We actually came here for brunch but we ordered from the lunch menu instead because the items sounded so much more enticing. and no regrets at all ;) maybe sometime i should come back for the real brunch, but i think that menu isn't as fantastic.

so, first thing we ordered was this wild mushroom risotto with truffle and chanterelle ($45). this is probably not on the menu actually, because it was a special 5-day only menu. but gosh, those truffles were amazing!!! the risotto itself unfortunately didn't have much of a truffle flavour, but it was nevertheless very tasty. i didn't actually try the truffle itself though, because it wasn't my dish. but it looks soooo gorgeous! and love all the photos i took that day ^^ the lighting at ODP is perfetto! ;)

i sorta regretted ordering the braised duck ragout with pappardelle pasta and smoked tomato sauce ($25), but only because it was such a carb-y dish!! >.< other than that, this dish was wonderful actually! it had a delicious flavour that appealed to everyone, and the pasta was cooked just right (: so much better than italian pasta!!! haha. always cannot forget that ;) and i love how the cheese lent an additional dimension to the dish, which complemented the pasta perfectly. the only thing that left me rather bewildered was the duck ragout! haha it didn't taste like duck at all imo. but it was nice anyway!!

the smoked pork belly with garlic spinach and pickled vegetables ($30) totally looked like 烧肉 doesn't it! haha. (guess what, i finally figured out how to type chinese words on my keyboard lol!) it was soooo yummy. fried to a precise crisp on the outside, while the interior was nicely tender and firm, without being too fatty (:one of my favourites that day was the 48 hour braised beef cheek with mochi potatoes, carrot puree and pea tendrils ($29). omgosh!!! it was SOOOOO TENDER, it literally MELTS IN YOUR MOUTH. i'm not kidding you. you barely have to chew on it at all. just pop it in your mouth, move it around a little and it just gradually dissolves. it was that soft. i loved the texture. i did wish that it had a deeper flavour though! perhaps the long cooking drained away its taste, because i felt that there was something lacking in that respect.

For photos and the rest of the review, visit http://thelittlemomentsofmylife.blogspot.sg/2013/11/open-door-policy.html

for photos and the full review, visit http://thelittlemomentsofmylife.blogspot.sg/2013/11/the-best-ramen-in-singapore-ramen.html

i declare this the BEST RAMEN I'VE EVER EATEN. i'm usually not thaaat discerning when it comes to ramen - i usually like it because of the soup/charsiew, or i just find it alright, but this ramen...this ramen is different.

we started off by digging into this cold dish of bean sprouts. it comes on the side and you can help yourself to as much of it as you like! it's super refreshing and crunchy and we totally devoured half a bottle (it was quite a big bottle) among our whole table haha.i ABSOLUTELY L.O.V.E.D. my bowl of ramen. i do concede that it's not the most photogenic thing on earth (even just compared to the other two below) but i personally felt that it tasted the best! ^^ just a simple Tokyo Style Pork broth ramen with flavoured egg ($13) and it was da-bombz!!!! so so so good! the soup was so deliciously rich and full-bodied, and you could really taste the essences of the tonkotsu within this luscious soup. as i slurped it up, the flavours sloshed on my tongue and i went to ramen-heaven ^^ what really made this bowl of ramen so awesome was that everything in it was good!! a lot of ramen places tend to either do well in one aspect of the ramen, but fail in others, while Ramen Keisuke managed to achieve the sacred trinity of rich soup, bouncy noodles and well-executed ingredients. the cha shu was delightfully soft and the flavoured egg was done to perfection, producing a brilliant concoction that had me squealing with joy.

I found my cioccolata calda in singapore!!! ~ haha so happy! thought i'll never get to drink it again after leaving italy now i know where to get my cioccolata fix ;) hehe. la ristrettos is a really nice hidden find, tucked away amidst the maze of medical suites in novena medical centre. if not for the small lunch crowd, i would think that place is normally really really quiet and peaceful (: just look out the window and you'll see nothing but greenery, and more people just chillin'. nice ;) the perfect place for some me-time which i'd really needed during that period.

i think this is an italian-inspired cafe, not just because of the chocolate, but because lots of things on the menu are in their italian names 'ristretto' actually means 'restrained' or something like that, which means that you get an even more POWERFUL espresso shot, as it has less water in it. i'm not a coffee person, so i didn't try their espresso though.

