farms.When heated, the pudding gradually melted into a thick broth. The process took about 5mins, and we could already smell the aroma of the well made chicken soup. An organic chicken was revealed underneath the soup. The waitress then scooped up the chicken and a small cup of soup for everyone to taste the original flavor before the ingredients go into the hotpot. The broth was delicious!

The hotpot ingredients (4pax portion) has fresh prawns, minced chicken balls, Jap watermelon radish, zucchini, Jap beancurd, black fungus, enoki mushrooms and a variety of common veggies. All ingredients are carefully selected to make up the nourishing Bijin Nabe 美人鍋. The serving may seem somewhat lacking but looks can be deceiving, the noodle that comes with the hotpot set will fill up the gap later on.The friendly waitress again, helped us with the cooking of the ingredients, explaining the origins of each unique ingredient and their nutrition value during the process. We didn't need to lift a finger! A couple of mins later, the Bijin Nabe 美人鍋 is ready to be consumed. We all eagerly dig in. Everything in this hotpot was oishii, I especially liked the crunchy watermelon radish!

The fresh prawns and some of the veggies that has an extremely short cooking time were left by the side for us to cook as we desire. The prawns were sweet and succulent!The noodles (choice of egg noodle, mochi mochi noodle & rice noodle) was served last. The egg noodle soaked up all the goodness of the chicken broth and was utterly delish to eat.We were filled to the brim by the time we're done with the noodles. And the side dishes served in between the hotpot session did helped to make us full as well.
Nikumaki Onigiri ($3.50 - $3.80++ each) is one of their signature dishes. It is a bacon wrapped rice ball with 4 kinds of toppings. I had the original one and it was very nice! Definitely recommended.Do note that these rice balls are quite huge, please don't over order. One per pax is quite enough for ladies, maybe one more for big appetite guys.
Chicken Nanban $8.50++, is a Miyazaki specialty served with homemade tartar sauce. The fried chicken was uber tender and juicy, and pairs well with the creamy mayo-like tartar sauce...yums.Fried Kagoshima Sweet Potato w/ Honey Vanilla Ice Cream $8.50++. The crispy, sweet and mushy potato fries were incredibly addictive to eat.At the end of the meal, we were presented with a nice little dessert platter with a 'camera' in the middle, drawn with chocolate sauce, and the words 'Thank you for taking pictures!'. This is a little unusual as their drawings are usually chicken related. Perhaps we were really too busy taking photos of every single dish and sauces served here The bite sized sweet treat was Lemon Orange jelly. Flavor changes daily based on the chef's mood...nice!
Just before we leave, we were given a name card each. Every customer becomes an Assistant Manager upon their first visit to Tsukada Nojo. Then they will be gradually promoted through the ranks (based on number of visits) until they attained the CEO status. Check out the number of 'employees' on the leadership board.While making payment, we checked with the staff on their reservation policy. For Chinatown Point branch, reservation is allowed for bookings before 7pm. That explains it! We shall call up to book a table on our next visit.

Another piece of good news, only at Chinatown Point outlet, the Bijin Nabe is served all day on Sat/Sun!
Our dining experience at Tsukada Nojo was an exceptional one. Premium quality food, Jap standard warm service and down to earth pricing...we couldn't ask for more! A repeat visit is already in the planning 

Prior to this Between X OpenRice Food Tasting Session, my only experience with German-based cuisine had been a couple of visits to Brotzeit for some schnitzels and bratwursts. My Deutsch foodie experience was thus greatly enhanced during this Tasting Session, courtesy of Between and OpenRice.

Stuttgart Blackforest Boutique S-Café is a lovely little German eatery that appears to pride itself on delivering an authentically German experience to its patrons. This was evident throughout my visit.

While waiting to be seated, one already catches a glimpse of the exquisitely-furnished café interior. An impressive variety of pastas and spirits sits invitingly on large wooden shelves. Stepping inside, I was struck by the sight of large majestic trees scattered across the eatery, their branches reaching towards the lofty ceiling. Much thought and care was indeed put into the decorations, with a spinning water wheel and a wall of antique cuckoo clocks among the more outstanding features.Water wheel: attention-catching centrepieceWater feature complete with fishShelves upon shelves of specialty pastas

After getting to meet the fellow OpenRicers present as well as Joash, the General Manager (Singapore) of VCNC (which is behind the Between app), we were ready to choose our dishes from a selection of mains and desserts to accompany a Wurstsalat (SGD 18++), a salad with sausages, onions and gherkins.The Wurstsalat was simple yet satisfying in a understated way. The sausage slices possessed a unique mix of tastes, with a slight sourish tang adding some tart zest to the otherwise salty meat. The accompanying greens and cherry tomatoes added the finishing gustatory as well as visual touches.

For my main, I went for the Schwäbische Maultaschen (SGD 25++), which consists of two large pockets of Swabian pasta, each stuffed with savoury minced beef. These were served on a bed of sautéed onions and potatoes. Accompanying these was a mesclun salad complete with bright cherry tomatoes. The two maultaschen were generously sized and appetizingly presented, with the onions, potatoes and salad each adding a distinct dimension to the meat pockets. The pasta itself was soft and subtly fragrant, and provided a perfect foil to the more intense flavours of the minced beef. The maultaschen were well-complemented by the bed of potatoes and onions, whose tangy flavours I presume may be attributed to a vinaigrette dressing. It was indeed a flavourful and well-balanced dish.Flavourful minced beef within!

Accompanying my meal was a cappuccino (SGD 10++) which was easily the most frothy and fluffy coffee I have ever encountered. Check out the froth!

If you cut through all that fluff (literally), you will find that Stuttgart does really do quite a mean cappuccino. The coffee was thick and full-bodied, with intense aromas wafting up with every (divine) sip. Rounding off the feast was a slice of Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (SGD 12++), a freshly-baked Blackforest cake that was fluffy, creamy, light and rich all at once. The spongy cake layers were interspersed with sweet and gooey cherries, with cream and chocolate shavings holding it all together. The cake was delightfully sweet and intensely flavoured with Kirschwasser, a traditional cherry liquor, making it a wonderful flavourful burst on the palate.

While service was reasonably attentive and polite to a fault, it was at times a little slow. We were made to wait uncomfortably long for some of the dishes, but this could be put down to the large group we were in. Overlooking this blemish, the homely ambience and quality of food were indeed top notch, making a visit to Stuttgart Blackforest Boutique S-Café an advisable one. Just be sure to visit only when not in a rush, and go prepared to spend a leisurely evening over some great-tasting German cuisine. Do also take the opportunity to take a few photographs (unintrusively of course), as the café is painstakingly decorated.

En Guete!