It was a lovely evening, and a couple of us gathered for an al fresco at Marine Parade's Parkway Centre.Seattle Pike Chowder is a franchise brought into Singapore by Giojio International, alongside Giovanni L. Seattle Pike Chowder hails from the America’s celebrated chowder house - Pike Place Chowder in Seattle, Washington (United States), owned and founded by Larry Mellum. To maintain the quality of the chowders, Seattle Pike Chowder has the chowders imported from Seattle. Area:

Marine Parade

Country:

Singapore

Price:

$

Good For:

Small Groups / Friends / Solo / Family

Accessibility:

Not too accessible - better to drive here, or take a bus.Note: There are 3 sizes per soup. Another option is to have it in a bread bowl as well

New England Clam Chowder (Prices from $8.90 - $14.90. $12.90 with bread bowl)This was my favourite. Not only me, but this award-winning chowder from Pike Place Chowder has not failed to impress most at the table. With its ingredients freshly imported from Seattle, it was flavourful and rightly thick.They were also very generous with their clams and other ingredients, like potatoes, celery, onions, etc.

Seafood Bisque Chowder (Prices from $9.90 - $15.90, $13.90 with bread bowl)This is also another flavourful chowder, prepared with tomatoes and generous with their seafood.

Smoked Salmon Chowder (Prices from $9.90 - $15.90, $13.90 with bread bowl)Unfortunately, this was my least favourite as I felt the taste of the salmon is a little strong for me. This would sit well with those who loves a smoky hint in their soups.

Each soup takes about 15 minutes to prepare, but it is worth the wait.

This review is by invitation. Thanks to Openrice and Seattle Pike Chowder for hosting the session.

Finally had a chance to visit the widely mentioned JAAN restaurant, which is located on level 70 of the Swissotel Singapore.

The restaurant is really small, and it looks like they can only hold 40 or maybe slightly more customers. Hence, it is always recommended you make a reservation before your visit.

We ordered the $68 3 course lunch menu, which was specially crafted by JAAN’s Chef de Cuisine Julien Royer, as part of the artisanal menu in year 2015.

First up, little snacks were served.

Wooden blocks held the delicate cereal tuiles, which apparently come from France and are custom made specially for JAAN. I loved its combination with Chef Julien's rendition of Hummus, which proved to be a lovely spread for the thin, crisp wafers. After the little warm-up starter snacks, we were served with the Amuse-bouche. Another lovely platter served on a black rock display plate, as pre-meal little bites to warm up the palate. One of my favourite snacks is Chef Julian's version of our local Kueh Pie Tee, filled with Kurobuta pork remoulade and grain mustard. Gone in a mouthful, but super yummy!We were then made to choose our freshly baked bread, which was nicely served with a little pretty pyramid of hand churned Jean-yves bordier butter and some loose salt on the side.For the appetiser, I had the Marbré of Foie Gras & Bresse Chicken (additional $10). It was also served with a lovely black truffle brioche~ My friend had the beetroot collection - burrata 'artigiana', honeycomb and horseradish. A really lovely combination, you'll find yourself wanting a second helping!For the main course, she had the Confit Rainbow Trout, which looks exactly like Salmon. But the dish was still a smooth eat, no doubt....while I had the Roasted Venison Saddle (additional $15). The meat was tender, with no blood leaking out while I eat. ‘Mulled-wine’ pear, celeriac, sauce ‘poivrade’.Finally, on to desserts!

I had the Chestnut 'Delice', a combination of speculoos (a type of shortbread), eglantine and tahiti vanilla.My friend had the Pear Gourmandise - served with nougatine, shards of gingerbread, tonka bean ice cream and caramel! Cold and delicious.For the petit fours, we wrapped it up with caneles bordelais, coconut marshmellows, mushroom macarons, and toffee & rosemary smoked lollipops! Can I just say that I love the lollipops? It was very very well done. It was my first time eating mushroom macarons (what? mushroom?! Yes, mushroom). It wasn't overbearing and it was a lovely light hint of mushroom peeking out, and the flavours went well.If you need visual feasting for your soul and a lovely experience overall, I recommend you to visit JAAN one day, it's best for special occasions and for days you want to pamper yourself, to eat and to be treated as royalty. There's just so many complex flavours in the set and it is a complete palate pleaser.

Here I am today at Aljunied, to taste Spicy Thai-Thai Cafe's dishes! Located in the neighbourhood, it is easy to spot them from a distance away with their signboard so huge. Some surroundings: Organic Wheatgrass Drink ($3.50)We were first served with the wheatgrass drink, which I totally did not regret having. Some wheatgrass drinks are very heavy in the plant taste, but not this one. It retains a good balance of wheatgrass and is not overwhelming. Lovely!

Dill Pattie (Cha Om) Omelette ($8)Who doesn't love egg? My first Dill pattie omelette, the Dill plant gives the omelette a special flavour that I really enjoyed. It was light, but not overbearing on the senses. The plant, dill, is sometimes used as a herb in Asia. The owner had it imported from Thailand, so this is a must-try!BBQ Pork Neck ($10)Grilled using real charcoal, the flavour of the BBQ pork neck has been further enhanced, making it a joy to chew on.Coupled with thai-styled sauce dip, the marriage emits the flavour of bliss and tenderness of a lovely relationship that will keep you wanting more.

