[ Coolplay Softserve Singapore ]
Location: Toa Payoh Lor 4, Blk 85B
Situated at Toa Payoh old estate, below a hdb block, it's was standing in the middle of the whole stretch. Location wasn't impressive, you might just walked past without noticing.
Deco: The whole shop was in blue & yellow wallpaper throughout, with cute moustache cartoon illustrations on them. A long bench was placed for customers to take photos against the yellow background. Lotsa interesting props were also provided to you to play around with your camera.
Food: Softserve ice cream on cone or cup. $4.50 for a flavour and $5.00 for mixed. Different flavours are rotated each week. This week they have Strawberry, Heavy Chocolate & Honey Walnut. I bought all 3. The texture of the softserve was smooth & creamy.
For me, best among all is the strawberry flavour softserve. Refreshing plus abit sourish taste from the fruit bits. Felt like eating frozen strawberries
Heavy Chocolate tastes dark and intense, chocolate lovers will like it. If you choose the mixed version softserve, it actually balances well with strawberry.
Honey walnut has a nutty aftertaste and halfway through it, the taste that remains in my mouth becomes like gula melaka.. This flavour is too sweet for my liking.
By the way, a cute little piece of moustache-shaped cookie is placed on each order too.
Verdict: Overall experience was decent. Price reasonable and staff was friendly also. I will revisit soon for other flavours if I'm in Toa Payoh hood.

[The Holqa - New items added]The holqa cafe recently did minor changes to their shop by adding new wallpaper, decos and increased the number of seats. New chicken wing flavours were also introduced into their menu, together with mini bite-sized burgers.
Me and my gal friends started off with their best selling item: SNS Ji.
(1) Holqa SNS Ji Wings $9 (6pcs)- Holqa's bestselling wings, coated with Holqa special blend of sweet chilli sauce and sprinkled with peanuts. Love the peanut fragrance circling in my mouth when chew. Sauce was too sweet for me and just like malt candy, too sticky and gluey to my tooth.
(2) Ninja Wings $9 (6pcs)- These wings were the kid's friendly version of Holqa's original SnS Ji. Difference? No peanuts and chilli. So sweet, I'm pretty sure kids will definitely love them and lick the sweet sauce off their fingers!!
(3) Pineapple Buffalo Wings $11 (6pcs)- Love the excitement these spicy wings gave me which eventually numb my tongue and lips. Sambal was very spicy, take at your own risk *hahahaha* Pineapple slices were from the cans, you might wanna consider eating them to neutralize the spiciness. My voted best flavour of the night.
(4) Yallow Yallow Dirty Fella Wings $12 (6pcs)- Wings tossed in very thick layer of salted egg sauce. Salted Egg sauce was sandy and you could still see bits of yolk. Savoury and flavourful, indulge before it turned cold [PS: take your photos faster]
(5) Peanut Butter Space Jam Wings $9 (6pcs)- Tasted decent but no wow factor. Wings with peanut butter jam, it's something which I could easily pull out from my kitchen.
(6) Holqa Pulled Pork Mini Burger $12 (3pcs)- Tried Holqa's pulled pork eggs ben previously, these in the mini burger uses the same meat. Pulled pork still tasted as sweet which I suggest Holqa should improve on the flavour instead and reduce the sweetness. The marinades can be heavier or pork should be marinate longer. I do love the hints of ginger from the gingered mayonnaise, unique yet interesting.
(7) Open Sesame Mini Burger $12 (3pcs) - The patty was very juicy and flavourful, tasted like homemade "ngoh hiang" which my mummy always make. Made up of mainly minced pork and prawns, the small majority of chestnut bits gave the extra crunch. 1 of the boss, Welson, told us that the secret recipe comes from his mum but he fine-tuned it umpteen times to achieve this current delish finished product. How I wish if Holqa serve these patties with rice Per share comes in 3 mini burgers and fries, delicious but rather pricey for $12.

(8) Crabbies Strawberry and Lime alcoholic Ginger Beer $9- A very smooth and refreshing beer. The beer carries a really nice strawberry aroma. Taste of ginger wasn't overpowering, only hints of it lingering in the mouth.

Verdict: Wings with asian touch, bold and creative but there's still room for improvement regardless on the flavours or time management. These wings were prepared only upon ordering therefore you might need some patience before getting your fingers on them. What's fried chicken without beer? Try out the different types of bottled beers, there's definitely 1 suitable for you. For these new items added, strengths were the homemade patties in the "open sesame" mini burgers. Holqa can consider creating new dishes with these yummy pork prawn patties. Not forgetting to mention, all the bosses and staff were nice friendly people. Do visit them for some wings if you're at near this vicinity.

