It was a Tuesday afternoon and I met my friend for lunch at somewhere nearby for the both of us and we decided to have some casual Thai food at Bangkok Jam.  It is located on level 2 of Wheelock Place just beside nydc restaurant which is too hard to miss on the outside with the prominent signage at its door front.The interior of the restaurant has a warm and cosy ambiance thanks to the wooden setting among dark wall, giving customers a welcoming yet intimate feel. Although I sat at one of the corner near the entrance, the restaurant was very noisy as more diners stream in during the lunch hour and makes it difficult to speak to my friend without raising my tone of voice. (Side note, this place is not suitable for lunch meetings!)Feeling humid in the afternoon heat, I started my meal with a glass of Lemongrass Tea ($4.80) which was light and refreshing. I thought the flavour of lemongrass could be stronger but I could make do with this glass as they didn't add in too much ice, which thankfully didn't dilute the uplifting fragrance of the tea as it melts.Coming to the mains, I usually love my Stir-fried Minced Chicken with Basil ($11.90) not too spicy with a powerful punch of basil. Without specifying it to the waiter, they did it the way I prefer! Mildly spicy with a good douse of basil accompanied by juicy essence of chicken that goes very well with the steamed white rice! The only thing I didn't like was the egg being overcooked on 1 side as I love my sunny-side-up egg yolk runny. However, it was very delicious in flavour and generous in portion yet not overly oily compared to another Thai chain cafe belonging to a local celebrity. Browsing through fellow OpenRicer's reviews, I read that most of them enjoyed the Banana Tempura with Hot Caramel Sauce ($9.90) so I thought of giving it a try. When it was served, it certainly looks a lot like the glam-up version of our local goreng pisang. Topped with raisins and drizzled with good o' caramel sauce, the piping hot battered banana slices were oh-so-decadent when eaten with the ice cool vanilla ice-cream. Heavenly yum!

My overall dining experience at Bangkok Jam was pleasant with nice food but their service could be better improve as it took a long time for them to serve the food. It took 10mins for my friend's main dish to be served and another 10mins for mine to be served. Imagine the awkwardness in between. Apart from the long waiting time, top it up with the noisy ambiance, this place isn't a good choice to have lunch meetings at all.

I recommend you to visit if you have the extra time to dine and do not mine the crowd. I hope their service will be better at their other outlets.

Last week, I was just discussing with my friend on where to find the best gelato around and he recommended me to a place near Kovan that is call Ice Edge Cafe. Located on the ground floor along the walkway of Simon Plaza with indoor and alfresco sitting, this is a popular place for students and families to unwind on a weekday evening.The interior is very welcoming with the warm, orange, cozy setting with setting with low-hanging lamps and contrasting dark flooring and chair. It give it a homely, classy feel yet keeping the tone of the atmosphere casual. The seating space is very spacious too with huge sitting capacity to accommodate from couples to big groups of 8 to 10 paxs.Over at the Gelato counter, the chiller display seems really attractive with bright and vibrant colours, showcasing their huge range of gelatos from classic vanilla ones to different variants of chocolate to fruity range and even alcohol infused ones. Looks great but I was turned off by the rude foreigner staff who gave me a cold look I asked to try a few flavours before making my order. After 2 times, she pretended not to hear me anymore and ignored me. Only when I am ready to make my order, she took my orders.I had 2 scoops of gelato, a Peach Yogurt (Normal - $3.20/scoop) and another Kiwi Lime (Premium - $4.80/scoop) which cost me not only $8 but it took me by surprise that they charge 7% GST to their gelato toos, so the total cost was a whopping $8.56 for that tiny cup! Having paid that much, I expected their gelato to be fantastic but to my disappointment, it melted quickly and for the Kiwi Lime flavour, the taste of kiwi was very mild as the sourness of lime has overwhelmed the nice sweet, tangy touch of kiwi. On the other hand, I find the Peach Yogurt flavour only average and the taste of peach was only decent and not fragrant enough. Having such low standard, it is very ridiculous that their gelato cost much more than other premium Italian gelato places like Alfreo Gelato which is cheaper and better. Not really enjoying what I had, my friend recommended that I try their signature Mao Shan Wang Lava Cake ($13.80) which is said to be their signature. Indeed, cutting the soft fluffing layer of the Lava Cake open, decadent hot durian paste oozed out. It was a sight to behold as it was my first time having such a dessert. Durian flavour was really awesome and delectable with a smooth, milky texture. A scoop of vanilla ice-cream was served next to it and when eaten together with the hot durian lava, it was simply so luscious and heavenly!

Although I came and was disappointed with the gelato and saddened by their poor service, their Mao Shan Wang Lava Cake won my heart and I left happy after that. I may visit this place again if my friend is driving me here because getting to Simon Plaza is not really convenient by public transport.

A while back, it was the annual durian season (May - July period) and everyone was fulfilling their craving for durians as it was the best time of the year to fulfill their stomach with the thorny "King of Fruits". So, I was out for dinner with my friends in town on a weekend and we decided to have durians for supper but those that we know of are quite a distance away in the sleazy red light district. I remembered having durians there before a year ago and it is said that the popular durian store there is well-known for overpriced durians and may not be honest to customers who ain't his regulars. Deciding not to take any risk, I Googled for durian stores in town area and found 101 Kampong Mountain Durian that is said to be popular store for durians in Chinatown.We drove over to 101 Kampong Mountain Durian and it is situated just right behind Smith Street Food Center just across the popular Tian Tian Frog Leg Porridge. When we walk out of the carpark to the durian store, I saw this signage and it says "101 Best Quality Durian". In my mind, I was hoping that we can settle our durian feast here with the best that we can find. Just outside the durian store, we spotted a group of Hong Kong and Taiwanese tourists paying for their loot of durians they have picked and happily enjoying themselves. I hope this isn't a tourist trap either! We didn't take any chances and went straight for 2 of the Mao Shan Wang durians ($25/kg) durians that cost us more than $100 for the 4 of us. The boss was very friendly and patient to help us choose the best Mao Shan Wang as we want to make the bang for the buck worth it since we rarely splurge on such expensive durians. It took us about 10minutes and the boss was still smiling, opening a bit of one after another for us to check the meat within. The boss even told us that it is perfectly alright to reject it if we don't like it and even promise "money back guarantee" if it isn't Mao Shan Wang. WOW! 2 thumbs up for the honest and upfront owner! We ended up with 2 Mao Shan Wang durians and we sat on the stools with a little table outside of the stall, eating it street style. Nothing feels more authentic than this kind of experience, tucking in delicious durians with best friends. Especially how awesome the durian is, the soft and delicate golden yellow flesh that has a mild bittersweet flavour. The durians were huge and the seeds were tiny, so there were ample flesh for us to sink our teeth into. Opening 1 section after another of the durian like opening a treasure chest, we got more than what we asked for!

It was really a pleasant durian hunt experience at 101 Kampong Mountain Durian and I would certainly be back again and tell all my friends about this wonderful durian place with a honest boss that takes pride in quality durians he has. He sells mangosteens too which is good to be eaten along with durians to reduce the heatiness. You can even request to wash your hands in the sink with the durian shell to remove the durian scent from your fingers too! Totally excellent and when I told other friends that we had Mao Shan Wang durians at $25/kg, they all said that it was a GOOD PRICE!!