Sleeping Fish Set ($15)Such a cute name for a heavy combination of vegetables and tender, fresh fish. The fish is known as the Pla Tu fish in Thailand, and it's actually a short-bodied mackerel. The fish is fried to perfection, and the fish meat is tender and delectable.The dish is enjoyed here with raw vegetables, just mix all ingredients in the set, wrap it up in a huge cabbage piece and it's ready to be enjoyed!Don't forget the chilli, which enhances the overall flavour of the raw vegetables!

Lala (Clams) Bee Hoon ($18)If I have to use one word to wrap up this dish, I would use the word 'generous'. Indeed, they are very generous with their clams (lala). The clams are all well-cooked, you'd see the shells open nicely and the lightly gravied bee hoon will scream delicious in your mind once tasted. I'm not kidding. This is one of the best Lala bee hoon I've ever eaten as the portion is huge and evenly cooked, it is one true tasty dish you must not leave this restaurant without trying.

Basil Mussels ($15)The mussels are cooked and served in a lovely orange shade with subtle hints of the basil leaf.The light tasting mussels are tender and doesn't have a fishy taste. Instead, you'll taste a lovely side of the ocean in this!

Hommok (Thai Style Otak) ($16)One of my favourite dishes here, the Hommok a.k.a Thai Styled-Otak, will leave you wanting more. I don't know what is it about this restaurant that they are generous with all their servings. But it is good for us consumers. (haha!)This dish looks and tastes so good that I can't help but take more photos of it. Vibrant delicacy! YUMMY! I will definitely come back for this.The mashed otak is mixed in a special way with huge slices of coconut flesh, giving out hints of savoury goodness.

Lemongrass Jelly with Aloe Vera Cubes & Calamansi ($2.50)Refreshing's the word. The fragrant, yet light and sour hints from the lime make it a very nice dessert to have after a heavy meal.

Tapioca in Coconut Milk ($3.50)Served in warm Coconut milk, this lovely, filling dish will keep you wanting more of it though you might be full from the rest of the dishes.The tapioca, as you might already know, is a low calorie but filling starch. Hence, you might wish you order this when you're in a group or just come here and have this at your whim and fancy whenever you have a craving for this dish. Definitely one of my must-try desserts here.

Looking for great Thai food with a twist and reasonable prices? Spicy Thai-Thai cafe should be in that list as it will be worth every dollar.

Spicy Thai-Thai Cafe
Location: Block 115 Aljunied Ave 2 Singapore 380115

Tel: +65 6747 8558

This is an invited media tasting session.

For a lazy Saturday morning, I visited Ronin Cafe with my friend at Hongkong Street in Clarke Quay. Ronin Cafe is a hipster indie cafe with simple but warm and comfortable style.Surroundings:

This is the tinted doorway to fantastic drinks! I almost missed it as there wasn't any signboard.Their logo hangs inconspicuously.

Cafe's lightings are dark and comfortable, with yellow lights shining on wooden tables. One gripe is that they do have uncomfortable chairs which make you feel like you're sinking down into the seat. But I got used to it pretty quickly.

Nice stool seats for 2-3 people lining the corner of the cafe. These seats are more comfortable than those at the proper tables.

Warning: It gets really crowded from 11.15am onwards. When I got there, the wait staff shared that the cafe was only open from 10.30am.

The wait staff shared that their signature food items included the Brioche French Toast, Scrambled Eggs on Toast, 'Big in Japan' Curry Rice and Dirty Ronin Sandwich. All are substantial servings. Unfortunately, we weren't able to try the Curry Rice as it was not available at that time.

Instead, we went with the Brioche French Toast ($14.50) and Scrambled Eggs on Toast ($9). (I LOVE breakfast. )For my scrambled eggs on toast, I added the portobello mushroom (add $3.50) and the Pork sausage (add $4.50). It was a very satisfying breakfast. But the bread was somewhat not toasted well enough.

My friend went with the Brioche French Toast which contained braised apple, bacon, hazelnut butter and syrup. Does it sound very sweet?It is. My friend said it was too sweet, but the salty bacon made it better as it balanced the sweetness better. But overall, the toast was nice and fluffy. This dish is very good for those with a sweet tooth, but I do have to warn that this dish is really sinful!

For the drinks, we took their signature Matcha-Tone (Green Tea latte, $5.50 - image below) and Wicked (Minted Mocha, $5.50).I had my Wicked to-go. Although I'm a green tea latte lover, but to be frank, I did prefer their Wicked over their Matcha-Tone! While the Matcha-Tone was not too sweet (which was just great for me), the mint infused mocha (image below) had been so refreshing and delicious that I might have just branded it as one of my favourite drinks!The drinks were smooth and I did enjoy it very much. This was the point-scorer for me in this cafe. I highly recommend the drink, it was really wicked!

(Haha, geddit? Geddit? Wicked is wicked!... ok, sorry.)

Ronin Cafe Singapore

Location: 17 Hong Kong Street, Singapore 059660Directions: Take the train to Clarke Quay MRT Station, Exit E. Cross the overhead bridge and head towards the direction of Hong Lim Park. Look out for Hongkong Street Signage and turn left. Walk straight down. You will see Fragrance Hotel and City Backpackers Inn. The cafe is right beside City Backpackers Inn.

Ratings: 7.8 / 10

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: