We were just browsing around Facebook and found out another new cafe that just recently popped up around the private estate of Binjai Park in Bukit Timah which operates around the same basis, and decided to check them out. Taking the space of Taberna Wine Academy, it operates from 9am to 5pm in the day before the wine academy takes over at night. It is interesting to note that this however would be a temporary location, and they would relocate after the barista training is over and a new location for the cafe is being sourced.The Flat White ($5.50) I had was one made of a blend of Brazilian and Sumatran beans. It exudes a milky taste along with the signature acidity of Sumatran blends for it’s body, and that earthy tone Brazilian beans are known for at the end.Each coffee comes with a free croissant, but I was not too keen on it and decided to go for the Chocolate Danish ($2.80) instead at normal prices. Supplied from an unnamed supplier, it was flaky and carried just enough chocolate to taste, which was just sweet enough. The bread itself was alright; not too buttery.

For the full review and more photos, please visit: http://jiaksimipng.wordpress.com/2014/04/08/three-hands-coffee-binjai-park/

Porridge Paradise is one of the newest offerings at Bugis, along Tan Quee Lan street. At the time of my visit, the restaurant is barely 2 weeks old. And to debunk any preconceptions derived from the moniker, Porridge Paradise is so very much more than just porridge.
Star of the menu would definitely have to be the original healthy porridge creations by the chef/owner. Using only all natural and fresh ingredients, there are 3 very unique flavours to choose from:
1. Pandan and Basil (Green) with pork
2. Pumpkin (Yellow) with prawn
3. Red Yeast Rice and Ginger (Red) with chicken

Each of the key ingredients were carefully handpicked for their health properties, strengthening our body's immunity system, lowering cholesterol levels and increasing antioxidant levels in our bodies. The restaurant's signature 3C Porridge offers an opportunity to test all 3 flavours at a go, reap all 3 health benefits, at a ridiculously low price of $6.90.
This HAS to be what I call value-for-money.

I'm not really a porridge person myself, preferring to stick with the staple of Century Egg and Minced Pork Porridge usually. But the presentation and smells really won me over. I am stuck choosing between the Pumpkin and the Red Yeast Rice & Ginger for a favourite - the former for the sweet taste of the pumpkin in the broth and the inherent sweetness of the shrimp; the latter for that combination that plays out so well in the mouth, and I love how the juiciness of the shredded chicken shines through in the aftertaste.And as I was saying, it's not just porridge. Porridge Paradise offers a menu of local delights as well. Assam Fish, Curry Chicken and Prawn Paste Chicken seem to be crowd favourites, with the Curry Chicken selling out by mid-day. I was lucky enough to get the last bowl Assam Fish (small): $10
I liked the crispiness of the fried fish, but i felt the assam could have been better to complement the dish further.

 

Curry Chicken: $7
A tad pricey at $7, the curry chicken is still pretty awesome taste wise. I liked the viscosity of the curry, not to watery, and the spiciness as the curry goes down the chute gives quite the kick.Prawn Paste Chicken: $8
Fried Chicken in delectable prawn paste batter. 'Nuff said.
Lunch for our group of 3 only worked out to be $10 each for such a spread. I'd say Porridge Paradise would be worth a visit for a potential lunch option for those working around Bugis.

For the full review and more photos, please visit http://makanarts.com/2014/02/24/wheelers-yard-28-lorong-ampas/

The hype over the locality of this place, an industrial space functioning both as a bike atelier and a cafe at the same time, Wheeler’s Yard is a place where you can get unique bicycles while also having western food items and drinks!
The food menu is rather extensive here.
And the drinks menu! Rather simple.
The Latte ($5) tasted ok with the right amount of milk added. Nothing too great.The Big Breakfast ($14.90) is served with a wholemeal bread toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, hashbrown & garden salad. This is way better than the coffee although not overwhelming as well. The toast was rather nicely toasted and crusty. The scrambled eggs are nice. The bacon is great. The sausages and the hashbrown are average. The garden salad is also not too bad. In overall, this could have been better.
If you live or is around the Balestier area, this place should be considered to have your meal (for its ambience; do not expect too much from the food and drinks)

For the westies in Singapore, all the dining hype that marries convenience, variety and quality is congregated at Jurong East. There are plenty of restaurants to try with JCube, JEM, IMM and Westgate! This time, MADO Cafe caught my eye and J & I decided to go in and give it a try. While it is famous for desserts, we needed to settle dinner as well. So - this review will be on their mains. Might come back for their desserts next time though! MADO Cafe's Cream of mushroom soup tastes extremely similar to Pizza Hut's campbell soup. It is not diluted, but definitely far from the thick velvety sort of mushroom soup. I was craving for something spicy, so why not Prawn Aglio Olio since their pastas look pretty popular? It turned out to be quite good on an overall. The garlic-oil base is very fragrant and the chilli flakes made it quite spicy but still within an enjoyable range. The pasta is cooked al dente but a little less salty than I think it should be. J ordered the Roasted Beef Set which she found quite tough to cut! Taste-wise it's okay but not impressive... not recommended if you're trying this. The service is quite good here

For more food adventures, follow me at http://spherepiece.blogspot.sg/

I had our largest G20 gathering last evening at ah orh at jalan bukit merah on 20.2.2014.

we had 23pax on 3 tables, a meeting (or eating!) record!

ah orh had mixed reviews & mostly dated. most thought it was expensive for the food (it may still be probably but it often depends on food ordered). anyhow there was a deal.com offer & the organiser bought 3 vouchers of S$150 worth at S$97.50 each – 1 voucher was allowed for each table. :-)

some friends went early to order the dishes. we had in total 9 dishes & the cost came to S$23+ all-in (about S$180+ per table) after redeeming the vouchers, so it was in fact very good value-for-money even considering that we did not order the usual teochew pomfret, cold crab etc.

there was deep-fried fish skin as table starter. pretty good!

#1 the braised duck platter (top photo & above) was good – moist, flavourful. i would say as good as imperial treasure teochew & better than muliangzai liang kee & chui huay lim. :-) the lor bah (braised belly pork was good too.

#2 fishmaw soup was tasty, but maybe just average. the one beng thin we had recently was substantially better.

#3 the ter kar tan (pig trotter jelly) was very good – firm, flavourful. there was also good chilli & “seng ni cho” 蒜泥醋 dip. this was as good as chui huay lim, imperial treasure & crystal jade.

#4 the yam basket was i supposed really excellent for this dish – yam was tasty & very crisp outside yet “sang” inside & very good combination in texture & taste with the fillings. a very good dish though not yam basket not my favourite. :-)

#5 the kailan with ti poh was competent. vegetable was fresh & crunchy. the ti poh (a teochew favourite condiment not so often seen) added to the attraction but perhaps the wok hae was kind of lacking a bit.

#6 not sure about this teck kia fish (竹仔鱼) dish, certainly competent but the fish had more bones than meat. at kok sen, they used some fish head & added chunky fish meat which worked well to accompany the black bean sauce & was much better overall by comparison.

＃7 hae chor was quite ok, competent, nothing special.
nee

#8 orh luah was pretty good, large fleshy oysters.

#9 orh nee was better than expected, tasty, i liked it no pumpkin though. :-)

company & fellowship were the key in our get-togethers of course, but we did come to eat & overall the food was quite good & the price of $23pax very reasonable after the deal.com offer, not much different from say muliangzai liang kee, and food we had here were better. :-) w/o the offer, it would cost about $30pax which was still not a bad deal, about same as what we had at shin yeh at our last 20pax dinner.

See my full reviews & photos at = http://chefquak.com/2014/02/21/great-teochew-food-23pax-dinner-get-together-ah-orh-on-20feb2014/