By now, Ippudo should need no further introduction as they are one of the popular chain ramen stalls in Singapore. Apart from the full scale restaurant they have in the malls, this express setup in the departure hall of Changi Airport Terminal 3 has a concept that caters to diner for quicker dining option without compromising its quality.We had our express order via the counter just before our long haul flight to Europe. I had a hot bowl of Mentai Tonkotsu Ramen. Disposable bowls and chopsticks were used and its very convenient to both diner as well as the business owner. Stock was as flavourful with ramen cooked right to its perfect texture and amount of roe given was absolutely generous. With sesame boasting its fragrance in its soup, I do like about the shreds of black fungus included and also the pieces of half soaked Wakame (Seaweed) in their stock.The guy who was worried that the portion might be too little had his portion upgraded with more Chasu and Ajitama (Japanese Soft Boil Egg). No doubts about their quality and I'm simply in love with the melt-in-your-mouth charsu. The stock was enhanced with a slice of butter and was not too dilute nor thick. Ingredients includes corn kernels as well as shredded scallions.For those who will be missing Asia food for a while, Ippudo Express is an excellent choice during your departure to other countries.

Making this Valentine's day special, we had our lunch over in Monochrome Fusion Bistro which is quaintly nestled among the row of shop houses at the Chinatown district, directly opposite the Buddha Relic Temple. As photography hobbyists ourselves, the word Monochrome speaks close to our heart and somehow we found ourselves closely related in there.Interior is modernly design to taste, with colors making up of black and white which is in line with their Monochrome theme. The dining area is a long walkway from the entrance and all the way to their cashier counter.In fact it is divided to two section, the one nearer to the entrance has dining on bar counters too. However, the temperature is much more cooler if you were to have the inner seating.As we were ahead of our reservation timing, there were Keeping our order to a convenient way, we took up the Valentine's time day set at $68 ++ for 2 pax. The package comes with a choice of salad and soup of the day with 2 main courses (mains or pasta) and a dessert for 2.With Mushroom Soup as their soup of the day to start our Valentine's Day Meal. Soup was not too thick and was quite hearty with mushrooms bits. Looks like it had short of some toast to go along.Perhaps one would say "Ah, not just another Caesar Salad again!". Indeed it is but a modified version with warm slices of healthy sliced chicken breasts apart from the usual ingredients like fresh greens, roasted olive, hard boiled egg, croutons and bacon bits.Starting our main course with this truffle infused Squid Ink Risotto and this was absolute stomach grabbing. The pan-seared scallops were nothing out of ordinary and was rather tasteless, not even giving a sweet bite. However the winning focus all went to the crunchy quinoa, parmesan cheese, edamame beans and alfalfa sprouts that had accompanied by every grain of creamy black ink coated risotto. Yums!As they were dishing out the order, I thought they were serving some spaghetti with fried chicken stips from far and was kind of interested. Who knows, they actually walked up to our table and placed the order in front of us, thus we realised it was the chilli Crab Linguini we had ordered.Spicy not? Well, i was quite adaptive to the level of spice and I would rate a level of 1 out of 3. Linguini had perfect texture and coated with Singapore's favourite - Chilli Crab Sauce with hints of stir-fried crab meat. Just alone with the pasta is good enough as a recommendation even without the deep fried soft shell crab that looked like fried chicken to me initially.Ending the 3 course meal with sweet note by this in house dessert created solely just for Valentine's Day. The platter is make up of a fruit cake and 2 scoops of ice cream.The fruit cake was decorated in according to the color theme of the bistro, black and white and was lovely done in heart shape showered with raisins, almonds and cashew nuts. Cake was quite dry and collapse into even smaller portions easily when we cut into bite size.Not sure if the ice cream suppose to come in the shape of roses. Chocolate ice creamed is showered with romantic heart shapes of icing and oreo crumbs were added to enhance the chocolate flavors.Zig Zag patterns using chocolate syrup had also elevated the presentation of desserts.What I like about monochrome is the way that food was prepared even in a festive day. Instead of serving and cook in by mass order to save the amount of time used, they chose to served their customers base dish by dish ensuring that the standard of food maintains without compromising any factor. Unlike my past experiences during Valentine's day, waiting time was long with food came in a rush and dining period was limited. Monochrome was well organised with prompt service from servers and situation was more in control. The overall experience was great and left a good impression in me. A return visit is definite.

