Just beside Next Door Deli is another hidden gem only this time, it takes the form of an old school bakery shop. I have this impression that this bakery shop has been around for the longest of time. Don't go away thinking that as a self-professed foodie, I would have heard of Pine Garden somewhere before since I only got to know this shop the same day my lecturer invited me for lunch. Food bloggers aren't geniuses that knows everything you know?

Perhaps it's the feel I get looking at the entire design of the shop. Just old school. Just only...It's really hard to find a really good slice of cake well under six bucks these days. You can't point fingers at the owners of patisseries for jacking the price unless you want them to close down for good. So whenever I stumble upon a bakery shop/patisserie like Pine Garden and take a quick look at their price tag, I would be baffled as to how could they even do it? Are they even making profit or breaking even given the fact that each slice cost no more than four bucks?

But in reality, there are places like Pine Garden where prices are kept as low as they can while still enough to make a profit. Five alcoholic cakes shared over five people. Each having a certain preference over another, if not overlapping preferences for some cakes as in the case of the Blackforest with soaked cherries bits in between the layers of chocolate sponges. Nuttymisu was another good catch combining the traditional Italian recipe with almonds, hazelnuts, macadamia and walnuts. Bailey's Chocolate Crunch was not bad though after trying so many different ones, the alcoholic taste just taste too plain so just grab one or two and savour each slice one at a time. Afterall, what's the rush? It's not like your boss is after you right? Green Apple Vera Martini Cake was a slight disappointment with comments like it tasted like slurping green apple bubble tea from a few of us. I can't help but to agree with the crowd. It's just that it's bad but I believe there are better ones compared to this green one.But none needs to be said about Pine Garden's Lychee Martini Cake. It's their best seller and how I wish I could get my lecturer and friends to look somewhere while I gobble up the cake in a flare. When they turn their heads back, they will see nothing but a gratified boy smiling and smacking his messy lips. But that's just rude, impolite and above all, all good things should be shared.

I guess I have to wait for another visit just to do what I've just said...

Please don't go away thinking there's only alcoholic cakes in there. I saw mooncakes and old school cream cakes for sales too. It's still an old school bakery that met alcohol during the good old days.

I could always appreciate Italian cuisines, particular pastas.

You see, it's one of those few dishes out there which takes so many forms or I should sauce! I could have my favourite Genovese Spaghetti, how about vegetarian-dominated Mediterranean Penne? Anyone daring to try Squid Ink Linguine as well?

It's never easy to searching a good eatery/cafe/restaurant that offers not just affordable but well worth pastas!

I'm not saying Saizeriya is inferior compared to Olive Vine but you know it's always good to explore new places to dine! Afterall, Liang Court and City Square Mall ain't located in the east right? That's Carbonara Fettuccine ($8.90) for you. Such a happy boy I was, toying with my new found friend! Easily the better ones I tasted. Guys, Meet Cheesecake... Please don't judge her for her looks. She might look plain or average compared to other cheesecake but trust me she's a sweet little angel. Everything about her could be sum up into one word. Divine.When lesser beings like us think of Carrot Cake, the image that conjure up would be small bits of flour cakes fried with eggs and evenly coated with sweet sauce. How wrong we were... Yes, even a food fanatic like me can sometimes be mislead whenever some of my friends say they wanna have carrot cakes. I am such a confused boy!

Trust me, when they said it's carrot cake, be expected to find strands of carrots hidden deep inside. Fun to socialise with that's for sure.

Considering where it's located, I would dare say it's worth your money just to dine at Olive Vine. I can't really remember the exact price of the cakes but it was definitely under $4.

What makes me soo sure? Well, because I almost wanted to order one more if my friends weren't there to stop me. Hehehe, I am just too excessive when it comes to cakes. Specially when it's cheap! Real cheap!

New York Dessert Cafe or more commonly known by the abbreviation, NYDC. Nice place for desserts.
I never had the chance to pay them a visit for the longest of time even though there's one at Tampines 1. Partly because I am always busy searching and trying out other cakes? But my friends are kind. They know my love for all things sweet. That's when I know we should head down to NYDC.

Ally's New York Cheesecake. Classic Philadelphia cream cheese. It's classic that's for sure but I never set my eyes on Ally apparently. Never have and never will. I Heart You. That's how I profess my love to you. Do you know? I guess you do. Layers of red velvet cakes beautifully covered with a layer of cream cheese. It's light but a little too light for my palette. I could barely taste the cream cheese you know?

