Tucked over at Alexandra Retail Centre, there lies a room for all those working at the offices around that area to unwind and chill. It is none other than Room.Coffee.Bar which has quite good coffee, cakes and other items in the menu inclusive of pastas and sandwiches.The theme of the cafe is very eco-centric and mainly has colours white, brown and green. What drew my attention was the corner of the cafe with the green and brown wall layers with artificial grass. The quote was very meaningful too and I thought this cafe will be a fantastic place to unwind over some coffee or even have a casual meeting over some bites.To perk myself up, I had the Cappuccino ($5.50) which came with a messy latte art. That aside, the aroma of the cappuccino was there and it tasted smooth on the palate. Without any additional sugar or creamer, it was great by itself but it will have suit my liking better with a thicker layer of froth.The Red Velvet Cake ($6.50) is one of their popular favourite. Layered with a cream cheese icing on the top, it complements well with the cocoa base cake with a sweet and sour tinge of flavour. The cake wasn't too dry and has the right texture too.My personal favourite, the ROOM Carrot Cake ($6.50) is their signature cake which is created using their own secret recipe. Topped with a luscious layer of cream cheese icing and decorated with walnuts and apricots. Eaten together with the warm and moist carrot cake, it was seventh heaven for me and perfect with a cup of coffee/tea.

The staffs here were really attentive to bring me the menu and serve up water when I got seated. I must say that for such a small cafe like this, the service is excellent and the staffs were friendly too. Recommended place to visit time and again for coffee and cakes.

On weekdays, they have set lunch promotion too. So if you're working around the area, you might like to visit Room.Coffee.Bar.

A few days ago, Nara Thai opened at the level B3 of ION Orchard and being a lover of Thai food, I couldn't wait to try as it is touted the most popular Thai restaurant in Thailand serving up authentic food. I've been around Singapore and Thailand for Thai food with my godsis who is half-Thai and I do enjoy some of my favourites like green curry chicken, Tom yum seafood soup, Phad Thai and Deep fried Seabass with Thai Chilli sauce. Since the branch of Nara Thai at Orchard ION is the first one outside of Thailand, I headed down for lunch on the second day of opening. Located right between Itacho Sushi and Asian Kitchen, the exterior of Nara Thai is pretty exquisite with an overall black setting with golden yellow interior decor which is the royal colour of Thailand.Coming to the food, we ordered the D'oeuvre Nara ($17.90) to nibble on for the start. It comes with 3 skewers of grilled chicken and topped with sweet peanut gravy, 3 pandan leaf chicken, 2 slices of fish cakes and a little pomelo salad in the middle. My guest and I enjoyed the pandan leaf chicken as it was very juicy with some charred bits that has a smoky aroma. For the chicken skewers, I thought it tasted quite close like our satay just that the gravy is more diluted and sweeter. As for the fish cake, it exploded with a strong hint of tom yum but I found it a tad tough and dry to my liking. Pomelo salad looks good with prawns and peanuts to give it a good balance of sweetness and bite.

It came with a saucer of black sweet sauce to dip with the meat but it was just too sweet to begin the meal with. Having some sweet Thai chilli would definitely make the meal more appetizing at the start.I am a big fan of Phad Thai and I couldn't resist order the Phad Thai Prawns ($15.90) for my main course. It came with a generous number of huge prawns, grounded nuts on the side, bean sprouts and bean curd. Having tried many good ones in Singapore and Thailand, my expectation for this for high but to my disappointment as the Phad Thai was way too sweet. I love the moist texture of the rice noodles but it seems to taste more like a dessert with too much sugar added into it. Sadly to say, this is nowhere near authentic as those by the streets of Bangkok would easily have been than this and oh, way cheaper too!My favourite dessert besides Red Ruby, that is the Mango Sticky Rice (Large - $9.80). It came with 2 glutinous rice balls and sweet mangoes which were neatly sliced. The warm and sticky rice were topped with a luscious layer of coconut cream not for the faint-hearted. Order this at your own risk if you don't have a sweet tooth.

My lunch was simply sweet, sweet and sweet. The flavours of the dishes were very one-dimensional. Hopefully, they can improve on the food as days go by. Service was very poor too as they did not serve us ice-water upon seated and I have to ask for it. The service were horrible too as we already have finished our main course and started on the Mango Sticky Rice but our appetizers were nowhere in sight.

If you are in Orchard road and craving for Thai food, any Thai Express outlets would have been better in terms of food and service.

Food Opera at ION Orchard is a place well-known as "the expensive food court" compared to other food courts like Kopitiam and Food Junction. Little did many know that there are some hidden gems around here besides the Scotts beef noodle store. On a typical weekday lunch, huge crowd of locals, office executives and tourist can be spotted here. So, what is it so delicious here that draws the crowd despite it being "the expensive food court"? No doubt this is one of the cheaper places at Orchard ION to fill your empty stomach but it is good to know what's delicious here to maximise the bang for the buck. One of the stores worth checking out is the BBQ Seafood right in the middle of Food Opera. It is impossible to miss this as it is a spectacle to have live seafood enclose within the tanks.

Besides having just the 'live' seafood on display, there is a see-through glass partition where you can have a good look how the cooks within are flaming up the kitchen with good o' Chinese 'wok hei' to bring up the delicious-ness of your food.

