For photos, please visit Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow: http://rubbisheatrubbishgrow.wordpress.com/2011/12/26/3-inch-sin-millenia-walk/

When I was there, waiting for Jasper Aston Lim and Melissa Koh, the aroma from the oven, the freshly baked scent, was killing me. I MUST EAT NOW. The thought of robbing the cakes crossed my mind.

Decor: The place has a L-shaped sitting area with a bar table at the back. While the focus here is on the food, the decor could be improved, maybe have a theme

The shop specializes in molten chocolate cakes ($6.50 for non-alcoholic, $7.50 for alcoholic). Celine, 1/2 of the owners, left her cushy job to pursue her passion. Very courageous and admirable. She was trained at Cordon Bleu and interpreted the cakes with molten middles in souffle cups. She uses 70% valrhona dark chocolate.

There are 11 flavors and we tried Original, Peanut Butter, White Chocolate, Bitter Orange, Raspberry, Lemon, Cherries Jubilee and Hazelnut. We all had our favorites but strangely no one picked the Original as his or her favorites.

Jasper’s favorite is raspberry and Melissa’s is white chocolate. However, raspberry,white chocolate, bitter orange and hazelnut didn’t work for me because the favors didn’t come through. This is partly because the flavors are concentrated in the center and I ate from the side (my bad). When I feedback-ed that the favors could be stronger, Celine explained that it may affect the overall taste. She knows her stuff. Don’t play play.I strongly recommend Peanut Butter, Lemon and Cherries Jubilee. Peanut butter is ALWAYS awesome, especially with chocolate; this was thick and chunky–like how I like my men to be. The Lemon was a huge surprise. Lemon and chocolate Who would have thought But the cake wasn’t sour, it was mildly sweet. There was a strong citrus fragrance, very refreshing. Perks you up from your afternoon lethargy. The alcoholicCherries Jubilee came with whole cherries. There was a subtle cherry-sweetness that pervaded the entire cake and the bitterness from the alcohol added another dimension to the cake.

In general, the cakes are (1) the texture was crispy on the top, but soft inside. And in the mouth, the cake felt very smooth. (2) they are not overly sweet. In fact, they are only mildly sweet, so the focus is on the quality of the chocolate.

The cakes are available for take-away. Just warm it up in the microwave for 15-20 seconds.

New to the menu are cakes, tarts and ice creams.

The ice creams ($3.50) are customized to be less sweet so that they could go well with the cakes. There are seasonal favors so ask for them. In general, vanilla ice cream goes well with chocolate molten cakes.

Mogador ($7) is a chocolate cake with dark chocolate mousse and chocolate sponge, glazed with–not chocolate!–raspberry. Most SIngaporeans, including me, have a predilection for airy Japanese cakes. The cakes from Celine–trained at Cordon Bleu–are more European. It was light but chocolate cakes in general couldn’t be as light as Japanese cakes. It tasted a bit like seaweed to me! Another friend tasted it too. I thought it was quite unique, surprising and fun.

Perhaps there was an overdose of chocolate, so I cannot really taste the chocolateness in the Dark Side ($6), a chocolate tart.

Overall, I’d still stick to the molten chocolate cakes, one of the best I’ve tasted, a scoop of ice cream, a cup of hot tea and a book on a lazy afternoon. Hey, if my hero Brad LadyIronChef Lau declares it’s the best molten chocolate cake in Singapore, it is the best in Singapore ok!

For photos, please visit Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow: http://rubbisheatrubbishgrow.wordpress.com/2011/12/21/tatsu-teppanyaki-chijmes/

I’m super cheapskate. If you eat teppanyaki at food court, it can cost up to $20. Seriously Food court The set lunch here only cost $19 (including GST)! It includes salad , fried rice, miso, choice of salmon or prawns or chicken, bean sprouts, and fruits.

