Montana Singapore[New] Montana Brew Bar at POMO had changed their name to Montana Singapore and currently doing 3 different concepts under 1 roof:
(A) Montana (waffles)
(B) South bronx (burgers)
(C) Fabulous dough (donuts & milkshakes)
They now moved to a bigger shop space, with revamped new menu and improved recipes. Their sister arm, Nookie yogurt, on ground floor previously was forever gone. Currently occupied by their new South Bronx burger joint. Montana and Fabulous dough shares the same premises on level 2.
My foodie friends and I tried out their new cold brew, a few waffles and pastas. My opinions were:
(1) Yuzu-infused Coconut Cold Brew $6.50- The cold brew smells really good with Yuzu fragrance but the zesty taste from Yuzu was too overpowering we almost can't taste the coffee. Blend was smooth but texture too diluted. Rating 2/5
(2) Jalapeño Mac & Cheese Waffles $12- A version 3.0 of Mac & Cheese waffles was reborn! New with more macaroni mixed-in in the waffle mixture, making the entire waffle more filling than before. Love the spiciness from the jalapeño but overall lack exterior crispiness and it's too mushy inside. Rating 3.5/5
(3) Assam Crab Waffles $18- A unique traditional meet modern fusion waffle. This spiced waffle was soft, chewy, and you could taste lemongrass bits in the dough. Chef was quite generous with the portion of crabmeat chunks scattered on top. Assam purée wasn't spicy probably because the sweetness from the canned pineapple cubes mellowed it down. Rating 3/5
(4) Bulgogi Beef Waffles $16- Chef cleverly made Korean style waffles filled with rice, cabbage and kimchi to pair with the juicy bulgogi beef. Break the poached egg and trust me, the beef tasted more tender with the yolky flow. A clever twist compared to boring plain waffles we had elsewhere. Rating 3.5/5
(5) Truffle Egg Fettucine $16- Al dente fettucine tossed in a pool of savoury cream sauce base. Love the generous amount of mushroom given and the mild lingering truffle smell whenever I fork up the pasta. Although the egg was slightly overdone but it's still my most loved dish for the night. Simple yet savoury. Rating 4.5/5
(6) Vodka Crab Penne $16- Sourish tomato based pasta which I don't really fancy. Penne was indeed al dente but we totally can't taste any vodka in this dish. Crabmeat were minimal too. Skip this.

*I do love Montana's new modern fusion ideas in cafe food but my personal view, there's definitely room for improvement in taste. There's yet to be a dish where we really WOW nor remember after we leave the place. Staff attitude were definitely good. They were very attentive to our tables and requests were made right *
Montana Singapore
POMO Mall #02-25
1 Selegie Road
Singapore 188306
Mon-Thur 11am to 10pm
Fri 11am to 11pm
Sat-Sun 9am to 11pm

