I am all along a Soup Spoon fan. I love their beef rendition, Simon Chic Garfunkel, mushroom and tomato soup. Thus, I have naturally high expectations about this new establishment. Headed down to try out their new Brunch menu but aww what a let down

Had the Union's SouperBreakfast ($16.50) with sous-vide eggs and the Chicken Pho ($7.50). I like that the sausage tasted spicy, otherwise it was quite ordinary. Small portion and pricey, I could have a better breakfast set elsewhere and pay less even.

Adding on to that, the ultimate disappointment was with the Chicken Pho. The soup was plain, nothing whatsoever was nice about it. Had the hot Vietnamese Drip coffee add-on with the noodles, again, it was a disappointment too. The coffee was not strong at all. The cup looked cute, but the coffee was a no-no. I rather spend on buying kopi from Yakun. In conclusion, I am disappointed with the new Farmer's Brunch menu. I don't think I would want to try the other food items in the menu anymore although my sweet tooth is calling me to try out the RedVelvet Waffles. I guess it would be better to just stick with the soups instead.

How can anyone resist blackball!
Originated from Taiwan it has now become very popular in Singapore!
It's my first time trying this cranberry shaved ice flavour
To combat the hot weather here, this is just what we need!
The challenge when it comes to eating blackball! is the small constraint space and crowd of people!
So it takes us like 10 mins or so from waiting of a table!
You can imagine we dig into or dessert when it comes
I like this alot, sweet and cooling
You can get a good bite out of red bean, grass jelly, pearl and white jelly

This was my very first visit to Yan Ting at St Regis and it will probably be my last visit for a very long time to come (unless they come up with something new / special). We were there on a weekday lunch and the restaurant was not that crowded, with only a few pockets of people chowing on dim sum. Comfy sofa seats, mood lighting and impeccably polite service sets the mood for this posh Chinese restaurant. The food, however, was quite a letdown.Let's start with some of the good ones first - Pork & Century Egg Porridge 皮蛋瘦肉粥 ($9.00) was tasty and smooth, and reminded me of the kind of congee you get in Hong Kong. The pork slices were also very tender even though they were quite thick.Another dim sum item I thought was quite good was the Steamed Prawn Dumpling ‘Har Gow’ 蝦餃 ($6.80). Its skin was thin and moist and the prawns were fresh and crunchy. However, considering the price that you are paying here, I could easily find a cheaper (and equally delicious) alternative.The Siew Mai 燒賣 ($6.80) however, was suprisingly bland. It's very seldom that I taste bland siew mai, but I guess they were going for the more 'health conscious' palate because this siew mai really did not have much of a taste to it. I was drawn in by the novelty of charging Xiao Long Bao by the piece and decided to order one 小笼包 ($4.00 for 1 piece) to try. Encased in an individual basket, the 小笼包 looked just like your regular sized dumpling and wasn't particularly huge or anything. Biting in, I found that it didn't have much soup inside either which was pretty disappointing. The meat tasted healthy and overall had very plain, natural flavours with hardly any seasoning.Both the Char Siew Pau 叉燒包 ($5.00) and Baked BBQ Pork Pastry 叉燒酥 ($6.00) tasted quite normal too since they both make use of the same char siew filling. The good thing about the 叉燒酥 was that the pastry was very crumbly as it should be but the steamed pau was not as fluffy as the menu pointed it out to be.Their Salted Egg Custard Bun 流沙包 ($5.80) looks really good with the slightly orange colored skin but inside, the lava was a little too diluted and light, not the rich, thick flowy salted egg yolk that you would expect for the price.Finally, we couldn't leave here without having tried their legendary Chee Cheong Fun 猪肠粉 ($10.00) which costs 10 bucks no matter what filling you choose - we picked the scallop one since it seemed like the most "value-for-money" option. Turns out, it wasn't as legendary as we had expected it to be. The rice roll was a bit too thick and it wasn't as silky smooth as it should be.

Overall, if you're looking for a healthier Dim Sum choice, then Yan Ting would probably be your best bet because I have personally not eaten such plain and bland dim sum before. It will probably suit the palate of the older generation but adventurous foodies like me, really get no kick out of dim sum like this.

Decked out in Tiffany blue, Royal China at Raffles Hotel exudes an aura of grandeur and elegance. I love how the restaurant has a high ceiling with large windows from the floor up, letting lots of natural light fill up the space. It was surprisingly packed for a weekday lunch; the main dining hall was full so we were ushered to the separate dining area at the back instead.This area is probably more suitable for private dining parties and dinners, and unfortunately we were seated right at the corner where it was difficult to get the attention of the staff. Although it was a pretty nice and quiet environment to enjoy a relaxing meal. =]First up we tried the Pan-fried Carrot Cake 香煎萝卜糕 ($4.00) which looked fantastic but tasted pretty normal. It was good that it had some turnip slices in the 'cake' to give it a varied texture.We also ordered the Steamed BBQ Pork Bun 叉燒包 ($3.60). I thought the char siew filling wasn't as tasty as the I had at Imperial Treasure Nan Bei. It still had the rice wine taste to it, but it wasn't as prominent. Good thing that the skin of the pau was oh-so-fluffy! =DAnd of course, I never miss a dim sum without ordering the usual Steamed Pork Dumpling ‘Siew Mai’ 燒賣 ($4.80) and Steamed Prawn Dumpling ‘Har Gow’ 蝦餃 ($4.80). The siew mai here comes with a wolfberry on top, instead of the usual fish roe and had a slight mushroom taste to it which was rather refreshing. The skin of the Har Gow was paper thin and jammed packed with crunchy fresh prawns.While it's totally understandable that the restaurant is crowded and they are short on staff, it was disappointing that they got our order wrong. We actually ordered their specialty 3-in-1 Chee Cheong Fun (BBQ Pork, Prawn, Scallop) but only got the BBQ Pork Chee Cheong Fun 猪肠粉 ($4.80).