The Japanese-styled decor is a long bar-table with the teppanyaki chef, instead of bartender. It’s a little cramp but we were here for the food.The salad, miso soup and fruits were ok. But everything was AWESOME. Look at the fried rice. Every grain was coated by egg. It was not too dry, not too wet, not at all oily. A little peppery for me, but what the heck. It was tasty.

I picked salmon and Saliva picked prawns. The chef asked if we wanted to share, we said ok. And the chef automatically split the portions up, so we don’t eat from the same bowl. Plus points of being considerate!

The salmon was simmered in an aluminum “boat” on the teppan (or hot iron griddle) in an egg sauce and with a bit of sake, I think. It looked very gooey and ugly but tasted awesome. The prawns came with mayonnaise, which suited Saliva’s taste.

Most dishes came with a huge topping of fried garlic. Not so good for first dates, but, as Saliva said, “Who doesn’t like garlic” I know who, Edward from Twilight Vampires, avoid this place.

The dishes were cooked right in front of you, with the chef doing some kungfu stance. Very entertaining.

Good service, topped up the green tea often.

All in all, an intimate atmosphere with great food, value-for-money and good service.

For more photos, please visit Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow: http://rubbisheatrubbishgrow.wordpress.com/2011/10/21/hui-wei-chinese-thai-cuisine-回味中泰小廚-lavender-little-india/

This new stall at a usual coffeeshop is going to be featured on 煮炒来啰 (Sizzling Wok)–the TV show Pornsak is hosting–so we, kiasu Singaporeans and one PRC, just had had had to be the first to go there before it gets super crowded! I read a food blogger’s entry on the stall and she didn’t seem to be very enthusiastic about the food. But wow! the food was good! and quickly cheered me up! So warm for the tummy tum tum on a cool day!

The stall, situated in an old kopitiam, with lots of old uncles around–old neighbourhood mah, me ah beng like the atmosphere! so comfortable, can chew with mouth open—is near Lavender MRT and Jalan Besar Stadium, which kinda reminded me of 14K because he works nearby. :~( My emo tear.

The first dish was “美人鱼” eggplant or mermaid eggplant ($7). I know it doesn’t look 美 (pretty) right? BUT you’ll be blown away by the taste! Hookerlily’s favorite dish – so addictive! It reminded me a bit of honey lemon fried fish, but it was more sweet with just a very small tinge of sourish. It retained its crispiness throughout our meal and as crispy as potato chips. There was an aftertaste of dried chili in the mouth so you just feel like putting another piece in..and another piece…and another. It would go so well with beer! If only I drink. Ah Beng who don’t drink beer=#fail.

Boss told us that this is one of the three dishes he and the chef created themselves for the tv show 创意料理 (Creative Cooking). He didn’t say if they won, but if they didn’t win, then the winning team can be Michelin restaurant already.The second dish the chef and he created is Signature Fish Head ($15). Look at the humongous size of the fish head! For $15 only! I felt like we were robbing the stall. This was Chiobu’s favorite. She said the flesh was very tender and the sauce! OMG. It was so unique, this is the only place you can eat such a sauce. We asked the boss what sauce it was–so delicious and appetizing–he said it was blended vegetables with celery as the main ingredient. Chiobu said, “DON’T BLUFF ME! I’m chio, not stupid! Where got celery inside??”

I know some people dislike the taste of celery but do you know it takes more energy to disgest celery than the celery contains itself? and it fights cancer, high blood pressure AND bad breath! If all these reasons don’t convince you to eat celery, then this sauce will. It didn’t taste like celery at all. It had ZERO vegetable taste and was slightly limey, very slightly spicy, slightly sweet with just a very, very mild bitterness that most people won’t notice. It’s 酸甜苦辣 all in it! It’s like life! A very good way for difficult children to eat their vegetables. My whole collar of my t-shirt is wet as I am writing this entry because my saliva is dripping. Yummilicious!

Thai Styled fried cuttlefish ($7) on the menu… or calamari! After the two awesome dishes, Chiobu and Hookerlily were, “eh… so-so nia.” I kept quiet. Then they turned to look at me and I looked down at the table. They said, “Don’t tell me you like this dish!!!” Peer pressure leh! How to respond?

I’ll give you reasons why I like it. Thick flesh, little flour, not oily at all. And the accompanying sauce–which tasted like Indian rojak chili sauce–was hot. Come on! Which stall will actually cook a fresh batch of sauce for you??? How considerate was that! I agree that the squid by itself was a little bland, but it was a good contrast to the very flavorful first two dishes. It was really not bad, and in fact, it’s better than most mid-range restaurants, and Hookerlily agreed that it was better than Merry Men, a place she loves.

Chiobu suggested they should serve it with mayonnaise. Actually, it would be awesome if they can create a tom yum mayonnaise.

Fujian mian, or Hokkien noodles ($3). This was our least favorite–but then again, I never like Hokkien noodles. To us, it lacked salt (but 8 out of 10 Singaporeans eat too much salt so it’s good for us it’s not salty). But Mao Mao absolutely loved it. He said, “Mao Mao xi huan!!! (likes) Veri smell lice (fragrant) andz got many zhu you zha (lard).”

we voted and decided to give this stall a high rating. The food was fantastic. Even now 6 hours after eating, my tummy feels so cozy and warm, like snuggling under the blanket on a cold day.

For more photos, please visit Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow: http://rubbisheatrubbishgrow.wordpress.com/2011/12/16/mellvin-seafood-restaurant-龙记海鲜螃蟹王-joo-chiat/

Joo Chiat is fast becoming the next Geylang. You know what red-light districts bring? AWESOME food. The second thing Joo Chiat is known for is quaint little boutique cafes and so we went to a cze char (煮炒, or cook-fry) coffeeshop. Naturally.

On a Friday night, the entire world was at Joo Chiat. So haps! There are a public carpark opposite the coffeeshop and legal parallel parking along the road but too few lots. Don’t illegal park; this is notorious summon area. You canpark at 112 Katong (newly opened) and walk down. But Iparked my lorry at Waraku, just beside 112 Katong because the car queue at 112 was ridiculous and this little princess doesn’t wait for anything. The good thing about parking a distance away is you can exercise before and after the meal. That’s how I maintain my hourglass figure.

Because of the bad traffic, by the time The Ex, Hookerlily, Mao Mao and I (Wise Guy) gathered, we were famished and could eat a shark, which we did.

XO Vegetables (XO小菜 $8). The manager told us that the chef ate this dish in Malaysia and brought it to Singapore. The Ex exclaimed, “Woah, so 厉害, so sharp, eat once only can replicate it.” It is quite similar to tempura: the vegetables–eggplant, ladyfingers, string beans and petai (stink beans or 臭豆)–are deep-fried before they are stir-fried with 美人鱼 (mermaid or plus-size ikan bilis/anchovies), dry scallop shreds, belachan (chili shrimp paste), and a tinge of tomato sauce.

Wise Guy found it unique, original and brave because many Chinese-Singaporeans don’t like to eat gooey vegetables–eggplant and ladyfingers–and this dish features both. However, because of the way the vegetables were cooked, the eggplant and ladyfingers were not at all gooey. Very smart. But Wise Guy thought the absorbent eggplant–who needs tampon?–was oily and The Ex suggested that it would be better if the eggplant were sliced thinner. Old Skool Mao Mao, however, said, “毛毛非常喜欢.” The reason Hookerlily and Mao Mao liked it is because the dish possessed a verykampong, homely feel and at the same time, complex. The flavors bounced off each other very well: the sweetness from the dry scallop, the spiciness from the belachan, and the earthliness of the vegetables. Hookerlily said the ladyfingers were perfect. While The Ex and I believed this dish was pleasing, Mao Mao and Hookerlily declared this was a “must-have.”