i would say that their cioccolata calda ($6.50) was pretty well done! ^^ definitely has the thickness and creaminess similar to the italian version ;) the only thing was that it was rather erm..lumpy? haha not that it diminished my experience of drinking it. it was actually quite nice to melt the chocolate lumps in my mouth just wondering whether it was because they didn't stir it properly or what.i really like their options for all-day breakfast here! definitely one of the most original i've seen so far. getting a teeny bit bored of the normal full breakfasts and eggs benny (even though i still love it!!) that i'm seeing in every single brunch menu around. the menu here though, has none of those, and therefore appeals to me much more at this time ;) it's the kind of menu you'd probably find in italy (though this would probably be more like a lunch menu in italy, rather than breakfast), consisting mostly of sandwiches. BUT way better than italy ;) why? because there is real meat in it!!!!! score i loved my tostino e arrosto ($10) which was a toasted sourdough spread with garlic olive oil (which made the bread superrr tasty!), spinach, roast chicken breast, cherry tomatoes and ricotta cheese. the flavours of the spinach and cherry tomatoes were lovely, and they enhanced the mild taste of the chicken breast significantly when eaten together. the texture of the chicken was not too shabby, at least it wasn't overly dry, despite being roasted. wish there was more ricotta because it was merely a tiny dollop and i couldn't really taste it :/ sadly, a blooper came in the form of the salad! it was...sad to say, disgusting. ironically one of my friends said it was one of the best she'd ever eaten. maybe they didn't wash it for me it tasted really strongly of pesticide. which is awful. but i didn't touch it after a few mouths and thoroughly enjoyed the rest of my sandwich (:

overall, a very nice place to chill, with a very calm, zen-like feel. and i would come back for my italian hot chocolate ;)

For photos and more reviews, visit http://thelittlemomentsofmylife.blogspot.sg

i think the food here is only just okay! preferred what was served at penny. we got the game keeper's shooting breakfast ($17.50 if i rmb correctly) which sounded super amazing with a whole slew of ingredients such as eggs, bacon, english pork sausage, sauteed mushrooms and grilled tomatoes with toast. but it turned out to be a rather small plate of food! > haha this pic is not really a good representation (it actually looks not bad huh) cos it really looked quite disappointing taste wise, i suppose it was alright, but not really worthy of the rather high price tag imo.

On the other hand, i really like my lemon drizzle cake ($5.50)!! hehe. it was soft, fluffy yet dense enough, with a lovely lemon-y flavour ^^

My conclusion is that you should go to pennyuni for some proper food before heading to rabbit carrot gun for snacks ;) haha. btw, this place doesn't have any airconditioning, but we were there on a slightly rainy day and it was cooling enough! (:

For photos and also a review on Penny University, visit http://thelittlemomentsofmylife.blogspot.sg/2013/11/mini-cafe-hopping-in-east.html

for photos and also a review on Rabbit Carrot Gun, check out http://thelittlemomentsofmylife.blogspot.sg/2013/11/mini-cafe-hopping-in-east.html

we came here for brunch! (: and i like how their menu was pretty affordable (: was deciding between this and rabbit carrot gun (which is the other place we went to), but this seemed like the menu was more interesting. and it's definitely much more affordable too!!!! the most interesting of the lot were the turkish eggs ($8) and we added smoked salmon which was an additional $2. they totally didn't look like how i expected, because i thought it sounded similar to something from jones the grocer but looked nothing like it! anyway, this turned out to be a real surprise because i loved it! sam was...slightly less enthusiastic towards it but he thought it was not bad. personally, i really liked how the various flavours from the tangy-sourish yogurt and spicy Moroccan harissa sauce went together with the simple poached eggs and livened up the entire dish. i enjoyed dipping the sourdough toast into the yummy sauce to soak up the juices ^^

i waited an absurdly long time for my french toast ($8) to arrive, and the fact that we were in a rush didn't help at all. seems like the french toast takes an exceptionally long time to churn out? because another table had to wait really long for it as well. i don't understand why. anyway, these were not too bad! the toast wasn't very tasty on its own, but paired with the maple syrup, it was delicious of course ;) i think i still prefer savoury food!

my friend also ordered a shot of espresso ($3.50) which he declared to be not good at all because it was too acidic.

overall a very nice little cafe, with lots of delicious sweet treats on display as well! it didn't seem wise to order those though, because they were almost the same price as the brunch dishes we had ordered.