Among the many other new fried chicken outlets in Singapore, Texas Fried Chicken opens at the Singapore Expo, the airport, and United Square.

The Food:

Let's go straight to the main point. There's basically two kinds of chicken to choose from: original or spicy. The original was bland and tasteless though you have to give them credit for being crunchier than at Popeyes and KFC. The spicy? People with low tolerance beware! Texas Fried Chicken takes its spicy wings more seriously than the other joints.

Overall, the chicken's as fresh as the rest and less salty than those from Popeye. However, the flavouring which is what differentiates the various outlets is fares the worst. We are still with Popeye's and good old KFC.

Now to the sides, the mashed potato was gross and we are almost certain its made from powder. The honey butter biscuits, however, was delightful! Sweet and tasty at the same time. Their fries are great too.

Drinks-wise, there's quite a range at Texas Fried Chicken. Besides the usual soft drinks, there's Sjora juice, iced peach tea, hot chocolate, and a selection of coffee like latte, cappuccino, espresso and cafe mocha. I absolutely loved the coke float with soft serve ice cream.

For an overview, you could go for the Texas Sampler ($7.80), which consists of fried chicken, honey butter biscuits, a side and a drink. Otherwise, you go for the two-piece chicken meal ($7), three-piece chicken meal ($9.60), 3 wings meal ($6.40), 3 tenders meal ($6.40) among others.

The Mood:

Simple, no-frills fast food joint style. Expect no cushy sofas like Starbucks!

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Start your day right with a breakfast at Jie Traditional Bread Cafe, immersed in the sweet aroma of freshly baked bread and a strong scent of brewed coffee.

THE FOOD:

Unlike the recent sprout of air-conditioned traditional bread cafes in Singapore like Toast Box and Ya Kun, Jie Traditional Bread Cafe is relatively less known but it sure serves up good old loaves of slightly charred bread. More importantly, the bread is baked and served in the same shop; diners could be assured of the freshness of their bread.

The little cafe, situated along Serangoon road and just a stone's throw away from Kovan MRT station, offers three variants – bread (soft or toast), bun (soft or toast) and french toast. While we much preferred the bread version at Ya Kun, the soft bun version here trumps any other elsewhere. We ordered a soft bun with kaya as well as one with margarine, and both were generously spread with creamy goodness. We especially loved the way the auntie leisurely smothered the bread with kaya – to each of the four corners. Other spreads include peanut butter and strawberry jam.

Not only the food's cheaper (capped at $1.40 for bread or bun with a spread), so are the drinks. The most expensive on the menu would be the iced Horlicks or Milo at $1.60. Plus, they have the brewed Hong Kong-styled Hot Lemon Tea, a treat rarely found at the other coffee joints.

Other more filling breakfast items such as Curry Chicken ($4.50), which is great for dipping freshly baked bread in, Chwee Kueh ($1.50), Chee Cheong Fan ($2), and half-boiled egg ($1.20) are available too.

THE MOOD:

Simple. Orange-brown decor with plastic stools and swirling fans. Non-airconditioned but well-ventilated... Just like the good old days.

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Get high on food – literally – with Stellar @1-Altitude, perched right on top of the OUB Centre – the restaurant, at the height of 282 metres, is officially the highest in Singapore. Helmed by the executive chef for 1-Altitude, Christopher Millar, the latest venture by the group is equipped with the full works including an impressive sushi bar, an oyster bar, and a wood-fired grill and rotisserie.

THE FOOD:

We went for the communal dinner set, which goes at $120++ per pax, for a minimum of 10 persons. The set includes an appetiser to share, a pantry taster, a selection of contemporary sushi, a charcuterie taster, your own main course and a variety of desserts – made specially for Stellar from its sweet sister restaurant 1-Caramel just a stone's throw away.

There are just too many dishes for me to review them all, so here are some highlights of my evening there. The first few dishes of foie gras croustades, which was silky and smooth, and the sashimi selection with freshly-grinded wasabi sure met my expectations but it was the sushi selection – unagi roll with avocado and unagi sauce, spicy tuna roll with katsuo furikake and spring onion, and swordfish roll with fresh crab meat, prawns, aka miso and aonori – which took my companions and my breath away. The ingredients were fresh and succulent, and the rice moist with the perfect tinge of vinegar; this definitely supports the restaurant's claim of making it a la minute. And judging by how fast the spicy tuna roll went, you could tell that it was definitely one of the most popular dishes of the night.