The Tofu Salad (沙拉豆腐 $10) is made of deep-fried home-made tofu, consisting of seafood paste and carrots, on top of green apple mayo salad on a cabbage leaf. While we appreciated how the shop tries to be innovative, Mao Mao preferred it to be hot, as hot as Wise Guy (very difficult); The Ex opined the green apple soured the dish; Wise Guy thought that the excess mayonnaise–both on the tofu and in the salad–is an overkill. Hookerlily was traumatized by mayonnaise in general because her mother pronounced it as bayonnaise.

The manager was apprehensive to introduce the Shark Head Cartilage Casserole to us because she said, “Young people cannot really appreciate the dish.” WOW, flattery gets her everywhere. Bring on the shark!

The thick gravy was still bubbling as it arrived. The fragrance was OMG mentally-torturing me as I controlled myself to take the photo.

Mao Mao: Hookerlily, you must eat more of this, full of collagen.
Wise Guy: What are you trying to imply, Mao Mao?
Yes! Shit-stirring scored!

Anyway, back to the dish. It was AWESOME. It reminded me of 盆菜, a casserole dish of seafood delicacies, a “must-have” during Chinese New Year. Obviously, this dish was slightly less sweet than 盆菜, having only shark cartilage. The nature of jelly cartilage had a slightly bitter taste, perceptible only to extremely sensitive tastebuds. But the way the dish was cooked, with the sauce penetrating deeply into the cartilage, made the cartilage so delicious. You must put the gravy over rice. Very, very savory. This dish is a winner, and we four all loved it.

We were confused over Prawn-paste Sea Cucumber (海参虾米 $15). The prawn paste, consisting of 虾米 (dried shrimps), minced pork and minced lard, is usually fried with string beans. Sea cucumber by itself has no taste and absorbs whatever sauce it’s cooked in. So, this sea cucumber dish tasted salty, spicy, porky and lardy. The conservative Ex didn’t like this radical dish. Mao Mao likes lard, so he liked this. Wise Guy was confused: at first he thought sea cucumber should taste more oceany, then he thought he shouldn’t be so inveterate and the dish was rather savory, addictive and the spicy (from small chili) and saltiness went very well with rice and then he vacillated between the two opinions he had. He obviously needs to see a shrink.Showstopper Curry Crab Bee Hoon. The manager said that people always order the shop’s two specialities, curry fish head and claypot crab clear broth bee hoon. The patrons would extract the bee hoon from the clear broth and add the curry over the bee hoon. The manager discussed it with the chef and ta-da! the 2-in-1 dish is born.

The best way to eat is to eat the crab first and let the bee hoon absorb the curry. Unlike other noodles, the thick bee hoon is a good choice because it won’t become soggy so it’s ok for it to soak.

The crab was amazingly sweet and fresh. After letting the bee hoon simmer in the pot, it got more and more delicious towards the end as the curry infused into the beehoon. The curry was rather spicy and had a kick. It was also very, very lip-smacking; you can taste the spices of lemongrass and curry leaves and the sweetness of the crab even in the heat of the curry. By the bottom of the cauldron, we were converts and all lovin’ it. This dish gets four out of four votes for a “must-have.”

The coffeeshop brews barley, lemon tea and lime juice with sour plum, the last of which goes well with curry.

There are places so competitive that if your food is not good, your shop will close in three months. Chinatown for one. Old Airport market, another. Joo Chiat is another place I can think of. On the outside, Mellvin looks like your average rundown coffeeshop. But the food aims to be innovative and the chef can whip up a wide range of food, each tasting different but equally delicious. We’d like to thank the friendly manager for her hospitality and her stories on how they concocted the food.

For more awesome photos, please visit: http://rubbisheatrubbishgrow.wordpress.com/2011/11/14/rakuzen-tampines/

Decor: Light wood is a material that I detest because it looks cheap BUT this restaurant, predominantly in light wood with dim lights, looks elegant and sleek – a Japanese interior designer crafted it. Design is so important. That’s why lah, clean-cut and classy. There are private rooms available with a minimum spending of $200 for lunch and $300 for dinner.

