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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Ever sat on a Tuk Tuk (auto-rickshaw) in Thailand? Nope?Well, there's one now in Singapore, at Suntec City. Introducing the new Tuk Tuk Cha, a little cafe that officially opened yesterday, on 4 July. Honestly, they also don't need a signboard, because their cafe is so distinct, what with a huge Tuk Tuk parked right there. When I got there today, queues were already long, just to get a taste of Thailand. They cleverly designed their cafe (with such limited space) with the Tuk Tuk spanning out to be a longer table for those who wants to dine-in.

Accessibility:
Approx. 5 minutes walk from Promenade MRT Station /

8 minutes walk from City Hall MRT Station

Let's Eat!

Thai Iced Milk Tea ($2.80 for the cold version (regular sized))Smooth, but not smooth enough. I asked for less ice and sweetness (by right, this reduction should be well balanced so as not to undermine the flavour) but anyway, they still did give me too much ice and made the tea less sweet. I did like it but felt that maybe the tea could be better in its full on flavour.

Tom Yum Toast with additional Chicken Floss ($2.50)I chose mine with Chicken Floss. Unfortunately, the taste of the chicken floss was buried under the spiciness of the chilli sandwich, which also didn't have any Tom Yum taste. I regretted not ordering the Golden Toast instead.

Mango Sticky Rice ($6)I love this. The sticky rice was so good, mushiness was at the right level, together with the right amount of slightly thick, coconut milk given. The mango slices were big too. Would totally come back for this again. Low-Down
The best bit: Mango sticky rice!

The worse bit: Tom Yum Toast, which was more chilli and no tom yam taste at all.

Miam Miam had invited some bloggers last month to attend the launch of their high tea set platter for 2. I was lucky to be one of them and we had a fun time at the tasting session!

About Miam Miam

Miam Miam is a casual Artisanal French café-restaurant that brings together a mixture of French Artisanal Cuisine & Techniques with influences derived from traditional Japanese preparation & cooking arts.
Just so you know, they have free wi-fi in the cafe! Yay!The high tea set for 2, launched on 21 April, includes 3 premium savoury and 7 sweet treats, plus any 2 drinks from Miam Miam's coffee / tea menu!

Here's the solo high tea platter for 2 ($26.90).As part of the 2 free drinks offered with the set, we took the Iced Matcha Latte w/ Matcha Softee ($8.80) and the Miam Miam Haze aka London Fog ($6.80).

My heart lies with the Matcha Latte. The softee was just went too well with the latte and it was a burst of green tea goodness!The Miam Miam Haze

~ Earl grey tea with steamed milk and homemade vanilla syrupYou have more than 2 people going for high tea? No problem! They also have the High Tea Platter for 4 ($48.90), which includes 6 premium savoury and 14 sweet treats, plus any 4 drinks from their coffee/tea menu!

Just to note that their high tea set menus will be available from Mondays to Fridays from 2.30pm to 5.30pm.

We also tried the Hojicha Pancake ($13.80), the Yuzu Pancake ($12.80) and the Panna Cotta ($7.90).

Hojicha Pancake - Pancake infused with green tea flavour and topped with mochi balls, azuki and hojicha whip. I loved the hojicha whip!Yuzu Pancake - Pancake topped with crunchy sesame crumbs, yuzu jelly and vanilla softee, with yuzu served by the side.Panna Cotta with fresh mix berries compote!Mother's day is also coming up this Sunday, and they have a promotion which is from 8 to 10 May 2015, from 2.30pm to 5.30pm!

Here's how you can participate - Bring your mum to Miam Miam from 8 to 10 May 2015, take a wefie with her, post on Miam Miam's Facebook and enjoy 30% off a High Tea Platter for 2!

Starting this Friday, so GO-GO! It's really simple to enjoy a lovely Mother's day with her, so remember to do that!

Miam Miam (Bugis Junction Branch)

Location: Bugis Junction, 200 Victoria Street, #02-14 Singapore 188021

Tel: +65-6837 0301

Website: http://miam.sg/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/miam.sg

After painting lessons, I met PJ for lunch at Nana's Green Tea restaurant. It's a modern looking Japanese restaurant with a yellow lighted theme. By the time we finished our food, there was a long queue of people waiting for seats.

Anyway, I liked the design of the restaurant, plus the chairs, goodness, it was very comfortable to sit in.Privacy for people sitting in the middle of the restaurant, as tables are separated by a makeshift wired wall.Cool tables with no legs. Hangs from the ceiling.