Now for the mains, the truffle risotto with Maine lobster was my favourite out of the main courses. The risotto is cooked in shellfish stock, doused in generous amounts of truffle judging from its sweet potent smell, and served with poached Maine lobster imported from the States. Observe the silence as you savour the dish all the way to the last spoonful. The wood-fired Wagyu rib eye with deliciously creamy Paris mashed potatoes and Porcini pear sauce came a close second.

And finally, to complete the perfect meal on a sweet note, we had the patisserie platter – pistachio fraise, velvety lemon pecan mousseline, azure, muscovado macadamia creme brulee and sticky date pudding. My favourite? Definitely Azure made up of layers of crisp, crunchy hazelnut biscuit, peach sanguine jelly and griotte cherries. The cherries make a surprisingly nice twist to the dessert.

THE MOOD:

Stellar at 1-Altitude eludes a relaxed yet sophisticated ambience but what makes it a must-go is really the view at the rooftop, where the world's tallest alfresco bar may be found. Chill out up at the roof bar for the breath-taking paranomic views of MBS, Suntec City, Esplanade, Marina Bay float, and the Singapore Flyer. Perfect for a romantic date or as an impressive business dinner.

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At a well-hidden corner of The Central is Santouka, a small restaurant that serves up great kurobuta pork.

THE FOOD:

Unknown to most Singaporeans, Santouka is a pretty famous ramen chain in Japan and around the world. According to the waitress, compared to the Shoyu (meaning soya sauce in Japanese) and miso-based ramen, the Shio (salt)-based ramen is the most popular at Santouka and much raved among Japanese media.

And understandably so – after trying it for ourselves at its Singapore branch, we found the broth milky with a satisfyingly rich pork taste. The staff explained that the restaurant uses kurobuta (black pig) pork bones as the soup base. The tonkotsu (pork bone broth) ramen is served kyushu style with curly, springy yellow noodles, which is often sadly mistaken for instant noodles, in Santouka's signature blue bowl with umeboshi (pickled plum).

Next came the highlight, tokusen toroniku (special pork cheek) ramen! This part of the pig is premium stuff since each pig obviously has only two cheeks and hence there are limited portions. The tender charshu is served separate from the soup and the right way to enjoy this dish is to dip the toroniku into the hot soup to warm it while melting the fats. Now, sit back and enjoy the sweet velvety taste that lingers in your mouth – you would not be able to get this from other parts of a pig.

THE MOOD:

If you are lucky, you might even get the window seats which overlooks Clarke Quay. But as a corner restaurant with no more than 25 seats, Santouka is extremely crowded and perpetually with a queue after 7pm. The service, however, is great – polite staff who offers baskets for your bags and refills water promptly.

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Easily accessible for fresh graduates with holes in their pockets is Just Acia, one of the most value-for-money places for lunch in town with branches at Marina Square, Dhoby Ghaut and Suntec City. There, set lunches with free flow ice cream and drinks start from as low as $5.90.

FOOD:

Just Acia offers a mix of Asian cuisine – Japanese, Korean and Chinese. The restaurant's fried chicken chop set, gyoza set and spicy chicken set are priced at $5.90, and the fried salmon set and dory fillet set at $7.50. All set lunches come with miso soup and pickled cabbage as well as free flow of Magnolia ice cream and drinks including iced tea, coffee, tea and soft drinks.

We particularly liked the spicy chicken set and the tom yam set, which came with sufficient hint of lemongrass. And from the speed the bulgogi beef and dumplings disappeared from the table next to ours, they must be good as well.

MOOD:

Despite a bustling crowd, service at Just Acia was surprisingly fast. We were promptly handed menus upon seated. And with wireless connection and open powerpoints to charge your laptop with available within the restaurant, it is no surprise Just Acia is popular with working executuves and students.

But while service is brisk, the queues at the counter, which are strangely separated into two counters, one for NETS and the other for credit cards, might put diners off.

Though the restaurant does not serve the best Asian food in the area, Just Acia might just be one of the cheapest and most value-for-money in town. On weekdays, that is – the cheapest set on weekends starts about $11.90.

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