[136 Hong Kong Street Fishhead Steamboat]
This popular fish head steamboat stall has moved from Hongkong street to Maxwell and again now to Toa Payoh hood. Well, it's definitely a good news for me because now it's only 3mins walk from my mummy's house.
The relocation of this stall didn't affect them abit. Business were still as good, they have the longest queue and most crowd compared to the 3 other stalls surrounding the Kim Keat Palm food centre and wet market.
The following were the dishes we tried:
(1) Sweet & Sour Pork 咕咾肉 $9.00- Pork cubes deep fried till crispy. Thereafter stir-fried with tangy sweet and sour sauce, accompanied by onion slices and capsicums. A common yet popular item you will see on the tables at cze char stall.
(2) Chinese Spinach with 3 types of Eggs 三蛋苋菜 $10.00- The greens not overly cooked, stems still have the crunch. But the broth was terrible, eggy taste wasn't present. Totally no difference from a "hor fun" gravy!!
(3) Signature Crispy Chicken with Special Sauce 招牌特制酱脆鸡 $9.00- This special sauce is sweet, tastes like sweet soya or marmite sauce. The chilli buddies didn't spark up any spiciness (white elephants) but did beautified the dish abit. Chicken stripes were very crispy and I can't stop munching them! A great snack choice if watching soccer.
(4) Claypot "Mee Tai Mak" (Rice noodles) 沙煲老鼠粉 $5.00- This pot of noodles may look ugly but the taste will proof you wrong! Cooked in savory broth with dark soya, mixed in the raw egg and it's heaven! Smooth texture in every mouthful, the added egg made the mee tai mak so 滑! Other ingredients include tender pork slices, fresh prawns, fishcake slices and greens. Not forgetting to mention my love for the "wok hei" aftertaste, it was so yum! A must try item here.
(5) Fried Egg with Preserved Radish 菜脯蛋 $7.00- This eggy dish was pan fried till slight crispy on the edges. An ordinary homecooked dish that my mummy prepares for me whenever I had porridge. The version here was abit bland and not much of preserved radish inside. Tastes least than ordinary so I would suggest you skip this.
(6) Claypot Assam Curry Fish Head 沙煲亞叁咖喱鱼头$26.00- The aroma from the curry spices can be smelt from far. The sizzling gravy in the claypot was calling my spoon! I then covered my whole plate of rice with the curry gravy, pipin' hot, so oomph!
The fishhead- Which part would you go for first? Eyes? Stomach? For me, it's definitely the fish cheeks. The flesh of the cheeks were the most delicate and tender. Thereafter I will go for the fish stomach. The fish was very fresh and meat really firm. The veggies that comes with it were too little in portions, wished there were more beancurd skins to soaked up all the gravy!

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Verdict: Dining experience here at 136 Hong Kong Street Fish Head Steamboat was quite an enjoyable one except for the bad attitude/ services rendered by the staff. They were not attentive, slow responsive and talked to us rudely. The chefs should also step up on the cooking speed as waiting time was more than 45mins. But still, I will come again for their fish head steamboat as it was supposed to be their strengths.

📍 136 Hong Kong Street Fishhead Steamboat
Blk 19 Toa Payoh Lorong 7
Coffeeshop
Singapore 310019
Open daily from 5pm to 11.30pm

[East 8]Named after a street in New York City, East 8 New York Fusion Tapas + Bar land their feet in Singapore 3 years ago. Popular with lotsa their own cocktail creations, most of the customers here, drinks. Situated at a unit just beneath Grand Park Hotel, location was an advantage for hotel guests/ tourists to patronize other than our own locals.
Heard news that they were ending their business so came to give our last support.
(1) Kimchi Apple Salad $15.00- Rocket leaves given were too much, causing bitter aftertaste while kimchi apple cubes, cherry tomatoes & bacon paired together were pitifully little. The dressing served were too minimal to get the leaves soaked. Proportions of the ingredients wasn't right and I felt like eating a bowl of grass.
(2) Kimchi Potatoes $14.00- I always loved roasted potatoes with skin on and glad this dish had it all. Roasted potato cubes, loads with kimchi, then covered with thick, melted triple cheese on top. So cheesy with tingling sourish moments from the kimchi, it was an interesting delicious combi.
(3) Yuzu Miso Scallops $16.00- Scallops were very thinly sliced, drizzled with yuzu miso dressing and topped with salmon roe. Scallop was soft & slight mushy, texture improved with salmon roe popping inside our mouth. Yuzu zest wasn't distinctive but surprisingly the dressing ends with a liquor aftertaste (or izzit just me?).
(4) Wings n Kicks $13.00- Chicken mid wings tossed in chilli lime lemongrass sauce. The crispy, zesty lemongrass infused skin was a to-die-for. A western dish infused with Thai elements, I like! Savoury & great with a beer or two.
(5) Molten Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Lava Cake $15.00- A great marriage between two rich flavours, Peanut butter & dark chocolate. My love was to the slightly burnt sides (sticking to the pan), together with the center molten peanut butter and almond nuts, it was HEAVEN! French vanilla ice cream given was too small to mention, not even a full scoop and tasted too milky. Well, lava can do without this ice cream lah.Verdict: Nice ambience for gatherings with friends or colleagues. Hidden in a dim cosy corner, it's definitely a great drinking place (too bad I don't drink). Food wise, pretty decent but yet to wow. Prices abit steep for the small portion tapas meant for 下酒菜 but the great service rendered balances off bit of my heartpain-purse. Nevertheless, still sad to know that they are going into history as hotel is undergoing major renovation. Hope to see them again around soon.

