A newly set up western food stall lays inconspicuously in the corner of a popular eating mini food centre at Harbourfront Centre.

No prizes, but are you able to spot their shop?What really caught my eye at first was the unusual display of their condiments for customers: Jamie Oliver branded black pepper, red hot chilli pepper and mediterranean sea salt grinds! Oh my oh my. How very special of a western food food stall to use these condiments.That spiked my interest and I asked one of the staffs why they decided to use these condiments. He shared that it is used only for pastas and for some, on their salmon dishes. He stressed, however, that his dishes focus on having the right flavour in the gravy used, I agreed. And I love gravy, what more for chicken chop dishes, which are its main highlight, at least for me.So, I decided to try out one of their signature dishes today, the honey garlic chicken chop ($6.50)! I didn't have to wait too long. The dish was served in less than 4 minutes. Each dish also has 2 complimentary sides, and the portion looked substantial too.

I got the french fries and a cold pasta salad.Looking at the dish, it was interesting how they used cajun spices for the flavouring of the fries too. It was a creative touch overall, but I was slightly disappointed when part of the fries already became soggy. I just wished that they had paid more attention to their fries, which would have added more points to their ratings.The pasta salad tasted light and delectable, and I did not have any gripe over it. The chicken was tender and there were not much fat on the skin. I liked the honey garlic sauce as it was well done, and a light hint of garlic is apparent, without it overpowering the senses.

I do think they have earned their stripes for a well cooked gravy, and the tender meat. But the side dishes play an important part and I would recommend that they also pay more attention to it, and it'll exceed expectations even more.

Lunch menus are available here too:Their menu:

PJ and I went to check out a mini cupcake dessert shop at The Central over the weekend! Actually, it was more like we were around the area, and we decided to go for some dessert after having fun at the Purple Parade, which was held in the nearby Hong Lim Park.

We headed over to the directory and we picked the 'cafe' with the cutest sounding name (haha.)

We also saw some cute angels who were doing some promotion for The Central Mall and we liked The Central's facebook page in exchange for lollipops! Whee~ we also got them to strike an angelic pose for us. Lol.Now, time to head over to Little House of Dreams!When we got there, we almost thought that we were kind of in the wrong place because a cupcake workshop was in session. I had to ask the staff before they directed me in. When I was seated there, I notice alot of people do come by the shop to buy takeaways for their cupcakes.

Cupcake workshop in session!The shop has a really small shopfront, and is tucked away right at a corner of the basement level.

Another reason for my misunderstanding on the location is actually because I didn't notice any beverage machines, hence, I don't think it'll really be right to call this a cafe.

Some of the surroundings: Cold, instant beverages available for sale here.I love this little corner of cuteness!I asked them for recommendations, and ordered the most popular 2 items: Red Velvet Cupcake (Regular Sized, $3.50) and the Rainbow Cake Jar ($7).

The cake jar was really cute!When unraveled: It was really pretty! 3 layers of cream in between each layer of cake, though. A point to note for those on diet. After some digging...All gone~Nothing to shout about their red velvet cupcakes, while it was on the higher than average side for me. I did enjoy the rainbow cake jar, probably the colour perked my spirits up!

Feeling satisfied with desserts!FYI... there are 2 sizes for the cupcakes, mini ones ($1.50 each) and regular sized ones ($3.50 each). Obviously, the regular sized ones are more worth it as it's more than double the size. There's so many 'Celebrate' and '2' tags on the cupcakes as the shop was just celebrating their 2 year anniversary! Pretty cupcake colours~I also asked them if they sell tea, as they didn't display the menu. They only have these 2 teas, so I just got it - Riesling Tea ($4) and the Lover's Rose Tea ($4). I would prefer the Riesling Tea as opposed to the Lover's Rose.

Lover's Rose tastes a little sour, could be because the tea bag had also been soaked in the water for too long. The Riesling Tea was light on the palate and went well with the cream rich cupcakes. I would recommend the Riesling Tea to go with the cupcakes. There were traces of Jasmine and White tea leaves in it if I'm not wrong.

Riesling Tea:Lover's Rose Tea:Overall, it was a neat find and I enjoyed the cake jar best! Little House of Dreams @ The Central

Location: 6 Eu Tong Sen Street, The Central #B1-27E, Singapore 059817

Tel: 6222-2972

Ratings: 6.5 / 10

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A friend recently brought me to a Szechuan eatery, tucked away in quiet Sultan Gate road, called Chuan Guo Yan Yi 川国演义. Yes, you're right! It is named in close connection to a popular historical novel, Romance of the 3 Kingdoms (三国演义).First up, she ordered their Water Chestnut drink, 马蹄露 ($4). This Chestnut drink is special, in the sense that they actually put in carrots, corn and sticks of bamboo shoots. That's right! The taste of the water chestnut drink has also absorbed the flavours of the carrots and corn, and made it really a tasty drink.We had the Pan fried pork 家乡小炒肉 (9.80) next, which is a really tasty addition to the table. It's not that I don't like the taste, but I will not be raving about it as it is pretty average to me.Stir Fried French Bean 干煽四季豆 (8.80) was done nicely, and the french beans were crunchy and addictive to munch on! I loved this dish. It was quite spicy as it was fried with chilli padi.Now... who wants some frog? Chuan Guo Yan Yi serves up a spicy, smooth stew - the Bullfrog Sour Soup 酸汤田鸡 (26.80), which really whips up an appetite! This dish is really the highlight of the hot hot night.Can you see the amount of chilli in there? Let me just take a small scoop for you to see. Frog leg, stewed with red and green chilli! Very peppery and spicy.For those who can't really take peppery or too spicy foods, you can ask them to ease up with the chilli, before ordering this dish.The frog legs were cooked really well, meat was tender! This is their signature sour soup, and I do recommend it. It will work up a storm in your stomach later on. :SThere are also some enoki mushrooms in there.

