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.

[Yum Cha]
Dim sum has been 1 of the top food choice for most Singaporeans, especially restaurants that served very good delicious ones. Yum Cha came into our local market with teahouse concept from Year 2000 and was now one of the leading dim sum big players in Singapore. Main restaurant was at Chinatown, the other 2 outlets at "Serangoon garden country club" and changi "UeBizhub East" respectively.

Dim sum delivery services were also available, under "Yum Cha Express", you could conveniently get your favourite dim sum right at your doorstep. Practicing "cook-tek" method to keep all delivery food warm and moist, you can still expect quality food even though they were"tabao"!As lunar new year is approaching soon, Yum Cha restaurants will be launching their 2016 Chinese New Year (CNY) menus this week together with CNY takeaway menus. These festive menus available from 15th Jan 2016- 22nd Feb 2016. Good news for families whom like to stay indoors for their reunion dinner, beat the crowd and order Yum Cha takeaways. Great food options for CNY gatherings with friends too.Some highlights of the takeaway dishes we tried were:

(1) Salmon Yu Sheng
[$38+ sml / $68+ big]- Just like any other "Lou Hei", Yum Cha's version was not much difference from the rest with common ingredients such fresh salmon fish slices, crunchy jellyfish, shredded carrot, radish, ginger, yam, pomelo etc. Highlight of this dish was Yum Cha homemade sour plum sauce used for tossing. Made with their secret recipe, this homemade sauce gave a sourish sweet aftertaste. Paired together with their fish sauce, both made the whole plate of Yu sheng very tasty and appetizing. If you're a very 年年有"鱼" person, you could add on more fish portions at only $12. HUAT ah!!
Rating 5/5

(2) Fried Crispy Chicken
[$40+ whole]- Chicken was fried till golden brown color with slight crisp on the skin. I'm rather surprised that the meat texture was dry and tough even on the thigh part so I guessed the deep frying method dried out the meat. Marinades wasn't strong and flesh tastes rather bland, the only flavorful part was at the skin where the crispy garlic bits were scattered on top. You may want to dip the chicken in Yum cha's homemade sweet chillies sour plum sauce to bring more flavour to the meat.
Rating 3/5

(3) BBQ Suckling Pig
[$220+ whole / $118+ half]- Crackling skin of this suckling pig made me gave up on my diet plans and went for more portions. Meat was flavourful with fats evenly distributed throughout the whole pig. It wasn't oily at all. Dip with a little of the smokey sweet sauce provided and it was heavenly! Although "peng cai" was more commonly seen on the tables during CNY than a "suckling pig" but for a change, I suggest you order this suckling pig instead. Skin so crispy its definitely worth all the calories.
Rating 5/5

(4) Braised Pig's Trotter with "Fatt Choy"
[$38+ half leg]- Pork trotter was slow-braised till really soft and tender. Meat falls off from bone easily without me using any strength. Chinese spices was not strong and I suggest flavour can be heavier. Fatt choy (black moss) used did not help in the taste, only being a traditional auspicious ingredient as people always said "fatt choy" sounds like "发财" in mandarin. Dried oysters would be a better option to improve the overall taste of this dish.
My most love and also the best parts of this trotter were the jelly skin and tendons. They were so Q, packed with collagen and "melt-in-the-mouth"!
Rating 4/5

(5) Fried Rice with Chinese Sausages in Lotus leaf
[$38+ whole]- I'm quite disappointed with the inconsistency of this dish. Other than texture being dry, parts of the rice were undercooked. The other main, important ingredient "chinese sausages" were not much visible too because they were cut into micro cubes instead of slices which I felt the size was unnecessary. I totally could not taste their existence thus lack the aroma of preserved meat. Dried shrimps used were also very tiny although chef was generous to throw in a lot.
Rating 1/5. Skip this.

Verdict: Overall taste and quality for most food items were satisfying, especially the suckling pig. As they were takeaways, of course we couldn't expect food to be the same as dine-in but prices were slightly steep as the above 5 items costs around $500 after taxes and CNY surcharge.

Nevertheless, regardless of what food or which venue, I personally felt that the most important element of CNY was having the whole family gathered round, happily and healthy, to enjoy great meals together

Yum Cha Chinatown
20 Trengganu Street
#02-01 (off Temple Street)
Singapore 058479
Tel: 6372 1717
www.yumcha.com.sg

- Monday to Friday
From 11am to 11pm
- Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays
From 9am to 11pm

Current Promotion: 20% early bird discount for "takeaway" Yu Sheng before 7th Feb 2016. For dine in customers, receive Yum Cha limited edition Ang bao packets when you spend $100 & above (while stock lasts).
** Call early to make your reservations to avoid disappointment **