East 8
Grand Park Hotel
10 Coleman Street
#01-21/22
S179809
Tel: 6338 8289

Black and Ink cafe had become one of my frequent hangout places. I'm always here to try out new items on the menu. The boss, Roy, constantly introduced new pastries, new burgers choices and gelato flavours in his cafe. There bound to be at least one item here that wows you
What I tried on this latest visit:
(1) Masala Chicken set at $8.50 (croissant at +$1) (cheese at +$1)- Boss Roy kept telling me how good this new sandwich was, strongly recommend me to try it and so I DID! First bite and I was already impressed. The croissant was very crispy, flaky and best of all it's super buttery! The usual combi was onion thyme with chicken masala but I upgraded it to croissant, definitely the right choice. Chicken thigh slices were tender, the masala meat sauce was really savoury. I request for cheese to be added and love the warm melting cheese moments! If you're not fond of chicken, Black & Ink also serves egg mayo sandwiches.
Other than cakes, lava muffins, danish and the sandwiches, Black and Ink now also invades the world of pies. Introducing us with flavours including lamb shank, beef rendang, wild mushrooms, bbq chicken and beef goulash. I gave the bbq chicken and beef rendang a try.

(2) Bbq Chicken Pie $6.50- This lovely, light buttery crust pie comes in a rectangular shape. Every time I fork in, there's generous chunks of tender chicken cubes. Bbq sauce was sweet sourish with mild spicy peppery aftertaste. A decent choice.

(3) Beef Rendang $6.50- Beef rendang, usually ate them at a Malay nasi padang stall, first time in a pie (IKR, I'm a mountain tortoise). The coconut milk aroma was fragrant. Juicy tender beef cubes were also cooked together with carrots, potatoes and chilli spices. Flavour was good but can be heavier. Spiciness level can increase too.
Both pies were quite filling, suitable as a lunch meal for ladies. I will come back for other flavours real soon!! Boss says Lamb shank was the most popular flavour

(4) Dark Chocolate Lava Cake set $8.50- First look at it didn't impress me because the plating was bad. But people always said "Don't judge a dessert by its appearance".. And true enough, the taste says it all. Thick, luscious dark chocolate slowly flows out of my lava when cut. So thick, It's a "throat choking" indulgence that chocolate lovers must definitely give it a shot. I paired mine with another scoop of banana peanut butter gelato (Top up $ because it comes with vanilla) and it's HEAVEN! It will never go wrong when chocolate, peanut butter and banana comes together. There were many other gelato choices available but do note that there will be additional charges.

(5) Pear Danish- Small and petite, it would be a great choice for afternoon snacks with coffee or tea. Having slight crisp on the outside, danish fluffy and airy inside. Not only adults love it, the sweet candied pear fruit in the center would attract kids to love it too. If you're lucky, you could get their signature apple crumble danish too (runs out fast).Verdict: A small but very nice place to chill at. Menu changes regularly so there's surprises every now and then. Cold brew, espresso cubes coming up too! Definitely a cafe that makes you feel at home and kept coming back for. Boss was too friendly to be missed and he love chatting with customers to share his life experiences.