The Holqa
37 East Coast Road
Singapore 428755
Tel: +65 66357010

[Hyde & Co]
785 North Bridge Road
Singapore 198753
By invitation from Hyde & Co cafe, I'm here with a few girl friends to try out H&C's new dinner menu together with new desserts.
New dinner menu available now from every Wednesday to Saturday, 6.30pm - 10.30pm. Reservations are recommended.
(1) Drinks $7.50 each(a) Into the Woods - Iced berry tea with blends of ripe berries, hibiscus and rose hip.
(b) The Addams Family - Iced moroccan apple tea with fresh slices of granny smith and rim of glass coated with sugar.
- Both were refreshing cooler drinks great for hot weather like Singapore. My opinions, they're decent but I prefer "Into the Woods". The rim of sugar was too much for The Addams Family.
(2) Buffalo Wings $10.00- For starters, we have chicken wings tossed in Chipotle BBQ sauce. This starter presents us with slight spiciness and a nice smoky jalapeño taste. Celery and carrot stripes on the side are accompanied by creamy homemade garlic aioli dip. A great finger food dish to start with before our mains.
(3) Assam Halibut $21.00- We start off our mains with a fish dish. Recommended way of eating is to toss all ingredients together first before you eat as I tried tasting each seperately and it wasn't impressive. The halibut was fresh, soft but tasted bland. You have to compliment it with H&C homemade assam to get the flavour and to highlight, the sourish mild spicy assam was indeed gooOood.. Japanese soba was too soft and slippery for my liking, wish they were more firm. No surprises for this fish dish.
(4) Nasi Lemak Risotto $22.00- A fusion yet familiar dish with great efforts behind. Risotto cooked in coconut cream and fresh coconut water, resulted in a more sweet than savory aftertaste. Risotto was grainy, al dente, more of the authentic style which italians would have prepared it. The deep fried leek slices together with the crispy ikan billis scattered around, adds more crunch to the overall dish. The yolk from the poached egg was too runny to be mentioned. Prawns cooked with H&C homemade sambal sauce were fresh, crunchy and blends very well with the sambal. If only the sambal can be more spicy, I believe it will bring up more punch. The infusion of lemongrass was also a great move as you could smell it along way while enjoying the dish. A great marriage between Asian & Italian cuisines.
(5) Beef Cheek Rendang $25.00- This beef cheek rendang was the most pretty dish among all other mains. As told by the chef, this beef cheek rendang was slow-cooked for more than 4hours to achieve this tenderness of meat. It was flavourful and each bite is thoroughly immersed with the marinades. Sweet potato mash was nicely done with a smooth texture, not overly sweet and it disperses a buttery fragrance. The crostini laid on top not only beautified the whole dish, it's texture was really crispy and also made inhouse from scratch
(6) Truffle Mac & Cheese $18.00- The overwhelming smell of truffle made my saliva drools way from H&C kitchen before this dish reaches our table. This truffle mac & cheese looked ordinary on appearance but tastes otherwise. From top, the torched panko gave an additional crisp to the cheese and I'm so loving the "chao ta" aftertaste in my mouth. The candied bacon bits were the source of saltiness, paired with the roasted mushrooms, this is savory!! Macaroni texture was good, not too soft or mushy. Put each different elements onto your spoon and gulp them down in a mouthful, it's da bomb! A very tummy-warming dish and also my most loved among all other dishes.
(7) All Star Tea Affogato $7.50 each(a) Millie - Comprises of Vintage Earl Grey tea, Orange zest and Vanilla bean ice cream. Smells good and tastes mild minty with strong citrus aftertaste. It's quite a refreshing choice.
(b) Matilda - Comprises of Strawberry Ceylon tea, berry compote made inhouse and vanilla bean ice cream. Ceylon taste was very distinctive, with light fruity berries aftertaste, this is my no.2 love among all 4.
(c) Charlie - Comprises of Chocolate meringue tea, salted chocolate drizzle made inhouse and vanilla bean ice cream. No wow factor for this selection, it's just simply taste like creamy chocolate milk.
(d) Hamilton - My no.1 choice and I recommend you guys to try it. Comprises of spiced lapsang souchong, sesame segments and vanilla bean ice cream. This tea was heavy with strong smokey flavour, the dried chilli flakes gives you the additional punch along the way. This combi is something unique which I think you can't get it elsewhere but here at Hyde & Co.
(8) Christmas Gingerbread Waffle $14.00- This creation was made from a gingerbread based waffle, topped with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream in the center, paired together with caramelized apple slices, wine poached raisins and drizzled with salted caramel sauce. I can feel Christmas came early
Gingerbread waffle was very crispy on the outside and fluffy inside. Cinnamon smell and taste was quite heavy, you could get it in every bite. Luckily, the salted caramel drizzle plays an important role by neutralizing the cinnamon taste in my mouth because I'm not a cinnamon person. If you are, this creation is made for you. The caramelized apple slices and raisins also brings up additional sweetness to this dessert dish and giving it more texture while biting. This Christmas waffle will be launched after 2nd of Dec so stay tuned!
(9) Coffee- Magic- It's Hyde & Co first year anniversary and to celebrate the mark of this new milestone, new coffee blend, Magic, was introduced. Magic blend consists of beans from Brazil, Sumatra and Ethiopia. Heavier hazenut & chocolatey notes with slight berry sweetness aftertaste. This blend was more intense than their usual one and I'm loving this more. Come down to get your hands on it, no regrets definitely!!