Even after we highlighted the mistake to the staff, they brought the plate of chee cheong fun back to the kitchen, only to serve us with the same thing again (*rolls eyes*). The rice roll was pretty silk and moist and the meat was good too, so it was a pity that we didn't get to try the other fillings.They also got quite a few of our other orders wrong - starting with the Deep Fried Beancurd Skin with Prawn 鮮蝦付皮卷 ($5.60) which took a very long time to be served and we even had to remind them twice. The only saving grace was that the food is good. The deep-fried beancurd skin was extra crispy and hot, and also very tasty.The Baked BBQ Pork Pastry 叉燒酥 ($4.00) was another item we ordered that they forgot to serve - really not a good idea to sit in such a desolated corner. One bite and the pastry was crumbling all over the place, which is a mark of a good 叉燒酥.This Steamed Custard Bun 流沙包 ($4.00) is quite interesting. Unlike the usual rich and flowy salted egg lava, this 流沙包 had a fruity note to it and I found out later that they had actually added mango juice to it which gives it a deep orange color. It was also more liquefied that normal. But overall, still equally yummy!To end off our very long lunch, we had some Baked Egg Tarts 蛋挞 ($4.90)! They were quite tiny and I easily finished mine in one bite. =D

Overall, although the service wasn't top-notch, I felt that the quality of food made up for it. Plus, the dim sum at Royal China was surprisingly affordable and not as expensive as I had expected. It would probably be better to make a reservation beforehand so that you don't get stuck in a corner where they will forget about you. I will definitely be back for more!

Came to MAD for a team lunch and from the moment you walk in, you will see a display of furniture, books and other items that will make you think you've walked into a modern furniture stall instead! Very nice concept as it made me curious to venture in further. Check out the interior. They use a very pleasing color scheme of soft blue, vibrant red and black. I really do feel like I'm in a modern arts display area! It did worry me that this place would fare better in the decor than the food but will find out when the food arrives. There are more private seating areas along the side of the restaurant. I like the whole curtain decoration which makes it look like one of those private areas at opera houses and the red wall gives it a very sexy feel. Like a setting for one of those secret rendezvous meeting between lovers at a ritzy opera. Hehe! The iconic symbol of MAD is the Chinese Opera face as seen on their napkin. I guess the juxtaposition of a traditional image like the Chinese Opera in a modern layout is to show the concept of mixing the contemporary and the old school style. More images of the Chinese Opera face on coasters but in vibrant pops of color! I really love this kind of Andy Warhol design. Our first dish is the Deep-Fried Liu Sha Bao ($4.80). Now the Liu Sha Bao I've usually had are the steamed and soft variety. This deep fried version has a harder crust but the inside has the usual oozy salted egg yolk. Honestly, I still prefer the steamed version but after a few bites, it does grow on you. Think of it as deep fried man tou dipped in salted egg yolk. Next dish is the Black Angus Siew Mai ($6.20) and unfortunately I do not fancy this dish much. The beef is quite tough and didn't carry much flavour. My idea of black angus beef was it to be tender soft and juicy, but alas the siew mai turned out quite dry. From this cross section, you can see how "compact" the beef is and how dry it is. I had to dip it generously in chili sauce to get some extra flavour to it. Now comes my main dish - the Josper-grilled Wagyu Beef Claypot Rice ($26). This wonderful claypot creation comes with one damn sexy hot spring egg and is drizzled with aromatic truffle dressing. I cannot tell you how exquisite this decadent dish is. It's so good I had to bold the name. Tender slices of Wagyu feed cooked to medium rare perfection, the large onsen egg, the smell of truffle oil... I was in food heaven. Crack the egg and mix it with the rice and tender beef, then just dig in. It was silky, savory and I love every morsel of it. The beef was really good (I wish there were more slices!) and that egg gives me a Japanese feel as people in Japan likes to mix raw eggs to coat their rice to be sticky. Believe me, you will be scrapping the bottom of the claypot as this is super good! To end the meal, I had one of their signature cocktails - The Strawberry Shortcake ($14). This drink is mildly sweet, only a slight bite of alcohol and comes with a shortbread biscuit. The color is very pretty and girl. I find it refreshing and a good beverage to have on a hot sunny day!

The menu could be a hit and miss so I would say go for their wagyu beef series!