Joyden treasures- The 3rd eatery of Joyden Concepts after Joyden Seafood and Joyden Canton. This new concept mainly presents dishes from the past with homemade secret recipes, to rendition heritage taste/ local recipes that many of us may have forgotten. Compared to the other 2 restaurants, Joyden treasures currently holds the biggest space with 6 VIP rooms and more than 200 seats available.Service staff were attentive and courteous, we were brought to our seats quickly without hestitation. We started off with ordering of drinks and trying out their homemade side dishes.
(1) Iced Apple Hawthorn Tea- A sourish yet refreshing iced drink to start with. I'm a sour plum drink lover but this was way better! I'm in love with this drink from now. Thank you Cheryl for recommending. 
For mains, we had this pipin' hot and flavourful soup to start:
(2) Double-boiled Seafood Soup in Old Cucumber $14/individual portion- Melons were specially selected of almost the same size to create this dish. The aroma was so fragrant when served. One sip down my throat and ahhhhhhh, so sweet and comforting. The soup was double-boiled with natural ingredients and seafood such as fish maw, dried scallops, abalone, mushroom, to achieve this kind of rich flavourful soup. Be surprised with a mini pork dumplings right at the bottom of your soup. 
(3) Phoenix Beancurd Skin Prawn Roll
($16s, $22m, $30b)- Fillings inside were made up of fresh prawns, century egg and salted egg. Hand chopped till minced, wrapped with the beancurd skin then deep fried till crispy. Love the exterior crunchiness of the bean curd skin but would prefer the prawns inside comes in a whole instead of minced. A whole prawn would definitely give a firmer bite and least mushy. 
(4) Steamed Red Grouper in Homemade Soy Bean Broth
(Market rate. $108 per kilo currently)- This red grouper was fresh and meat really firm. Natural sweetness of the fish alone was never enough to satisfy my tastebuds whereas I hope to get more out of it. Joyden's method was to cook the fish with soya bean broth freshly made in house, a family recipe, to give this plain fish soya bean fragrance and additional sweetness. Although great efforts were put in but it didn't impressed me, probably because I wasn't a soya bean fan afterall. Fried enoki sprinkled on top wasn't necessary though as they didn't blend in with this fish dish. It would be great as snacks individually.
(5) Crispy Fragrant Duck with Lotus-shaped Buns
($58 per whole duck)- Duck was well marinated with chinese spices, slow cooked to boil, then quick fried for the skin to become crispy. The waitress skills to scrap up the duck meat was really good and swift. I took the breast part and it was dry chewing it on its own. Not forgetting the bite-sized homemade buns made fresh daily, they were soft and fluffy too. Wrapped it with the duck meat, cucumber and pickled papaya, add the orangey tangy sweet chilli, it's more yummy.Another alternative way to enjoy the duck was to wrap the duck meat with Joyden's homemade achar. Delicious till max! 
(6) Jumbo Prawns in Traditional Dark Sauce
($26s, $36m, $52b)- Best thing about this dish, wasn't the prawns but the sesame infused gravy. Sweet, savoury fragrant soya sauce gravy that goes really well with a bowl of plain rice. Jumbo prawns tends to be over-cooked causing meat to be hard and tough but these were cooked perfectly. Prawn meat were succulent and crunchy. One piece for each of us was never enough. 
(7) Traditional Salt Baked Crab
(Market rate. $63 per kilo currently)- Various types of salt and spices were wok fried first before applying onto the crab. The seasoned crab was then baked in low temperature till cooked and served as it is in a whole. With all the shell intact, crab meat was firm and not mushy, natural sweetness of the flesh were all locked in. Although the baking process caused some drying out of the flesh but this dish was still savoury. Rating 3.5/5
(8) Malagao
($4.20 per portion)
- These chinese brownies were so soft and pillowy. Look at the air pockets they contained and you can imagine how fluffy they were. Packed with gula melaka fragrance, these squares were so yum and not overly sweet too. A highly recommended item to order if you're here at Joyden. Rating 5/5
(9) Traditional Yam Purée
($6 individual portion, $16s, $26m, $36b)
- Yam paste; an all time favourite chinese dessert which my family would definitely order if item was available on the menu. Joyden's version was with steamed pumpkin, ginko nuts, lard, chestnut bits and sugar glazed on top of the yam purée. The yam purée texture was smooth and creamy with the additional crunch from the chestnuts bits. Not sweet enough in my opinion and lacked aroma. I prefer my yam purée with only yam paste and fresh coconut milk. Simplicity was the best! Rating 3/5
Verdict: A restaurant with great ambience for family dinner and gathering. Service were very good too. Food quality were fairly good and portions definitely enough to go round. Dim sum menu was small but looks interesting, I will find time to come again to try them out.

** More food images at http://jellylovesfood.blogspot.sg