One of the latest addition to the CBD lunch scene along Telok Ayer Street. Graffiti-ed with quirky robots drawings on the exterior and open its door to an interior of a traditional vintage look with cemented robots drawings on the walls. It’s a cosy and small cafe which can probably fit less than 20 people, so make sure you beat the lunch crowd to secure the seats!No fanciful menu to look forward to, just simple scribbling on the chalkboard. Nevertheless, they do have a decent range of coffee to sandwiches to salads and to some mains and sides which seems good enough to cater to the working crowds.Cafe Mocha ($6) – It was not on the menu, so i just did a check with the staff if they do serve mocha, and yes they could. But it turns out to be a cup of bittersweet mocha for me. High on the acidic note, bitter and sourish to my liking.Megusta Meatballs ($12) – They have it the linguine or jasmine rice version. Being the hungry me, i decided to go for the one with Jasmine rice. These Megusta Meatballs are simply delectable. Meaty wholesome beef balls accompanied with tomato pesto sauce that were so tantalizing and flavorsome. How i wish i could have more of the gravy for the rice. Simple and satisfying lunch to look forward to.

https://poohlovesfood.wordpress.com/2016/01/17/free-the-robot/

With New Year just around the corner, if you’re still fretting over what to have for reunion dinner or what can you cater for new year gathering, look around no more, Yum Cha to your rescue! More important or not, food are delivered in their specially imported Cook Tek Delivery Bag that can keep the food warm and moist, so the worry of you having to serve cold dishes can be cast away. Also, table clothes will be provided too. Together with other foodies, we get to try a couple of their scrumptious dishes off their Chinese New Year Takeaway Menu.First dish is none other than the Salmon Yu Sheng ($38+/$68+). With the recent scares relating to salmon or some of the other raw fishes, Yum Cha reassures you by only using Salmon from Norway and AVA Certified Supplier that are safe for consumption. Something tasted a little unique in the Yu Sheng, and we came to know that, the sauces used were made by Yum Cha themselves, and there’s presence of dried orange peel which i thought was kind of unusual but it had definitely added colors and flavors to the plate of yu sheng. The shredded vegetables used were very fresh, sauces has a sweet and sour note and the flour crisps were crispy.Another highlight of the night – BBQ Suckling Pig ($118+/$220+). One WOW factor for this suckling pig is definitely how the skin remains crackling for a take-away and consider the time we took to take all the food photos. The layer of crackling skin, fats and meat were well roasted and well segregated from one another. People like me who doesn’t like the fatty portion, can easily remove it from the skin and meat. If the meat is a little more juicy, it will be perfect!Fried Crispy Chicken ($40+). I like how the skin is deep fried to crispy and non-fattening. The meat goes well with sweet thai chilli sauce. It will be better if the meat is more tender and juicy as it felt a little dry to me even at the thigh part which was a little disappointing.I’m not a pig trotters person but the tender and almost melt in your mouth pork from Braised Pig Trotters with Fatt Choy ($38+) has totally win my heart and soul over. The braised stew was rich and flavorsome and the soft cabbage and fatt choy has almost locked in all the essence from the dish.Fried Rice with Chinese Sausage in Lotus Leaf ($38+) was a little special with a hint of flavor and texture similar to that of glutinous rice wrapped in lotus. All the ingredients were chopped to small dices and stir fry together with hei bee, but the fragrance of hei bee and the accompanying ingredients seems to be missing in the dish. It’s a little dry overall too.Ingenious creation from Yum Cha in packing their bottled drinks! It’s portable and easy for pouring.All in all, there are some hit and misses to the Chinese New Year Takeaway Menu so you just have to order the right dishes! It’s my pleasure to be invited by Openrice and Yum Cha for the food tasting session.

