Holland Village is my regular haunt if I do not feel like going far in search of a meal.

I have always patronised the Food Centre not because it is known for good food, but because it is convenient and affordable. In fact, I think the stallholders here do not need to make a particular effort to up their cooking skills as there is a large number of expatriates who do not know whether there is 'wok hei' in their sweet & sour fish.

Despite a lack of outstanding food stalls, I chanced upon the Bittergourd Fish Soup at Da Hua Food stall.

The soup came with a generous amount of bittergourd and carrots, and a decent number of Toman fish slices. They added beaten egg into their soup and this made it texturally interesting and the overall taste was quite good. It also looked quite 'homemade' to have the egg strands floating around

YES!!! Another Japanese bakery which bakes lovely little bread and buns.

This is one of my favourite 'commercial' loaf of bread. Four Leaves is very generous with the cranberries which lends a sweet and slightly tangy taste to the soft buttery bread.

It is excellent with fresh organic butter and makes a wonderful breakfast or snack item

The strange thing is that they do not sell a whole loaf of it, you have to buy 2 halves to make it up. Neverhteless, I will buy four packets in one go to freeze at home so I will have a ready supply when the craving strikes

I always seem to gravitate towards Italian cuisine for it's hearty fare and substantial carbo fix, and it was to Rubato that my family decided to have a simple birthday dinner for my daughter.The resturant is nestled in a row of shophouses in the Clover Way/Jalan Pemimpin private residential and industrial area. So it does feel kind of strange as you drive past flatted factories and warehouses before arriving at the resturant.

The restaurant had a cosy, modern feel with both indoor and outdoor dining areas. We chose to sit indoors because of the heat and the haze. However, the comfort of being indoors did not make up for the patchy service.

They were kind enough to let us be seated though we arrived early before opening time. It took a while for them to serve us water and bread even when it was past the opening time. When we wanted some soup because one of our family members was starting to experience gastric pains, they said they could not serve as the chef had not arrived! Surely, the soup is already made and heating up in the kitchen and the junior chef or kitchen assistant could easily dish it up! They then offered bread to start and the soup also came shortly after. I think they saw the logic that they do not need the chef for that bowl of soup!

I do not have a picture of the Soup with Organic Field Mushrooms but it smelt good with truffle oil. Unfortunately, the aftertaste was slightly bitter, and needed some getting used to.The Charcoal Grilled Squid was slightly overdone and thus a bit chewy but the smoky taste and freshness of the squid made up for it.Ummm, the Spaghetti Vongole was lovely with very fresh and juicy clams. The gravy was also thick and tasted of the sea but not overpowering.I found the Gnocchi too cheesy and heavy but my daughter liked it.The cream sauce on the Spaghetti Carbonara was too thick and they were very generous with the bacon which made the smell and taste of the pork overpowering.Rubato will get its wait staff serve the Birthday boy/girl a dessert on the house with the birthday song.

My daughter waited 2 hours for her birthday treat to be served but was well reward by a flavourful panna cotta with a generous serving of caramel syrup.

I really, Really, REALLY don't know how the Japanese does it. They have perfected the art of commercial Confectionery and Patiserrie like no other.

Kudos to Tampopo for coming up with this delightful Tea-Time cake.

The sponge is so airy that you are almost biting next to nothing and the cream they piped into the centre of the sponge is so Fresh and Light, it does not make you feel too guilty about having a second, or a third cake at one go!

They have succeeded in their intention to get customers to eat more than a piece., because my husband went and bought 10 pieces!

Aaahhh.....My mouth is watering as I am writing this review
This is one of the Best and Freshest bun shop EVER!

The Empress Road branch, which I am reviewing here, opens as early as 6am to feed the hungry bellies of the breakfast crowd of workers and students with their freshly baked goodies. And if you are not an early worm, you may not catch these wonderful creations as the stall closes by 11.30am.

All the buns are about 60-80cents depending on filling and they are seriously pillowy soft.
If you happen to catch the Butter Buns fresh out of the oven, you can taste the cube of butter melting into your mouth as you bite through the bun and the slight saltiness of it juxtaposes nicely with the sugar sprinkled on top of the bun.

My children loves the Kaya and Cheese buns for the generous fillings in them. My friend's son say that the Chicken Floss buns are the best he has ever tried. The Banana Custard bun has fresh banana in it with a mildly sweet custard but is not always available. I tried the mini Chocolate Muffins and they were a chocoholic's delight with an intense chocolate flavour. Everything here is worth trying!They also have seasonal goodies like the cookies during Chinese New Year and Hot Cross Buns during Easter.

Though they call themselves 'The Fresh Bread Shop', there are no bread loaves/slices for sale...

It helps that I have the owner's mobile on speed-dial as I can easily reserve 4 boxes of 10 pcs to feed my hungry hordes at home