As the name of this casual and relaxing cafe goes Pies & Coffee, what else I had but pies and coffee when I visited their outlet at Rochester Mall. There ain't many indoor seats available inside as it was rather small and enclosed but there are plenty of outdoor seats where diners can enjoy their food in an alfresco manner. Thankfully it is sheltered, otherwise humans will be baked like pies under the blazing hot sun. Nevertheless, the tropical weather didn't do any justice and I was still perspiring from the humid heat.Didn't know what to have, the friendly wait staff at the counter recommended me to try their signature Wagyu Beef Cheek Pie ($8.95). It sure sounds delicious to me and so I decided to order it. After waiting for quite a long while even though there ain't many customers, my order is finally ready and patrons have to self-service and collect it from the counter. It sure looks good with mash potato and salad served at the side but I didn't care much about those as it taste just average. So, I dig straight into the pie and wow, the crust is sure hard like plastic. Taking a bite into the wagyu beef cheeks cube, I expected it to be more moist and tender but it wasn't the case. Parts of it were tough and and dry. Disappointed.Come to the Iced Latte ($5.80), there wasn't much to say about it as the coffee was bland and diluted at the first sip. As the ice cubes were melting through halfway, it already tasted like plain water. Definitely a no-no but hopefully the hot ones would be better.

Conclusion, it was a very sad visit and I had better pies and coffee elsewhere. I would return to this place again and the sight of pigeons flying around pecking on leftovers that are yet to be clear away by the staffs is indeed a turn-off.

Being in town and suddenly, my friend suggested to have dim sum and so we headed to Victor's Kitchen as they are probably one of the better known ones among the younger crowd that serves dim sum at a more affordable price. In my previous visit, I didn't had a good experience at Victor's Kitchen due to the poor service (lady boss was cursing at customers in cantonese and orders were mixed up) but since my friend suggested it, I decided to give it another chance.Tucked at level 1 of Sunshine Plaza which is about 10-15mins walk from Dhoby Ghaut MRT station, Victor's Kitchen has been around for almost a decade here. Before going in, I realize not only the usual news paper coverage plastered on the front glass panel but also the interior looks much brighter and welcoming! Also, the grumpy lady boss was nowhere to be seen. I panicked for awhile hoping that the kitchen staffs are still the same. To my relief, I saw Victor in the kitchen who is the founder of this popular dim sum eatery. We ordered a few of their popular dishes to try and we definitely can't be missing out on the highly raved Golden Egg Yolk Lava Bun ($4.50 for 3pcs). Doing the "egg yolk porn", we can see that the piping hot lava flowing out smoothly. For those with a sweet tooth, this has lots of butter to give it that rich and creamy mouth-feel when bite open. It is recommended to make a small opening on the bun first before taking a bite into it as the hot lava will gush out, making a mess. I enjoyed this as they were very generous on the filling which gives it that irresistible "oomph" factor. Trust me, one is never enough! Their signature dish, the XO Sauce Steamed Carrot Cake ($4.50) is also my favourite dish over here. Although the serving is small, the moist carrot cake is filled with delectable ingredients like scallop and Chinese sausage. Topped with a nice layer of luscious brown sauce, I can't wait to dig in and have it all by myself. The XO sauce has a nice fragrance that is lightly spicy with the taste of dried shrimps. Delicious it might be, the downside of it is that you will have to top up a small fee of $0.50 for additional serving of the sauce which is so precious to every mouthful of carrot cake. Ending off our dim sum craving, we had the Rosey Wine Yummy Char Siew Bao ($4.50 for 2 pcs). On the first glance, the bun of the Char Siew Bao is handmade due to the irregular shape and the outer layer looks fluffy to the bite.Peeling it open, the filling of the bun reveals a generous amount of diced char siew droused in honey goodness! Taking a bite into the bun feels so good as the fluffy texture of the bun complements the nice filling as it isn't too overwhelming in flavour. The portion of it was just nice and the lingering sweetness of char siew in the mouth makes it delectable to the palate.

Overall, I felt the standard of the food is still as good and this round, a much pleasant dining experience with more friendly staffs that will go around checking on orders and serving up much quickly. Throughout my meal, we only took 20 minutes to eat and I would say this is a plus point for the office lunch crowd to settle their food quickly without waiting too long. With the brighter atmosphere, I felt that Victor's Kitchen has many more bright years ahead considering their undying popularity and consistency in food.