https://poohlovesfood.wordpress.com/2016/01/12/food-tasting-yum-cha-delivery/

The distinguishing factor for 3 storeys high Fu Lin Men Dou Lao from other Hotpot and Steamboat joints is none other than their soup bases, the use of FRESH/LIVE ingredients and the environment to dine in. The incredible alluring interior, uncluttered but spacious, was the very first impression i had upon my first step into the restaurant. Beside having the conventional table seatings, they have a couple of sofa seatings.The 3 storeys high restaurant has each storey set in a different theme and has a couple of VIP rooms within each storey that are crafted intrinsically with traditional chinese arts and prints. Loving these big lantern lightings that gave an elegance touch to the whole dining experience.Another special feature of Fu Lin Men Dou Lao, is the presence of their function room equipped with a projector which can be booked for corporate events. It’s like a one stop service to the corporate, food and drinks available right after a closed door meeting. There is no minimum spending or booking fee required, you can just drop them a call to let them know your budget, and they can do up something for you within the budget. The function room can hold up to 36 pax comfortably.After the introduction of the restaurant, it’s time for some mouthwatering sharing of the food! Check the live seafood out! Though there’s not aplenty of them due to space constraint, but looking at how plump these seafood are, isn’t that tempting enough for you!It’s a very thoughtful gesture of the boss to have the concept of having drinks and dinner at one place conveniently. You no longer have to fret, “Where shall we go for drinks?” ; “Will there be empty tables?”, you can enjoy a couple of drinks with food right at your comfort at Fu Lin Men Dou Lao!At Fu Lin Men Dou Lao, the idea is not of buffet but ala carte orders that places emphasis on the freshness and quality of food. Each person will have their own hotpot and there are 4 soup bases to choose from. The menu is in the form of iPad, so you can easily place your order on the iPad. They have an extensive menu of appetizers, handmade creations, seafood, meats and vegetables to select from. Similar to other hotpot joints, what you can never miss out is their concoction of sauces.They have some cold appetizers, instant noodles, cup desserts and fruits to accompany your meal too. You must be thinking, why instant noodles? The fact that, during the hotpot cooking process, all the essences of the ingredients have been dissolved into the soup base, and what you need is none other than the instant noodle which works like a magic sponge, that intelligently absorbs the broth and essences of the hotpot. I’m not surprise if it turns out to be the best dish of all!3 cold appetizers you can start your meal with. Among all, i like the chilled fungus salad the best. Crunchy black fungus with appetite stimulating flavors. All ready for the feast!This is what I was talking about earlier on. Each person will have their own individual pot. Which i find it quite a good deal, you do not have to reach all the way out for your food and if you come with a group of friends, you can try all their soup bases! Problems like, some of your friends may not be able to take beef or are allergic to seafood are solved instantly!Here are the 4 soup bases made available – Clockwise from the Top Right; Signature Golden Imperial Pot, Vitality Wild & Cultured Mushroom Pot, Longevity Tofu Soup Base and Sizzling Chilli Soup Base. I had their Signature Golden Imperial Pot which was slow boiled over 12 hours with big bones, dried hams and herbs. The broth was thick, nourishing and taste real good even on its own!First dish to kick start the whole hot pot session was their Fortune Chalice ($38) made up of premium sea cucumber, abalone and mushroom. The base of Fortune Chalice is very similar to the Signature Golden Imperial soup stock. Both are thick with aroma and flavor of dried seafood and big bones. This is easily one of my favorite dish for the night except for the shredded sea cucumber that was a little too hard and chewy for the bite.Freshly Cultured Sea Prawns with Marbled Beef ($18). Though this is something simple just prawns and beef, but you get to taste the natural sweetness and tenderness of both.Wild Bamboo Pith with Fresh Prawn Paste ($18). Another thumbs up for this dish! The pockets of bamboo pith holds the flavor of the soup base well and deliver abundance of them right to your palette.Fresh Beancurd Pockets with Fresh Seafood Paste ($10)Roars of Success Lion’s Mane Mushroom with Chicken Fillet ($12)Bountiful Blessings of Three Treasures ($28) consisting of 3 different kind of premium and exquisite mushrooms – Morel, Matsutake & Lion’s Mane Mushroom. Just ensure they are cooked in the hotpot for sufficient amount of time to get the right texture. No strong aroma, and taste kind of yummy!Family Bliss Freshly Handcrafted Dou Lao Meat Balls ($7) that are only unique to Fu Lin Men Dou Lao has an especial flavor to it. In particular, i like the squid ball with chocolate filling the best. Savory bouncy with bits of squid texture enfolding traces of chocolate sauce within. Delightful sweet savory marriage of both ingredients.Beer Marinated Marbled Beef ($28). This is a really amazing superb creation from Fu Lin Men Dou Lao. Soak the marbled beef into the beer for a few minutes and cooked it in the soup for a few seconds. You’ll be surprised by how the tender beef continues to perfume with scents of beer and how the soup stock has sealed the beer flavor into the beef. A perfect fusion of both.Oriental Greens and Wild and Cultivated Mushrooms ($10)Grand Imperial Premium Bird’s Nest ($28). How do you consider a meal complete without any desserts? But to be honest, I’m a little disappointed in this dessert. I was looking forward to a double boiled kind of bird nest desserts but it turn out to be more of a starchy thick paste kind of desserts with a touch of barley taste and only few shreds of bird’s nest.House of Gold Pineapple Glutinous Rice ($9). I would instead much prefer this to the premium bird’s nest dessert. Glistening with golden sparkles from the pineapple and glutinous rice mix that brings about a citrus-y sweet and chewy texture to the dessert, ending the whole meal on a sweet note.
All in all, it was a satisfying meal at Fu Lin Men Dou Lao in a comfy hygienic environment with friendly staff. Though the price may be a little on the higher end, but we are paying for the quality and exquisiteness of the food, which is worth for a good gathering and some pampering to ourselves from time to time.