Gim Tim is a reputable name and has always been flocked by families who want to enjoy a decent and authentic cuisine in the heartland of Ang Mo Kio. Opening its door since 1975 and serving quality food to her customer, Gim Tim has been seen popular with many. Gim Tim is located in rather humble air-conditioned restaurant below the HDB Blocks, for those who is not very familar with Ang Mo Kio area, the landmark to spot may be the Market & Food Centre in Ang Mo Kio Ave 4. Growing from this into establishing a group of resaturants with 3 outlets serving finest Hokkien, Sze Chuan and Cantonese cuisine.For weekends, its hardly that you will get a table without a reservation as it is usually fully booked with tables of happy family. Fortunately, we walked in early and got ourselves a table and was served by friendly staff. One good point to note was that you can see that Gim Tim employs senior citizens around as servers I felt very comfortable with.I must say that I was not very hungry but I had an impressive start with their deeply fried golden brown Xia Zao (Prawn Dumplings). Dipping into its sweet and savoury sauce was truly heavenly. The taste of it was indescribable and definitely unique on its own. I haven't tasted such different Xia Zao anywhere else! Vegetables were not stated on their menu somehow and we had ordered the stirred fried Kai Lan with garlic. Nothing extra special about the dish, its quite standard.Replacing the bowls of rice, we had the fried traditional tapioca roll. If you enjoy the Hakka Abacus Beads / Seeds, I bet you would pretty much enjoy this dish! Ingredients were almost or identical to the Hakka dish with dried shrimp, spring onions, bean sprouts and tapioca. The catch in the dish is none other than the thin and springy slices of Tapioca Roll complemented by the sweet tasty sauce as well as the fragrant of fried dried shrimp. Yummy!The true blue classic Hokkien dish that I'm waiting for! Since everywhere is emphasizing on healthier food, I guess this is why Kong Bah has become lean nowadays! Slices of "Bui Bui" (Fatty translated from dialect) meat has gone lean!You can still see the distinctive layers on each and every piece of the Kong Bah though it was deeply coated in its toothsome braised sauce. Sandwich this good stuff in the fluffy smooth pau with a portion of lettuce and enjoy the absolute juicy-ness that comes to your mind as you sink your teeth into the meat! It was ever-so-satisfying!Here comes the Teochew's Favourite, Or Nee aka Yam Paste! Marvelous, suiting the taste buds! With mashed Taro mixed with Gingko nuts and corn kernels, its naturally sweet with minimal use of sugar and coconut milk. I thought it was good as they had given good consideration to older folks who enjoy the desserts!Nothing fanciful spotted from the Mango Puree with Pamelo, perhaps the way they served in a cup got our eyes wider? It was something running of the mill and not much comments about it.Gim Tim, I have always wanted to visit them many years back after hearing pleasant things about them via words of mouth and I was very pleased to visit them! The spirit of their stuff and atmosphere of dining is something I'm looking forward to and you can see happy faces enjoying meals with their families of generations. It's a good place for family gathering and also if you enjoy such cuisine.

Asam Laksa has taken its spot over the Western Stall in West Coast Square. It was kind of mix feelings as on one hand I was sad to hear that there are only 1 option left for western food but on the other hand I was quite happy to see this unique stall out there.Asam Laksa is a chain stalls with staff in uniform. Hygiene is well taken care of over here with friendly servers wearing hair net.Noodles were thick and springy, soaking up the delicious gravy and made the bowl of Asam Laksa so appetizing. Ingredients like pineapple and large chunks of fish were given in the serving. Apparently, there is only 1 standard size served at $3.50.Serving was small and it will be better if it was served in bigger size at the same cost.

Ever since the launch of Down Town line in Beauty World end of last December, the area has been swarmed with people. Eateries around there have been seen to be bustling with customers.At the top of Beauty World Centre, we spotted Penang Home Made Beef Ball stall and without much hesitation, we ordered as most of the stalls were either done with their business day or with food items sold out.

With every item cost at $5, there is no need to compare the price, however only 3 kinds of selection is available and I had chosen over their beef balls noodle soup. The home made beef balls were springy and tasty in its soup with coriander as garnishing. The noodles / Kway Teow were coupled with sweet tasting brown gravy and beansprouts that were thoroughly cooked. No complains from the guy who dislikes having rather "raw" beansprouts. Perfect!Noodles with braised beef brisket was awesome. It may looked dull and miserable with 2 beef balls in a bowl of soup but for a $5 portion, it is relatively friendly. Noodles were generously given with braised beef brisket covering up in its luscious brown sauce that permeates the meat. Yummy!Food in overall was not too bad with a friendly service. We were quite lucky to have the last 2 bowls of noodle before they closed for the day. Flocking with people coming from parts of Singapore in our newly implemented Down Town Line, business has been seen booming and for patrons, its kind of competitive now as we need to be early before they got sold out.