[Tiann's Bakery 甜]
A 2 weeks old "take-away" bakery along Seng Poh road. The lady boss, Tse Tiann, her concept for this bakery is healthy. Food products are all gluten free. Cakes are free from refine sugar and savoury waffles infused with chia seeds in their batter mix. Some might find their items over-priced but think of those organic, no msg nor chemical ingredients Tiann's using, it's totally worth. Suitable for people controlling their diets or with certain food allergies. Menu are yet to be fixed but will be up soonest once the gourmet head chef from London is in.
What I tried:
(1) Roasted Squash Feta Savoury Waffle $9.60 (Half)- Texture was Soft, fluffy and best of all, it's Gluten-free! Packed with Protein, definitely a Healthier choice for us! The pumpkin brings out the sweetness of the overall dish, the chia seeds & pine nuts gave it the extra crunch. Rocket amount was good, Feta cheese was too little which I wished there were more. I'm in love with this but If you love heavy stuff, then this is not for you.
(2) Mango Maple Cake $8.80- Freshly made in-house everyday. Its gluten free & refine sugar free too. This fresh cream cake tastes light, fluffy and not overly sweet. Pastry chef is also generous in the amount of fresh mango cubes added in it. If you are a Japanese pastries person, this bakery suits you.
(3) White Coffee 5oz $5- The blend is smooth, chocolatey nutty and not acidic. Tiann's bakery are using beans from The Nylon and another supplier (which I forgotten the name.. Oops). My coffee is from the latter though and I love the blend The barista, Fahmi, was really friendly too. He was working with Yahava previously.
Verdict: Overall experience was really good. The place was big & cosy. It was a waste though because Tiann's only do take-aways. Tse Tiann & her parents were really friendly & polite to all their customers. You'll get that "feel like home" feelings. I will come back to try other savoury waffle choices and cakes. Good news that they're also selling their homemade gelato soon! Hooray!

[ Black&Ink ]
A cosy cafe along Changi road. Nearest to Eunos MRT station, followed by 5-8mins walk. The interior deco were mainly in black & white. White marble-top tables with old skool black wooden chairs that we usually sees in aged coffeeshops.
The owner behind this place is Roy. I had quite a long chat with him and heard him saying the mission behind these work that he is doing. Alot of entrepreneurs started cafe businesses because of the current market trend & profits, but he does it to help a certain group of people. People whom are in need of proper help, care and guidance which books can't assist. Conclusion: A small place with a BIG HEART.
The main highlight of Black & Ink is coffee. Although I'm not good in it but when you taste it, you can feel the passion and heart that Roy puts in it. He's a certified barista by the way and he is really proud of his coffee.
My personal preferences are the cakes & pastries served in a cafe. There are quite a variety of them offered in Black & Ink and I could assure you, they're as good as they looked! I ordered a Salted Egg Yolk Muffin and the "Under Table" cake. A savory and a sweet. For coffee, we had a black and a white
My white coffee: Smooth and not very acidic, the taste I like it to be. When cool, it has a berry aftertaste that lingers in your mouth.
Salted Egg Yolk Muffin: As coffee is the highlight here, thus main ingredient for this muffin. Initially I thought it's gula melaka till Roy clarifies. And the fillings? Let it flow.. Let it floooooww... The salted egg yolk taste wasn't very over-whelming or salty, thus create a balance with the coffee muffin. It's yum!
Under-Table cake: First layer of cream cheese, then the bananas, followed by belgium chocolate and the crispy base. It's heavenly! The fruit & chocolate blends so well together while taste of bananas wasn't overpowered. Most importantly, it's not too sweet
Assorted pastries, danish, buns & cakes are on daily menu. Currently cafe serves new items like burgers, assorted gelato. Gelato flavours changes monthly Mao Shan Wang gelato is the highlight of July.
Verdict: Black & Ink cafe is a great place to chill out. Prices are reasonable too. I will definitely frequent here.