On the menu, it is filled with typical choices like your neighbourhood cze-char stall. From seafood, vegetables, rice and noodles, you have it all here. With my Cantonese blood within raging with my hor fun craving, I ordered the Black Bean Paste Hor Fun ($6.90) or also known as "cee zup ow yok hor fun" in Cantonese. After waiting for about 10 minutes, my buzzer sounded off and I got a bowl of aromatic wok stir-fried hor fun doused with a generous, rich and flavoursome black bean sauce with a mild hint of pepper for that extra hint of heat. The beef slices were succulent to the bite and not overly tenderized, complementing the smooth and tasty hor fun.

I would say it is surely a "must-try" for this quality of black bean sauce beef hor fun which I haven't been able to taste it at some of the neighbourhood cze-char stores. I will definitely will come back again to try their other rice and seafood dishes with friends in the noisy food court setting which kind of resembles a noisy Hong Kong restaurant! Thumbs up as this store lived up to my Cantonese expectations!!

Often we think that eating well and healthy got to be expensive. Also, with our fast pace of life, often we turn to unhealthy fast food to satisfy our hunger amidst our busy schedule. Thanks to Smoothie King which arrived in Singapore earlier this year, now we can get to enjoy healthy, fast and affordable food and of course, SMOOTHIES on-the-go!Since I am on a low-carb diet, this is a perfect place for a quick lunch and a good cup of smoothie! For those who are
health concious, they are very helpful to state the amount of calories on the menu beside to each item as well as the ingredients in them so I can have a good understanding of what goes into my body. This is excellent for those on a "clean diet" unlike other fast food restaurants.Having a soft spot for tacos, I ordered the BBQ Chicken Breast Soft Taco ($5.90) which has only 221 calories! It was served with a pile of fresh and appetizing lettuce, onions, tomatoes, cheese, cucumbers and bbq lean chicken breast meat. It was pack with delicious-ness over a soft taco wrap. Yummy! each set consist of 2 soft tacos and this makes it good for sharing specially if you are craving for a light and nutritious snack. There are many kinds of smoothies to choose from and I was totally spoilt for choices. From the regular refreshing smoothies to slim and lite ones which promotes weight loss. I went for the Blueberry Heaven (Regular size - $5.90) which has a mixture of blueberries, banana and vanilla protein at only 160 calories! Thankfully, it suited my taste buds as it wasn't too sweet and it has both my favourite blueberries and banana. It tasted like milkshake and it was very appetizing and a perfect drink on a hot afternoon!

There is an option to "Make It Skinny" too so they will use non-fat milk instead. If you like an additional boost to your smoothie, you can top up $1 to boost it with Antioxidants, Diet Down, Energy, Fiber Blend, Multi Vitamin, Muscle Builder, Probiotic, Beauty Collagen depending on whichever you like.

I enjoyed my meal and also the service too! It was my first visit and the staffs were very helpful as to recommend which type of smoothie suits my preference best as I do not like those with a weird vegetable taste. This is definitely a great place for students and family to visit with the casual and homely ambiance.

Time to ditch your burgers and fried chicken for some healthy smoothie and tacos!

There lies a hidden gem in the Eastern part of Singapore! A modern European family-friendly restaurant which has been around for almost a decade. Serving up affordable European cuisine, you can have a gastronomical adventure across Europe with a fares coming from Italy, France and even Spain.

I was there for an OpenRice food tasting session and I got to savour some of their special signatures which got me salivating when it was served on the table. The boss of the restaurant, Carin, hosted us warmly at this cosy family restaurant, which gave me a feeling of dining at a home of a European family.

Below are some of my personal favourites worth raving about!Pulpo ala Gallega ($16) - Sliced octopus on bed of potatoes topped with fish roe
This was one of the starters and the presentation was very fine and classy with a mini plastic sword holding up the layers of potatoes, chewy octopus topped with delicious fish roe! I love how the combination of flavours and texture work so well together. Haloumi & Green Olive Salad ($5) - grilled haloumi cheese tossed with olive, rocket, Japanese cucumber, pine nuts, red onion and drenched in a light mustard dressing
The star of this salad is no doubt the grilled haloumi cheese which has a smooth milky and robust flavour with a tinge of smokiness. It enhances the flavour of the salad and the Japanese cucumber slices were very fresh and crunchy! Rabo de Toro ($28) - Spanish-style spicy Oxtail stew with toasted bread
This dish won my heart for the night as the succulent oxtail meat and tendon slides off the bones very easily. The gravy wasn't that spicy but instead, tantalizing to the taste buds. It is served with sliced baguette and it helps to balance the richness of it when eaten together.Corn-fed Chicken ($30) - Roasted corn fed chicken with shiitake mushroom, roasted potatoes, essence of chicken demi & kitchen vegetables
Probably one of the underrated dish on the menu, the French chicken, also known as Poulet, has a natural sweetness as it is corn fed. The meat within is moist and juicy too. Baked with the mushroom, it brings out the natural flavour of the chicken that's so tasty without the need for any gravy or sauce to go with.

These are my favourite items and they are delicious. Would highly recommend this place for family and friends as well as business lunches. Very chill and quiet place for to spend quality time over quality food!