https://poohlovesfood.wordpress.com/2016/01/10/food-tasting-fu-lin-men-dou-lao/

Nanta BBQ has recently opened it’s door last december in Goldhill Centre. They have their menu filled with palatable traditional korean appetizers, mains, stews and bbq for sharing and add on a touch of cheese to their bbq ribs to create a modern fusion to the traditional delights.The very first thing that caught my eyes is none other than this bottle of water with these stones settling at the bottom of the bottle. I was a little perplexed initially and decided to read it up online. Found that these stones are also known as mineral stones that will supposedly help to increase the minerals nutrient content in our drinking water which benefits our health. Interesting fact known from the meal. Refillable 7 side dishes comprises of kimchi, pickled vegetables, fishcake, and green salad was served upon our orders. We decided to go for something that was looking special and unique which is none other then their cheese pork ribs! We also ordered an appetizer to go along.La-bokki ($15) is one dish made with a twist to the traditional tok-bokki with the addition of ramyeon but still keeping the same old flavors. Stir-fried with sweet red pepper sauce with slices of fish cakes and topped with an egg; reduced to a thick gravy before serving the dish up to the dining table. A little sweet with intriguing spicy note to the sauce. Ramyeon was soft and tok-bokki was chewy to the teeth.Cheese Deng-Galbi Set B ($58) comes with a multi-component pot with the middle ring serving the limelight of the dish – CHEESE AND PORK SPARE RIBS! There are actually 3 main stars to this dish, first is the cheese and pork ribs, second is the nacho chip and its accompaniment while last but not least it’s the steam egg. This sharing portion easily served up to 3-4 pax and you can choose your spiciness level; spicy level is manageable for most.Grab a piece of nacho chips and topped it with some salsa mix, minced meat and salad mix. The nacho chips is light on its own not too salty and overpowering in flavor so it can fully bring out the distinct flavor of each accompaniment. A little savory from the minced meat, a little sour from the salsa and a little lightness from the salad. It’s a refreshing snack that complements well with the heavy flavored cheese ribs.Here’s the highlight of the day – Pork spare ribs with melting cheese. Aint those melty golden interstellar cheese looking good and making you to salivate now? So basically, one of their staff headed over to our table to showed us the proper way of savoring this delicacy. Ensure the cheese is really melting in the liquid state, grab a rib stick and wrapped it around with these cheese. Savor it while it’s hot, so the cheese is still a little melty to the palette; otherwise, the cheese really cools down fast and harden shortly thereafter. The luscious pork spare ribs is so well marinated with sweet spicy sauce on the right note right to the core, and the meat is so feathery light and tender, and de-bones easily. Such a toothsome combination of cheese and pork ribs for the night!What’s korean food without some booze right? This Watermelon Soju Cocktail ($38) is totally a hit! You must really give it a try when you’re there. It’s a little sweet and refreshing with minimum astringent taste from the soju. The foam intensify the overall mouthfeel of the cocktail. It’s sweet and as though filled with tiny bits of watermelon. Plus point that the cocktail is served icy cold!
It’s surprisingly not too crowded on a weekday night. The dining area is spacious, good for both big and small group gathering. The friendly staffs there are very attentive and most of them are able to converse in korean too. If you’re looking for some good korean food away from the crowd, hop your way down to Nanta BBQ!https://poohlovesfood.wordpress.com/2016/01/01/nanta-bbq/

Along the stretch of Irving Place, Commerce building area, rows of cafes have sprouted almost all at the same time and have since hold a foothold in the area, creating a mini cafe scene amidst the industrial area. Unpretentious 23 Jumpin cafe with a laidback ambiance that serves specialty coffee and hearty meals to their customers.Being a small scaled cafe, not as extensive a food menu but they do have a decent variety of choices, so fret not! Sometimes more doesn’t mean good but instead ensure the quality of the food served is of utmost importance. Another great point of the cafe is the nett prices of the food served!Brunch and Main food menuDrinks and waffles menuHoney Paprika Wings ($8). A little fluffy and crispy batter drizzled with sweet honey and sprinkled with paprika spices and parsley. Sweet wings dished out on a wooden serving board piping hot and juicy with a tinge of spiciness.Duck Confit ($16). Delicately mashed up potatoes in a smooth puree drowned with citrus-y brown sauce with hint of sweetness and sourness. Duck leg is seasoned, well flavored and slow cooked till its meat pink and tender, melts in the mouth upon the bite.
All in all, very cozy and relaxing ambiance with friendly attentive staff and quality food at reasonable price.

https://poohlovesfood.wordpress.com/2015/12/25/23-jumpin/