Men-ichi Kyoto located at Yishun's Northpoint serves one of the best ramen I have ever had. Other great Japanese cuisine on the menu includes a la carte items such as fried gyoza, sashimi and soft shell crab, and promotion bentos and value-for-money sets, which oftenly include a main, side, together with either chawanmushi or miso soup.The queue is a testimony for its popularity. Highly recommended.

Yet another venture by CreativEATeries, Bangkok Jam serves a wide array of contemporary dishes in a modern bistro-styled restaurant, completed with interesting props, such as wires and cables, road signs scribbled in Thai and even a signal head of a traffic light.

Their dishes are inspired from none other than Thailand (otherwise known as the "city of angels") itself, combining the usage of Thai classic spices and herbs with a Western twist, take for example the unique creation of Prawn Spaghetti with Coconut Base and of course not leaving out Thailand's famous street food, like Deep Fried Spring Rolls and their specialty - Fried Chicken Wing marinated with fish sauce.

Bangkok Jam's signature Beef Noodle Soup (S$13.50), or known as sen lek neua has the right aroma in its thick, flavoured broth, served with beef balls and slices of tender, succulent beef, which proved to be a great hit for beef lovers like myself.Okay, before that we had a plate of Thai Fish Cakes (S$9.50) for appetisers, which the waitress kindly recommended to us. Flavour-wise, it is nice, but nothing much to rave about. The thing is, S$9.50 for five standard fish cakes, which divides to S$2.23 for one piece, including service and GST. Isn't that like a bit.. overpriced?Spaghetti tom kha goong, or Prawns with Spaghetti served with a base sauce made of coconut (S$11.90) is an interesting fusion of Western pasta and Thai ingredients, like cilantro, coconut and lemongrass. The result was soft and light, yet surprisingly pleasing to the palate. Portion-wise, it was a tad disappointing, but I won't blame it much for the price given.In a nutshell, Bangkok Jam serves decent Thai food, nothing extraordinary but surprisingly overpriced. Prior to the visit, I've heard quite a number of negative comments complaining about the poor service and small portions. I begged to differ for the former, service was nothing less than satisfactory, whereas for the latter, it was unfortunately true (notably for curry dishes).

Hence, if you want better and more affordable Thai food, head to Siam Express or Thai Express instead. You probably won't be twice as disappointed.

The eastern side of Singapore is somewhere that I would rarely head to. Firstly, I reside in the west and secondly, I barely see a reason why should I travel to the other side less for a good reason. Well, they say good thigns are worth travelling for, I guess good ice cream is one valid reason.

Located at Simpang Bedok, somewhere about a short 5-minute walk away from Tanah Merah MRT, BLIC Ice Cream Cafe is well-known for its good service it has done for the residence at Tampines, serving authentic homemade ice-cream and sorbets of various creative flavours, such as SCaM (Soursop, calamansi and martini), Seasalt Malt, Dino Milo, Mao Shan Wang (Durian King) and the list goes on, reaching unimaginable flavours with a local twist, take for example - Sambal Sorbet and Chocolate Chip Chicken Rice.

Prices are affordable as well, with a scoop of classic flavour and premium flavour going as low as S$3.20 and S$5.20 respectively. Diners can also opt for BLIC's speciaility milkshakes, waffle or brownie combination as well, dosed with a lethal satisfaction for your sweet tooth.All in all, BLIC proves to be a hidden gem in the east (and I bet that there are many more for myself to discover), as well as a great hangout place to chill-out after a dinner at the nearby Simpang.

Established by the owners of Awfully Chocolate, EwF is slightly different from its origins, or rather a spin-off from the main branches of Everything with Fries. Nestled at the ground floor of Orchard Central, EwF is a conceptualised fast-food outlet decorated with the simple elegance of pink and white furnitures. As I was saying, EwF is a fast-food outlet, like MacDonalds or MOS Burger, hence it is all free sitting. Having said that, EwF is usually packed especially during meal times, so do expect hungry people waiting to occupy your table when you are more than halfway done.

The thing I like about Everything with Fries (as well as EwF) is that they make their food and sauces from scratch, using only the freshest ingredients. Besides their burger classics (S$6.90 - S$7.90), such as Battered Fish Burger and Slider, EwF also serves unique creations such as my personal favourite Har Jeong Kai, which is whole boneless chicken thigh marinated with Cantonese prawn paste, as well as the newest addition of Pork Belly Burger.Thick, juicy marinated pork belly served between two caramelised burger buns. Oh, what good gracious! I wouldn't admit that I'm a health conscious person, but for health's sake, I decided to remove the fatty layer. Okay, I admit that I stole a bite... just a bite. I mean who could ever resist the succulent bite of the best portion.

Bacon Cheese Omelette Burger (S$6.90) is a popular choice for people who adores brunch. Good ol bacon and eggs complemented with the melted cheese, again - this is not exactly healthy, but oh well. Everything with Fries is not called Everything with Fries for no reason, at here, pairing the burger with your favourite flavour of fries (together with a regular drink, meal for S$9.90) is the most sensible thing to do. Choose from five variety of fries, such as garlic, curry and sour cream & onion.As a sister company of Awfully Chocolate, expect a decent selection of desserts, like the nutella tart and vanilla crepe. All in all, EwF is a fuss-free fast-food place, great for gatherings, or perhaps a quick meal in between office hours.

Located at the basement of Orchard Central, Medz is a concept similar to Marche, where diners were given at the entrance - a cash-card which records the food you bought, and at the end, pay for everything together. The difference is probably the food they served, while Marche focuses solely on Swiss affair, Medz serves a variety of Mediterranean fare – such as Spanish, Moroccan, French, Turkish and Greek at distinct booths in the brightly, decorated restaurant.

For both wine and caffeine connoiseur, you will be pleased to see an impressive display of wine collection, as well as a specialised beverage booth where the barristas craft your beverage with meticlous hands and utmost precision.As much as being a true-blue Singaporean, I never like to queue. Hence I am glad that they adopted the "buzzer system" (same as Marche's), where the cashier hands you a circular buzzer disc after you order, and you collect the food when it lights up and vibrates. Lazy me.

Rosti with Salami (S$) did not impressed me as much as Marche's crustier version, on a whole, it was not as savoury as well. The good ol salami slices were good nevertheless.Fish and Mushroom Calzone (S$) was really satisfying with its huge chunks of salmon meat, tomato sauce and thick, melted mozzarella. If you don't know what the hell is a calzone, it is actually a turnover, originated from Italy. Its main ingredients resemble the ones used to make a pizza, hence most people mistook it for a "folded pizza", when in fact, it's not.

The memorable image when you cut into (or tear if you're too excited) the crispy exterior of the calzone and the next thing you know, the irresistible sight of all the ingredients slowly flowing out.. Orgasmic.What's a meal without a happy ending? Happy ending, as in good desserts, not um, you know. At Medz, you can customize your crepe, such as soft or hard crepe, the fillings, the toppings, as well as several add-ons, such as nuts or every kid's favourite rainbow sprinkle. For us, we got the Strawberry Crepe (S$8), not exactly wow-inducing, as the strawberries were a tad sour (Korean's are still the sweetest) and the chocolate sauce was quite thin.

If you want good crepes, I highly recommend Canele's.Well, if you asked me if I prefer Marche to Medz, I wouldn't say no, not that I am implying Marche is better or anything, I just prefer the variety and atmosphere. Nevertheless, Medz is a nice place to dine in if you're looking for decent Mediterranean fare.