I was feeling really hungry one day and craving for gyoza, i decided to drop by Osaka Ohsho, the restaurant that claims to be the 'King of Gyoza in Osaka'.

I ordered the fried rice set that comes with 6 gyoza. My first bite into the gyoza convinced me that they do live up to their name. The dumpling skin was very thin and is crispy on the pan-fried side and soft on the other. The filling was very juicy with the vegetables and meat finely diced, allowing the texture and flavour to be very uniform and well-balance. I simply love it!Using premium pearl rice, the fried rice was also fabulous! The plump rice grains was well fried with fragrant egg and their Japanese Char Siew meat. Added with spring onions, this was a homely and simple dish that no doubt brings comfort and warmth.

I need more gyoza now!

During this Halloween season, Donq has introduced a few Halloween theme bread and buns to celebrate the occasion. I was particularly attracted to this bun that is shaped like a pumpkin. It was described as 'a green tea flavoured bread with pumpkin custard filling'. As i like both green tea and pumpkin, i quickly snapped up one for my tea break that day.The green tea flavour was just right without any hint of bitterness it it. It actually brought out the sweetness of the bun which was so soft and likable. However, i was pretty disappointed with the 'pumpkin custard'. Beside being rather stingy with the custard, the custard has no pumpkin taste nor colour at all. I am very sure it was just normal custard filling. The only comfort is that the custard is not too sweet and has a light vanilla fragrance. I really this is a one of incident to the misled description of their buns.

I dropped by during lunch time and there was a short queue outside the shop. Waited for about 15 minutes before i was ushered in. Rushing for time, i quickly ordered a glutinous rice with lotus leaf and a dumpling teochew style. The food was served rather fast as i believe they prepared the food beforehand since with the crowd, the selling rate will be no doubt high.I really like the glutinous rice! It is different from the usual ones i had elsewhere as the meat they use was chicken slices. They were really well-marinated with flavour. They were not stingy with the ingredients with plenty of meat, mushroom and chicken sausage wrapped in the rice. The rice was not too oily and has the right saltiness to it, though i was a bit disappointed that some part of the rice was mushy, some part well cooked, while some part was a bit hard. It would have been perfect if they can cook the right more evenly.Next, the teochew dumplings was also much better than those i have eaten elsewhere as the soft skin encloses a filling of crunchy diced turnip, minced meat, crunchy peanuts that are while marinated with a taste that is different from other competitors. I really like how crunchy and juicy the turnip were in the dumpling.

Fuss free and satisfying lunch.

I decide to try my luck at Tim Ho Wan in Toa Payoh as the branch at Plaza Singapura is always full, with people queuing outside for a taste of the Michelin Star dim sum. I reached there about 3pm on a weekday, and there was only 2 person in front of me. Within 5 minutes, i was ushered in, and i could see there were still many empty tables in the restaurant.

Their menu was short and simple. Below are the dim sum i ordered:

Signature/ Must-order Baked BBQ Pork Bun(S$4.50):The crispy crust on top of the soft bun is simply melt-in-your mouth! I feel that it is different from the common polo bun as this crispy crust has a good texture that just melts in the soft bun below when you bite into it. I love this crust! However, i felt that the char siew was on the plain sweet side without any charcoal taste that i like in char siew.

Deep Fried Dumpling with Salted Meat (S$3.80):I like this dumpling has a chewy glutinous skin that is deep fried for a crispy coating. It is similar to those chewy peanut balls with sesame coated outside, but this skin is much thinner and has a salty meat filling in it. Even though it was somewhat hollow, i felt that this ratio of dumpling skin to meat filling they have helps you to better appreciate the unique texture of the skin which is not oily at all. The more you chew on it, the sweeter and more flavourful it gets. I like it.

Tonic Medlar & Osmanthus Cake ($3.50):This is a refreshing dessert that has a strong osmanthus taste. I was pretty amused seeing it wobble on the plate when it was served. The ingredient in it was generous as each cube can be seen packed with wolfberry and osmanthus flower. If you are a fan of this 2 ingredient, do give it a try.

A good and satisfy tea. I will be back.:bowl:

I got to know of this Apple-Yuzu Cheesecake through an article online. It has helped a team of chefs from Singapore, led by pastry chef Ng Chee Leong from Orchard Hotel, in winning a Gold Medal at WA Oceanafest 2013 organized by the Australian Culinary Federation of Western Australia (ACFWA), one of Australia’s top culinary competitions.
With a combination of fruits that i like in my favourite cheesecake, plus an award tagged to it, how can i resist?

Thus, i head down to Orchard Hotel one afternoon in search of this 'legendary' cake. The cake definitely won my heart at first glance with it's bright colours and the dainty 'apple' (it looks and tasted like one but i am not sure what it is) on top. Though it is expensive being priced at $9++, i did not hesitate to buy it because i really want to know whether it lived up to its hype. This was the description of the cake in the display case: 'Refreshing sour of citrus (yuzu) layered with vanilla cheese mousse, almond meringue, hazelnut sable and green apple jelly'. The cake was really so soft that when i bought it back home, the weight of the small 'apple' on top has cause it to sink into the cheese mousse. A forkful of it reveals the wonderful complexity of the different taste and element, making it a very refreshing treat. I was glad that the almond meringue base remained crispy despite being under the mousse. The vanilla cheese mousse helps to balance the sourness of the yuzu mousse. The apple jelly has a texture close to gelee. Overall, i do recommend this cake even after a heavy meal as i feel that the citrus flavour can even cut out fullness!