Here I am again!! Telling you how great their desserts are )) *drools*

I would say their desserts are really much better with their uniqueness that's different from other cafes. The names of their dessert is one thing I thought was unique. My cupcake was named William because it has william pears in it. By the way, the cupcakes are pretty good. The moisture of the chocolate cupcake was perfect, and I love the william pear cream frosting on top of my cupcake.

With a much bigger size than the usual size you find at twelvecupckaes, their price are very justifiable. If given a chance, I will go back again

Read my whole review and pictures here!
http://chiamhuiy.blogspot.sg/2012/12/dessert-marmalade-pantry-review.html

Lao Fu Zi kwayteow is pretty famous and it always has a long queue. I've tried this several times and honestly in my opinion, the dishes are alright only. They have both white and black kwayteow, and I presume white kwayteow is healthier.

One thing about their fried kwayteow is that their ingredients are quite fresh. The cockles especially! Large, juicy and yummy haha.

I've been to quite a few Ramen eateries and the most unforgettable one is the one recommended by my friend - Keisuke Tonkotsu King at Orchid Hotel.

Nonetheless, I got a chance to try out Ippudo Ramen at Mandarin Gallery, thanks to Openrice's invite. Here's my take.

For full review with more photos: http://www.chiamhuiy.com/2013/07/food-tasting-ippudo-japanese-ramen.html

The interior design is mostly furnished with wooden furniture and very dimly lit. You can choose to have your meal on the dining tables or along the ramen bar just for a quick fix. Very swiftly, my choice of drink was served. I tried the Choya with Lemon (Choya is fixed and you can choose from a few flavoured soda). Choya with lemon tasted more citrus and gassy, and it actually leaves a slightly dry aftertaste. Halfway through the dinner I got to try another drink - Umeshu with Cranberry, and this time I was bought over.

Umeshu with Cranberry is definitely stronger and smoother with a hint of fruity taste thanks to the cranberry. It leaves a slightly stonger alcohol aftertaste. I prefer this drink to the previous one because I like how smooth the drink is. Choya with lemon is a little too gassy to my likings due to the soda that was paired with the choya. Goma Q
Fresh Japanese cucumber with sesame
Start off the meal with a refreshing appetizer, Japanese cucumber coated with Ippudo's sesame sauce. I find the sauce perfect because it comes with a tangy and spicy taste. The only complain is that the cucumber was a little too thick, so the taste of the cucumber very quickly overwhelms the sesame sauce after much chewing. Pork Bun (recommended)
Steamed bun with braised pork and Ippudo's original sauce
If you are hankering for some braised pork but not served in a pool of ramen broth, try the Pork bun at Ippudo. This deceptively simple sounding item turned out so well, no wonder it was one of the best seller and many diners' favourite. The pork bun comes with a smooth soft bun sandwiching the succulent braised pork, drizzled with Ippudo's original sauce. Spicy Shrimp Mayo (Recommended)
Lightly battered deep-fried succulent prawns served with home-made spicy mayonnaise dip
At first glance, the size of the prawn and the way this appetizer was displayed already won many hearts. Dipped in a spoonful of spicy mayonnaise, the huge fresh prawn itself was crunchy and juicy. Beef Tataki (recommended!)
Pan-seared tender beef slices served with a tangy sauce
My apology for recommending so many dishes, but most of them are honestly my favourite! This is especially for the beef tataki.
The beef tataki are medium-rare wagyu beef slices. It goes very well with the tangy sauce on the side, if not the soya sauce that comes with it. In fact, it taste as good consumed on its own. Surprising to say this but the original ramen (Shiromaru Motoaji) itself already possess an extremely rich and thick broth that suggests how long the broth has been boiled. That said, it doesn't require any additional miso paste or anything and it's marvelous on its own. Akamaru shin-aji
Ippudo's original broth enhanced with the special blended miso paste and fragrant garlic oil. Served with thin noodles, buta bara (pork belly), kikurage and spring onions. A refined, modern-style ramen.
This time, the second ramen has additional miso paste which added a saltier taste to the broth. Instead of Chashu (pork loin), Buta Bara (pork belly) was used for this ramen. I personally don't prefer the broth to be so salty. So it really depends on your preference actually. If you prefer a much stronger and richer broth (saltier), you can try the Akamaru Shin-Aji.

For full review with more photos: http://www.chiamhuiy.com/2013/07/food-tasting-ippudo-japanese-ramen.html

Celine Chiam

On a casual Thursday after work, I dropped by the newly opened Star Vista and chanced upon this little Taiwan Confectionery Shop that offers a rather wide selection of Taiwan cakes and sweets. I recalled during my recent trip to Taiwan, I brought back many treats and souvenirs for my friends and family because that's probably the most appropriate gift since it's not easy to find them in Singapore.

