There was laksa craving from the missus and we headed down to United Square for the 328 Katong Laksa outlet located there.

328 Katong Laksa at the junction of Ceylon Road has always been our favourite laksa stall. The laksa base is creamy, thick and fragrant and the ingredients were always fresh. Thinking that the standard will be the same at their United Square outlet, we proceed to order 2 large bowls.First look, the soup base is neither creamy not fragrant. The smell of the chili oil is quite overwhelming. The been hoon wasn't cut properly and there are many long strands in both bowls. First taste of the soup confirms our suspicions. The chili oil makes you eat your laksa properly else it will be a disaster if you happen to choke slightly.

The prawns are frozen ones and well, taste frozen.

Overall a bad experience and one outlet we will never go back to.

Hokkien Mee cooked over charcoal fire is a rare find in Singapore. Luckily, situated in a corner of Lorong 29 in idyllic Geylang sits Swee Guan Hokkien Mee. This hokkien mee really packs a punch in terms of both taste and smell. The fresh looking prawns and sotongs looks as delicious as any top hokkien mee outlets in town. While waiting for other dishes to arrive, the mee is still very 'Q' when almost cold, and still taste very good!

The only downside is that there was no pork lard added to the Hokkien Mee.

Nara Thai - famed in Thailand for been consistently featured on Thailand's Tatler Best Restaurant list, has finally opened it's first overseas outlet in Ion Orchard. Founded in 2006 by Yuki Srikarnchana, the restaurant strive to bring authentic Thai street food to its customers in an air-conditioned and relaxed setting. The recently awarded Best Restaurant in Thailand promised the use of the freshest ingredients and a high standard of service.

DID YOU KNOW? that Nara Thai cuisine is largely influenced from the central regions of Thailand, where the Thai royalty resided, and as sweetness was the predominant flavour of choice for the royalties, those who are more accustomed to the spicy and sour flavour might find some of their their dishes too sweet.The Massaman Curry came in a small bowl enough to share for 2 to 3 person. The chicken is tender and moist and the potato is cooked to perfectness - maintaining its fluffiness when you bite into it. DID YOU KNOW? that the word Tom Yam are derived from two Tai words: "tom" and "yam". "Tom" refers to boiling process, while "yam" refers to a kind of Lao and Thai spicy and sour salad.

This is one of the must-try from their menu! The river prawns are fresh as promised and the meat can easily be peeled from their shell. The soup base is sour and spicy, but not spicy enough to those who can't take the heat. Seasonal vegetables stir-fried in oyster sauce to almost perfection. The greens are crunchy, coupled with the sweet and savoury oyster sauce, make this dish a winner.DID YOU KNOW? that the green curry gets its colour from fresh basil leaves and green chillis?

Like the Massaman curry, the chicken is tender. The curry is flavourful but not overpowering and when added to rice, is a taste to behold.

All in, Nara Thai looks like a plush restaurant that serves pretty standard Thai food. Their promise of high quality ingredients was kept, in general as all the dishes felt and taste fresh. The service crew were clad in smart suits and uniforms. However, service can be a tad tardy during peak hours. Waiting time for order taking and food to arrive can be agonizingly long. If you have only 1 hour to spare for lunch during work days, then you might have to look for other options.

Finally, the day has arrived as both my missus and i headed down to vivocity for our reservation at Jamie's Italian. Both of us are huge Jamie Oliver fans and we thoroughly enjoyed his style of cooking - rustic and homely.

When we arrived at the restaurant 15 minutes early, there was already a pretty long queue outside (i presumed the queue are for walk-ins). I asked a staff if we can sit in earlier and was pleasantly surprised to be shown to our table.

The interior of the restaurant is just like what we expected. Very homely and country-styled. You see wood been used a lot in the renovation works. And in the middle, there is a open counter where they served the starters, and you can also see the different types of cured meat hanging off a rack on the side of the wall.

Once we sat, the wait staff was friendly and introduced to us the specials that are not in the menu. We decided to skip the specials and ordered based on friends' recommendations. We ordered the Plank of Meat for 1 pax ($15.50), the Italian Bread ($6) as starters and Rump Steak Salad($25), Jool's Fusili($14) and Bag of Fish($28) for mains.

The Plank of Meat consists of 2 types of cured pork, 2 types of cured beef, a palm-sized beetroot salad, burrata cheese, some olives and a small mozarella cheese ball. The meats are just OK and in my opinion, it is really not worth paying $15.50 for it. The italian bread is just so-so as well, but at $6, really can't complain much.The Rump Steak Salad was not that bad, the steak was almost done to perfection (i asked for medium rare) and the rocket salad was fresh and crunchy.Jool's Fusili turns out to be the biggest disappointment of the night. The portion of tuna flakes was miserable. The fusili was overcooked and the entire dish was too watery.This turns out to be the saving grace. I am never a fish person but this dish rocks. The mussels were fresh and sweet. The fish was cooked to perfection and that unidentified pasta-tasting beads were delicious!Overall, Jamies' Italian leaves a tinge of bitter-sweet taste in my mouth. While we enjoyed the restaurant's decor and their al fresco dining area (easpecially their small herb garden), their friendly wait staff also took the initiative to explain to you each dish. However, the food, which is the most important aspect of a restaurant - was a disappointment. It is not that the food is lousy, the disappointment is due to the fact that we would expect something a little bit better coming from Jamie's restaurant. Maybe we had went there with too high an expectation. But with a pretty wallet friendly menu, I am more than willing to give Jamie's Italian another shot to wow me.

While shopping at Vivocity with my wife, and waiting for our reservations at Jamie's, we decided to take a break and rest our feet.As we walk past St Marc, i remembered a recommendation from a friend to try one of their signature dessert - The Mini Fuji.

We decided to walk in to try, the interior is pretty comfy and a la Starbucks style, there are nice sofas for you to sit on. The plain water is self serve next to their counter.

3 minutes later and the mini fuji is ready for collection, and the taste is really really GOOD. Fluffy and crispy croissant-like base, topped with ice cream and caramel sauce. The flavours sort of explode in your mouth, all these enhanced by the crispiness of the croissant base.

Overall a really really nice dessert. Will definitely be back for seconds again.