Ta-dah! Our dishes for the night:I would recommend a bowl of rice 米饭 to go with the about spicy dishes, which is about $0.80 a bowl.

Eatery shots:

Over at the stretch of restaurants that ply along Cheong Chin Nam road in Bukit Timah, lies a well decorated restrobar, which specialises in steaks.This place would be a nice dating location as it felt private and there weren't too many indoor seats which could make the location to noisy to get to know your friend or dating partner, perhaps?

Let me bring you through the surroundings!

Indoor Decor: I have picked my favourite corner to chillax!A well-decorated outdoor area:Mojito ($14) and my friend, Dodo bird's drink: Lime Soda ($3)

*Laughs at her for ordering a kid's drink*

The mojito tasted slightly thin, I would have preferred it to be thicker.

First up: the appetiser - prawn cocktail ($13)A light start to the palate, we had the blanched fresh prawns sitting in a cocktail glass with some vegetable garnish and a slice of lemon.

I would suggest you eat it with the lemon zest for an extra punch, and remember to dip it into the cocktail sauce that came together with the glass. Cheers to seafood! For the mains, we had the Delicieux Duck Breast ($25). With a light truffle mushroom cream drizzled on top of the tender, pan seared duck meat, things took a delightful turn on the tastebuds! Check out the tender within!I also liked the oven baked baby potatoes, as it was made to perfection, with a slight crisp side on the edges. We also ordered the specialty dish of Stirling: its steaks.

I had the Ribeye Charcoal Grilled Steaks. There are 2 types of cuts - the Gentleman's cut (300g, $38) and the Lady's cut (200g, $29). I, of course, took the lady's cut, done medium rare. While the waiting time for this dish took a while, as its ingredients were freshly prepared.

The signature main was served with the signature steak, with a knob of avocado butter, truffle fries and sauteed mixed vegetables. The portion was just nice and while the dish presentation did not amaze me, the taste of the steak did manage to exceed my expectations!

The doneness of the steak and tenderness of the meat can be a test of the chef's skills, and Stirling's chef passed it with flying colours.

Of course he would, because their chef, Chef Collin, had trained under one of the best chefs in a Michelin One Star restaurant, under the Les Amis Group, before he joined Stirling!For Stirling's steak, I'm very glad that the meat was done to perfection, just the way I wanted it.

These were so addictive! The salted truffle fries were super nice, and they did not go truffle-overboard. It was done nicely, and it was crispy and fresh out of the frying pan, with a lovely hint of truffle. With that, it was finally dessert time!

I have just two words to summarise the desserts: Simply delicious!

To be honest, I'm more of a berry person than a chocolate person. This Mixed Berry Crepe ($9), was a really nice finish to a heavy meal, as the mixed berries puree had helped refresh my palate for the night. The puree is made with strawberries, raspberries and blue berries! Talk about having a berry overload.The crepes were also well done, and it was a delight to have together with the puree and vanilla ice cream.For the dessert champion, we had the Muddy Mud Pie ($8)! When this dessert was served, Dodo bird and my reaction were like, "OMGosh?!"

This dessert will kick you into Oreo chocolate sensory overdrive as it is packed with thick layers of vanilla ice cream, marshmallows, chocolate sauce and oreo cookies, and finally topped with strawberries!I kid you not, within the layers of this Mud Pie madness, there's 2-3 whole Oreo cookies layered in it!

It was so sinful but really chocolately delicious! Dodo bird could not stop munching on this.

*Have to stop eating this! Never mind, maybe a little later.*We had enjoyed the entire experience and found the dishes to be worthy of its price tag.

Here, would like to give thanks to Elwyn for the invitation to Stirling, and Chef Collin, for the lovely meal.

This is an invited media tasting session.

Here we go - another cafe review! Recently I have been checking out quite a bit of food and coffee places, and really enjoying that!Today I'm at St. Marc Cafe, in Harbourfront. Don't let the name of this cafe fool you, it's totally Japanese!

Here, they specialise in their desserts and pastries, as well as their green tea latte, which is a popular favourite here.

Desserts galore!If you do come here, I suggest the Chocolate Chococro ($2.40 each), which is their signature item! Chococro is made of best blend of Ghana Beans and finest Ecuador beans, wrapped with crispy rich buttery flavor croissant dough. They also have the Green Tea and the Strawberry version, and I have to say that although I'm not a chocolate lover, but it tastes the best out of all three flavours, to me.

Check out the Chicken Egg Salsa ($3.30)! It reminds me of S Korea's egg bread. haha.They also have things like lunch sets to cater to the working crowd!Their cups have 3 sizes (hot drinks) - I like the medium sized cup as that's really just the right amount. Especially for the green tea latte, because the green tea taste is quite strong and thick, you may not want to order the largest cup. They will issue you a buzzer so you don't have to stand around the counter to wait for your order. Once ready, the buzzer will buzz (duh.) and just head to the counter to collect your food/drinks.I ordered the Little Fuji because the Chococro is totally sold out (didn't have time to wait for the freshly baked ones) But I loved the Little Fuji! The crispy pastry is topped by what looks like a mini snow mountain of vanilla ice-cream on it and drizzled with caramel sauce! It was very good.I also ordered the Affogato ($5.60) and its creamy consistency was pretty good! It also came with a chocolate waffer stick Pouring in the espresso!Complete, stir well to drink~St. Marc Cafe

Location: 1 HarbourFront Walk #01-108-110 Vivocity, Singapore 098585

Website: Link

My Ratings (the higher the score, the better it is!)

Food: 4 / 5
Ambience: 3.5 / 5
Bang for your buck (Value): 4 / 5
Service: 3.2 / 5