->Mixed Platter

This small western food outlet,nestled in the midst of the famous Maxwell Food Centre,is very much personalised.

I ordered a grilled fish set($6), which is a generous portion of 2 pieces of freshly grilled fish with an addictive sauce and two sides. The grilled potato chunks and pasta salad are dependably good.The grilled potato chunks are seared with garlic butter on the spot and the pasta salad,though served cold,is yummy and springy.Additionally,I added one more side($1),which is the cold poached apple.A small portion of apple slices poached with homemade syrup.Strangely addictive,but the 3 slices seems really too little despite its affordable price.

Apart from the set,it is possible to get add-ons,which is usually listed on the salad menu( they offer a choose your ingredients version of salad too at $4.90).I had garlic prawns(around 7 pieces of pre-shelled prawns which they grill on the spot for you-very tasty).

On a separate visit,I had rosemary chicken breast($1) and cheese bratwurst($2.50) as add-ons. The chicken breast was mediocre and a tad too tough,but the german cheese sausage was sizeable and pretty much a wonderful comfort food.You can request for a drizzle of their signature sauces too-I had garlic mayonnaise to go with mine.

Really yummy and simple dishes.

Lunch at Food for Thought was yummy and the ambience was very laidback. Place was huge and airy, and you got to pay at the counter before getting your food.They seem to cater for particularly late risers-had all day breakfast on the menu and ordered a basic set of thick butter toast,scrambled eggs and crisp bacon at 3pm no less. Writing this makes me hungry at this hour,but pity all day breakfast doesn’t factor in the distance. Now interestingly,Botanic Gardens open all the way till 12MN,which is pretty much non-standard visiting hours.

Apart from the breakfast set,my friend ordered a trio of sliders-which is just a posh-sounding name for mini burgers. I believe there were pulled pork, crispy chicken fillet and a cheeseburger version,all too generously stuffed with vegetables. The sauces were pretty delicious,one of them slightly reminiscent of a tart thousand island(but no one could beat Hard Rock Cafe’s Blue Cheese sauce) but the fries weren’t too memorable.

Desserts seem to be on the expensive side- $7 for a slice of red velvet cake that look like they are out of Nyan Cat world but supposedly tasty according to past reviews. The raspberry buttered scones look particularly delicious, but I decided on getting a dark chocolate cake instead that was studded with dried raspberry. At $3, that was surprisingly cheap.I commented that it looked like a pile of shit, but that was pretty tasty shit,moist and crumbly at the edges. they had this donation box at the top of the water dispenser to help African kids,which was stuffed with two dollar notes. A commendable effort-maybe thats why they are called ‘Food for Thought’, because the other interpretation will be thinking about food,and I hardly ever do.No service charge,and prices on the menu were already inclusive of GST. Bill came up to be $31 for 2 persons, pretty reasonable prices.

We went to Marche at Vivocity instead for dinner and it was a pretty cool experience.The restaurant was swiss-themed and they have this card where you charge all your purchases to it and unlike Food for Thought you pay at the end of your meal. it resembled those food markets I visited in London,supposedly to give an image of fresh produce.I got a plain Rosti with sour cream and a mini mushroom cheese bun. They have an assortment of condiments, and the coriander butter,though artery clogging was really good.The pesto sauce looked like pureed brocolli but was surprising quite fragrant and delicious to dip my bread in.

I was yet again the least profitable customer at Marche. The plain rosti costed $6.20 while the bun was only $0.86. I was thirsty,but the drinks here are so painfully small.The juice of the day was Beetroot Lemonade and the sugar syrup must have worked wonders,because vege juice never tasted so good.My bill came up to be $11. I did notice that the set lunch,till 3pm,is ridiculously cheap,at only $8.90.Mushroom Cheese BunPlain RostiBeetroot LemonadeInterior-market style

Sushi Airways,as its name suggests,is an aviation themed Japanese restaurant and the design concept is brilliant-from the metal stairways to the ‘air stewardess’ to the luggage compartment thats chock full of liquor (sneaky airline!).The set lunch is pretty substantial and affordable-a main course,sesame salad and free flow of miso soup,rice and green tea for just $15.And a cute little scoop of royal tea ice cream on the house.

It was a pleasant surprise to NOT taste plasticky food-always expected of kitschy themed concepts. My pan-seared teriyaki salmon was unami heaven-it was coated in a caramelish glaze (Mmm,Tom’s Palette salted caramel ice cream) and the skin was perfect.Ikea will weep in jealousy. I’m never a fan of sushi rice and that’s maybe because all my sushi comes from supermarkets-but the rice here is really bouncy and fragrant-more so with the generous sprinkle of sesame seeds on top. Miso soup was expectedly salty (I can’t imagine anyone handling a refill without getting treated in the hospital for salt overdose) but definitely tastes better than the one at Yoshinoya (That’s my only encounter with Miso Soup unfortunately).Fishing the rare cubes of tofu and slivers of seaweed was agonising and rewarding at the same time.
\I didn’t get to try the fruit soda,which was at the lunch pricing of $2.99(u.p $6) because I was downing so much green tea.No sugar and very fragrant. MACHA BLISS. Didn’t expect the set lunch to include dessert, but hey,dessert came in the form of a scoop of royal tea ice cream. Tastes like Earl Grey sorbet,studded with tea leaves. Yummy.

To complete the airline concept- their name card is fashioned in the form of a boarding pass. For early reservations.they even print your name on the ‘boarding pass’ which makes the flight experience even more authentic.InteriorViewCabbage salad with sesame dressing was really goodChirashiMiso SoupSalmon TeriyakiClose up shot of Salmon Teriyaki-the glaze was highly addictiveRoyal tea ice cream

I was initially deterred by the remote location, but found out that it is only a short ride from Novena MRT by taking either bus 24 or 131. The whitewashed interior and sofa seating gives it a very laidback and intimate vibe.However,the seating is rather limited,but the excellent service more than makes up for it.I had the $10 set meal which was on offer on streetdeal.sg. This comes with a main,a soup and a drink.I chose a pot of lemon tea for my drink,which turned out to be very fragrant and soothing. A good palate cleanser.The server recommended me the beef lasagna($11.90,ala-carte), and it was pure comfort food-fresh minced beef with chunky tomato sauce amidst pasta sheets slathered in cheese.The rosemary chicken($11.90,ala-carte) was also memorable and came in a sizeable portion.Tender chicken with salad and garden vegetables (awesome grilled potato chunks) as sides.They ran out of mushroom soup($3.90,ala-carte), but the waitress was nice enough to offer a tasty replacement- a row of 8 winglets with the special Wombats (tomato herb) sauce($7.90,ala-carte). A healthier option than fried chicken wings because this version is lightly grilled,retaining its juicy texture.The Wombats sauce was rather addictive,with a tart tomato taste.The cafe's exterior was very warm and welcoming, with a hipster charm and quirky decor.