There's this thing that I don't quite understand about NYDC - why must they serve their cakes with whipped cream? I mean I give them points for attempting to "beautify" the palette. It's just degrades those beautifully crafted beings (cakes). I would prefer if the cakes are accompanied with a gracious scoop of ice cream or just the cake itself. That's me. I don't think there's a need for such fanciness where it shouldn't be. But apart from that, NYDC is without a doubt a good place for desserts, particularly their mudpies. I am just glad that there's a branch at Tampines 1.

"Have you tried Max Brenner's chocolate souffles before?"

A question I asked my partner back some time ago and apparently, she didn't. At that moment, I just knew I have to bring her to try out. Afterall, all good things must be shared right?

It wasn't too long ago when we had a scrumptious lunch over at Outback Steakhouse but the chocolate brownie was simply just upsetting. I'm not saying it's bad but for the price, I have to say I tried better ones at much affordable price.The Melting Chocolate Truffle Heart Cake ($16.00) or as I just like to call the whole lovely creation-Chocolate Souffle, is one of those to die for stuffs! Molten chocolate just leaked out from the cake as we dig our spoons into it, wholeheartedly of course. If it's ain't chocolaty enough, then simply more chocolate sauce all over it alright? On second thoughts, I might have just realized that Max Brenner's rendition would be a hybrid of a really good chocolate souffle and an awesome chocolate lava cake instead but whatever it is, I still love my chocolaty creation okay?

The Vanilla Ice Cream accompanying our Chocolate Souffle deserves much attention too. Both of us agreed that the true taste of vanilla comes after the ice cream had completely melted in your mouth. Clearly, this is the definition of awesome. No, I'm serious! It's really that good!Hot Chocolate can always be appreciated be it rain or shine. It just brightens everything up. Especially when you have a mug that tells you to hug the warm drink. How comforting does it gets? Anyway, I decided to go for the Dark Italian Thick Chocolate ($7.50). The smell was simply alluring. It was just plain rich and creamy chocolaty indulgence.

Finally, we could tell ourselves that our desserts cravings were no more until the next time. There you have it. Our chocolaty ending, Max Brenner.

Just like how we started meeting, Our Sashimi Moriawase ($18.00) came delectable and light. Swordfish, Salmon and Red Snapper. Sashimi can always be appreciated at any Japanese food fare. We enjoyed our fish critters so much that I almost forgot to take a snapshot until I realized there's only one of each kind left... I didn't tried the Katsu Curry Rice ($12.80) but the dish sure came with a big piece of deep fried pork fillet partially soaking up the essence from the Japanese Curry. How's that for a Ommph factor ehh? I really love how the large plate was beautfully filled. Definitely worth the money!One of our project member who was at Funan the previous day queuing up for his Diablo III game went for the Salmon Set ($19.00) as it was named in my receipt. Looks good but once again, I didn't try the dish myself but everything.I could never seemed to get enough of Sashimi that afternoon and all those illustrations of MOF's bento menu simply caught my attention. I decided to go for the cheapest bento box instead. I have desserts on my mind too.

My Sashimi Bento ($9.80) was housed nicely in a glossy plastic box. Somehow as I was taking a snapshot of my bento box, I was reminded by a friend of mine whom I met up recently for dinner. My friend couldn't stop laughing at me taking photos after photos of my food. Well, I guess that obsession of mine has taken to a whole new level?

Be surprised to see your Salmon slices, succulently fresh and moist and then accompanied by the really petite Tobiko roe. I still prefer Salmon roe compared to the rather petite flying fish ones. They're just too mini of a fish roe to make any impact.

Our lunch meeting came to an end, we needed to sum up our whole afternoon into... What else but desserts?This was the reason I went for the cheapest bento set, the Creme Brulee ($6.80). It's just fun breaking the sugary glace with the dessert spoon and then worked my way into the soft custard. I was just contented with a scoop of Matcha gelato and a few pieces of sweet Mochi.

And with the last scoop of my dessert, we concluded the end of our meeting. Mind you, it wasn't all eat and no work ok? In fact, we came up with a series of new concepts and ideas to work upon. Let's look forward to our next meeting hopefully light and always enjoyable.