Many ingredients are flown directly from Japan twice a week, bypassing the middlemen or women, so the fresh food can be sold to us at a relatively low price. Special mention: brown rice is flown in and is milled into white rice at Rakuzen so they can control the quality. (Interesting fact: there are only 4 milling machines in Singapore. The other three are owned by Isetan, another Japanese establishment!) You know lah, I’m very hiao, need to watch my hourglass figure, so I always order brown rice wherever it is available. I tasted so many varieties of brown rice but Rakuzen’s was totally different from other places. It felt very clean and had a bite. One of the best brown rice I had.

We had a few appetizers including himatsubishi (fried burdock root, $5), Ehire (grilled stingray fin $8), grilled corn with butter ($5), and Mame Aji Tsumami (fried small horse mackerel (pictured), $8). The ladies seemed to be taken by the grilled stingray fin with mayo, quite unique and chewy like dried cuttlefish, while I preferred the fried small horse mackerel – got meat lah, tasted like shishamo (pregnant fish) without the roe. While they were addictive and go very well with beer, my advice is skip the appetizers. Save your stomach for the awesome mains!!You see now why I titled this “May the force be with you!!” It’s a Jedi’s lightsaber! The raw Fire Mackerel ($16) is marinated in rice wine vinegar and wrapped in seaweed for at least two hours. The searing, done at the table, melts the fats and gives the skin a crisp. Because it’s soaked in vinegar, it has a sourish tangy. Dip it in ponzu (a citrus soya sauce), it’s fruity sour-salty VS vinegar sour with the sweetness of the fish. Very shiok and appetizing. I thought this can definitely be an appetizer. However, perhaps the lightsaber was too powderful, and the flesh was cooked. I’d prefer a rawer and caveman-ish taste.Return of the Jedi. I LOVE THIS! The moeyo beef roll ($18) has seared tenderloin on the outside, and fresh avocado and tempura batter bits inside. This is contemporary Japanese food at its best. The crunchy sweet tempura bits, the creamy avocado and the textured beef – awesome combination. There were 5 of us, 6 pieces—and I secretly took the extra piece. HEE HEE HEE. I was so smooth, like a thief in the night.

Okonomiyaki ($10), or Japanese pizza. I never like okonomiyaki much because it is often too starchy and heavy but this one was marvelous! You can taste the egg in the mixture. There are japanese yam, cabbage, carrots and mushroom in the mixture so each mouth is sweet, crunchy and savory. It is topped with mayo, okonomiyaki sauce and sakuri ebi or better known as hae bee (dried shirmps). Mouthwatering delicious.

For a long time I avoided eating sushi in Singapore because honestly, the chefs aren’t preparing sushi in the right way. The correct way is that the sushi itself should already be balanced–it should already have soy sauce and wasabi WITHIN the sushi so the customers don’t dip it in sauce or wasabi; the customers just eat it straight. So I was VERY, VERY impressed with the sushi. All the four sushi (ranging from $4-$8 per piece) actually came in a balance–you don’t have to dip it in any sauce or wasabi. The seared tuna belly (first in the photo), for example, had grains of salt on it, and wasabi beneath it, and with the vinegary rice—ready to eat! The Japanese chef–yes, he’s from Japan–is bringing balance to the force! The sushi, good as they were, need some tweaking to really bring out the flavors. But I was already astounded to find such quality sushi. So yes, the sushi at Rakuzen is awesome, without a doubt. I’ll come back for more.

Vegetarian set meal available.

Verdict: I came with very low expectations–neighborhood restaurants can be nice meh? Some more, it’s so affordable. But all the main courses were outstanding and blew me away. Tampinites – you’re in luck! Can go gym already, then come over to feast. Highly recommended.