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

[Christmas at CreatureS]Back here at CreatureS to try out some new items on their festive menu. When I stepped into this restaurant for the second time, I'm again immersed with their pretty painted walls and my eyes still captured by the whole nicely decorated space. Greeted by the friendly bosses and staff, me and my friend were then brought to the dining area on level 2.We started off with the Christmas cocktails specially created for this upcoming festive holidays.
(1) Pink Lychee Sorbet Martini $15- A very interesting cocktail where sorbet was served in alcohol. The pink lychee sorbet texture was so fine and tasty, I wish I could request a whole tub of it. Together with martini, it was so refreshing.
(2) Passionfruit Martini $15- As told by Dennis (owner), egg white was added into this drink. Probably that explains why it was so smooth and creamy. Passionfruit juice added didn't cause any sourness at all. The chemistry between these elements made this drink turned out to taste like pomelo. It's brilliant!
(3) Honeydew Saketini $15
- Among all 3 cocktails, this was the least attractive. It tasted ordinary, like honeydew fruit juice with hint of alcohol. No wow factor in this one.
(4) Asian Spice Fries $12- A big bowl of crispy french fries tossed with curry and paprika powder. Westernized ingredients with Asian touch, a great choice of snacks to go with my drinks. Skip the tartar sauce, the fries were good on its own.
(5) At Rattanakosin $18- Inspired by vacation at Thailand, this salad was zesty, slight spicy, with very fragrant lemongrass aroma and aftertaste. This taste will definitely bring you back to the sweet memories of Thailand. Other than the lovely colors, the glass noodles were firm and prawns very fresh. Cabbage and almond flakes also gave the extra crunch, together with the fragrant fried shallots, it's a great appetizer to start with.
(6) Creatures Laksa $24- A generous portion of laksa filled with prawns, chicken thigh meat, fishcakes, quail eggs and tau pok. Gravy was whipped up with thick coconut milk and spices but it wasn't spicy at all. I would say "a kid's friendly" dish. You could mixed in the ball of chilli provided to get the spiciness raised. Lotsa mini onion cubes were cooked together in the laksa gravy instead of blending in together with the spices. I love the crunchiness of the onions each time i had the gravy. The thick gravy can get abit jelat after continuous consumption, I suggest Creatures to fine tune it. Mixture of yellow noodles and rice noodles were used instead of the usual rice noodles alone but yellow noodles got mushy after soaked in the gravy.
(7) Kong Bak Pau $22- A homely dish I would call it, with pork belly and quail eggs braised in the dark soya sauce. Pork belly slices could be stew longer for more tenderness and "melt-in-the-mouth" effect. Best part was the skin and the soft fats, very springy/Q, I felt myself loaded with collagen. Chinese spices used for base gravy could increase also to get a more fragrant and distinctive aroma. Gravy would be nice to go with a bowl of rice too. Consume this dish straight after served, otherwise the lotus buns texture would be very hard when cold.
(8) Baby it's cold outside (Peppermint Mocha) $7- An espresso with peppermint and hand grounded chocolate. Coffee was semi strong and smooth. The grounded chocolate neutralizes the bitterness and the minty aftertaste made me felt very festive!
(9) The Enchanted Forest $14/slice- Derived from the Blackforest cake recipe, Creatures did some changes and created their own. Creatures' version was Kitsch mousse on top with chocolate sponge cake laid below, surrounded by pitted dark cherries and sprinkled with chocolate flakes. The mousse was very smooth and creamy, surprisingly not sweet and best consumed chilled. Be surprised with the small amount of lava jam flowing out when your fork reaches the center of this cake. A Christmas dessert that's definitely worth the calories.
(10) Creatures Chocolate Cake $18/slice- Espresso Chocolate Sponge sprinkled with a pinch of Pink Himalaya Sea Salt, served with Coconut Ice Cream and Homemade Salted Caramel. The signature cake was really choco-licious, 70% bitter dark chocolate, heavy and dense, best pair with the coconut ice cream. Sea salt did its part by balancing the bitterness of the dark chocolate. As for the pool of homemade salted caramel, it was too sweet for my liking and I preferred to do without.
(11) Durian Cake $12/slice- Pandan genoise sponge cake texture was very soft and fluffy. Sandwiched between 3 layers of sponge was the luscious sinful Mao shan wang durian fillings. Each mouthful you could still bite the real durian flesh, it's da bomb! If you're a durian lover, you must definitely go for this. Limited servings each day so grab it fast!
Verdict: This restaurant gave me a very comfortable and homely feel each time I stepped in. Both bosses Dennis & KK were so friendly they really make you feel at home. This cosy, beautifully furnished place made me dine at ease. Although the prices here wasn't very pocket-friendly but humans like us should indulge in good food once in awhile. The modern fusion dishes served here were pretty tasty and worth coming back for.

If you yet to make plans for this upcoming festive season, make your dining reservations with CreatureS 62916996 and try out their modern fusion dishes.

[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