But thanks to Sweet Musings, now not only can you find Taiwanese cakes in Singapore, you get to purchase freshly baked ones rather than imported cakes, which would not be as fresh. The onion cookie 洋葱饼 (30 Pcs for S$10) was the first that we tried, and also one of my favourite. Frankly, I am not a fan of onion and sometimes the smell of it deters me away. But the onion, along with the sesame seeds that dotted the cookie, has very well enhanced the aroma and ultimately the taste of the cookie; onion taste was not very strong and the whole cookie was crunchy and savoury. The special point about Sweet Musings is that fact that they produce the delicacies on the spot, instead of importing them in. Pudding in assorted flavorsUnlike the usual Sun Cake 太陽餅，Sweet Musings uses white maltose and honey as an alternative to the usual brown sugar. Sun cakes can range from hard ones to those that melts in your mouth. I would say the one here at sweet musings were just right in the middle standard, not too tough and not too so doughy.The star of the day was none other than the bestseller, Yam Cake roll (S$18). Yam cake wrapped with yam mousse. I then tried the one a shelf level below the onion cookie - Egg Roll 蛋捲 (2 pcs $2, 12pcs $12, 24pcs $24), which has a hint of Earl Grey Tea essence in it. What's more, it comes in an extremely adorable packaging and is the best to present it as a gift to friends or relatives. Something that caught my attention was the Egg pudding 雞蛋布丁 (5 Pcs S$12). Just like how the name suggests, the egg pudding was actually placed in real egg shells that they have meticulously prepared. We know how egg shells are really fragile, so this is surely something special. To emphasize the uniqueness, the egg puddings actually contain natural vanilla seeds that can nourish your skin.

Celine Chiam (HY)

For all other pastries at Sweet musings, visit my blog:
http://www.chiamhuiy.com/2013/06/sweet-musings-brings-taiwan-pastries.html

This time I dropped by a pretty much isolated shopping mall - Rochester Mall at Buona Vista, and I decided to try out the sushi here at Kaz Japanese Fusion Sushi!
Full review:
http://chiamhuiy.blogspot.sg/2013/05/kaz-japanese-fusion-sushi-review.html
Green Tea $1.50
I love to complement my sushi cuisine with the authentic Japanese green tea instead of soft drinks. Here, KAZ serves a small cup of green tea at $1.50, refillable though. Agedashi Tofu $5.80
A side dish worth a mention is the Agedashi Tofu, in order words, the usual fried tofu we order in a Japanese Restaurant. Dipped in a pool of delectable tempura sauce and sprinkled with seaweed flakes, the soft fried tofu is a good one to start off your meal. But do make sure to consume it asap so that it doesn't turn too soggy or too cold, else it won't be as nice anymore. Salmon Carpaccio $10.80
Another starter that we had was the Salmon Carpaccio ($10.80), a slightly grilled sliced salmon with homemade sauce. The homemade sauce did bring out the semi-raw salmon out very nicely, giving it an extra salty taste on top of the salmon, but definitely not too salty. I like how the salmon is slightly grilled because it still maintains certain part of the slice raw, which equates to a two different textures on a humble thin slice of salmon.

As much as I love this dish, I don't really like how the Tobiko (looks like orange crystal balls on the side) are placed about the sliced onions. I'm not a fan of sliced onions and despite trying it on the salmon, I couldn't appreciate it either. Perhaps to me, it would be a better idea to place the Tobiko on top of the salmon so that I can consume them both together.

About 10 slices for $10.80, that isn't too pricey actually. Rainbow Roll $18.80
My favourite sushi roll at KAZ is none other than the Rainbow Roll ($18.80). Sumptuously packed with shrimp tempura, tobiko, avocado and cucumber; rolled with tuna, salmon, hamachi, scalop and avocado - it totally signifies the restaurant's name, a fusion of many things.

Why I like this Rainbow Roll is because of its fresh and generous amount of sashimi wrapping around the sushi roll. A piece of it can actually be wrapped by say, both salmon and tuna sashimi. All in all, a piece of Rainbow Roll contains more than just one sashimi. Not to forget the shrimp tempura which added a crunchy texture to the sushi roll.
It's very pretty looking too! With all the colours and the nice presentation. A Rainbow Roll set has 8 pieces. Katsu Roll $18.80
Katsu as we all know, is deep-fried pork cutlet. Here they used sirloin pork. But it stands too small a portion of the roll, and the rest entirely filled with lettuce. Salmon teriyaki $14.80
+$3 for rice set: Rice, Miso Soup, pickles

For a small $14.50 for such a big slice of Salmon Teriyaki, I though the price is reasonable. Grilled to an appropriate level when the salmon doesn't go too tough, it taste even better with the light soy sauce drizzled over it. Ultimately, this managed to satisfy my picky boyfriend's stomach.

The total bill fetched $84.75 for quite a number of quality sushi. That's also because I alone ate two sets of sushi rolls and the salmon carpaccio haha! Overall, I think KAZ is a great place to try out great quality sushi, but do choose your dishes wisely!

Hope you liked this review!
Hui Yan