I wanted to try the signature dishes of this place, but there was so much good looking food on the menu, I almost could not decide. This wasn't the main menu - but was the every day set lunch menu. It was quite a good deal as you get a drink with the main course. Their drinks are expensive if you order ala carte, and can easily go up to more than $7 for a glass of beverage.We ended up ordering from this set lunch menu anyway as most of the main courses we wanted to try were listed in it.We both ordered the cold thin green tea, which is served with no milk and sugar in it - good for the health and weight conscious. I added an additional topping of vanilla soft serve in my drink, which costed about $1 extra. Of course, if you feel that it's quite bitter, they also serve with liquid sugar which you can add into your drink as you like.For salads, we had the recommended Chicken Karaage Salad ($6.80). I loved it! It had Chicken Karaage, tomato, lettuce, cucumber and half boiled egg. I ordered the roasted sesame dressing. Next up, the Salmon & Cream Sushi Roll ($5.80 for 4 pcs, $10 for 8 pcs). It contained salmon, egg, avocado, cucumber and topped with cheese mayonnaise. Delish and very filling!One thing about the lighting in this place, is that it's too yellow. My photos turned out quite yellow for this dish, but I assure you that it's more towards the cream looking colour. haha.

This dish, called the Seafood mentaiko udon with cream sauce ($15.80), lived up to its creamy name. I love mentaiko - aka walleye pollock roe. Its flavour infused into the creamy concoction and made it very yummy indeed. Seafood, which included prawns, scallops and squid, were worth it as they were generous with its servings.This Chicken Cutlet Curry ($13.80) was a really generous serving of Japanese curry, warm japanese millet rice and a huge chicken cutlet. The fried chicken cutlet was fried nicely and the meat was tender and the skin was the right kind of crispy.

I should also mention that rice served in this restaurant are all millet rice. On their menu, they shared that it uses an ancient rice receipe containing 10 different kinds of cereal mixed with polished rice and it has many nutrients, such as minerals, vitamins and dietary fibre, which are good for the heart. [Plus points for being super healthy and remembering to take care of their customers' hearts!]Just opposite their restaurant, there's a mini cafe counter with the kitchen, also part of their restaurant. It's easier as people can just order the drinks for takeaway without having to crowd in the shop while their drink is being made. Also, as the kitchen is apart from the sit down area, customers don't reek of food smells after their meal. I appreciate that very much.

Location:

The Atrium @ Orchard, Plaza Singapura (New Wing)

60B, Orchard Road, #03-80/82 Singapore 238891

Tel: +65-6684 4312

Operating Hours: 11am - 10pm (Last order: 9.30pm)

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

Food: 4.3 / 5

Ambience: 4.2 / 5

Bang for your buck (Value): 4.5 / 5

Service: 4 / 5

Average scoring via my F.A.B.S rating: 4.28 / 5 (Must try!)

Today, I'm going to talk about my trip to Maison Ikkoku Cafe!Image taken from Google Maps

My friend, Hannah, introduced this cool place to me! As I went in the evening, I couldn't take a good shot of the exterior, hence I used this image instead, from google maps. What can I say about this place - I love its coffee! Honestly, I like coffee which is light and not too acidic.

Well, this place has one of the best coffee I ever tasted, at least for people like me, who just wants a cup of nice, smooth coffee brew without having to feel so sour at the end of the day. This is their menu! Just a one page food menu. But their specialty is coffee! So my aim was not to be so fixated on what they have to offer on food.

Hannah says they serve good sandwiches. But I'm on a diet (ackhem), so this time, I ordered salad instead. (What? Seriously? Salad?) The salad turned out to be WONDERFUL, okay? We had the Caprese Salad ($16). I loved the mozzarella and everything else about the salad. It was light on the palate and was delicious.Hannah has a sweet tooth, I realised. Haha. So we ordered a Molten Lava Cake ($7.50) and a Red Velvet Cake ($9). If you only can choose one cake, order the molten lava cake if you're up for a thick, rich taste. It was very nice.The red velvet cake was nice too, but I would still choose the molten lava over it anyday. I felt the taste texture of the white chocolate flakes on top of the cake could have been further improved, while the cake itself was fluffy and light. The amount of cream was just right too.I seriously thought that the decorations on the plate were mustard and ketchup, under the cafe's lighting. HAHA. Of course it's not, hello! Its raspberry sauce and something else, I forgot. Hannah had the Signature MI Latte ($6), which turned out to be a very good choice. Halfway through the drink, the foam was still in the cup and did not dissolve. That's some nice barista skill right there.Here's my Brew V60 Pour Over Coffee ($6)! I ordered it over the counter, where there were 2 flavours (Ethopia Konga and Guatemala San Antonio) for choosing. I went with the popular choice, Ethopia Konga (and now I do understand why it IS the popular choice). It was very smooth - ever have coffee just glide down your throat nicely? This is THE ONE which will totally satisfy your coffee craving. It has a floral aroma and the coffee has a strawberry cocoa finish.

Because I loved this so much, I looked around the shop and saw they had the V60 coffee machine up for sale too - but the total cost (filters, machine, etc) came up to about a few hundred bucks. I rather travel here for a cuppa and to chill out!

It is really nice to go to a place and find something you really like - which in this instance, I did. I really like this coffee and only have good things to say about it. Well, okay, the only bad thing is that the cup is not big enough for me! hahaha. Wish I could have more If you want to know what other drinks they sell, here's the list:Did I also mention they have a bar on the second floor? Maybe next time I will check that out too!

Directions:

Take train to Bugis MRT Station (Go to Downtown Line), go up exit C. Walk along the road of Rochor road (You will see Bugis Junction right in front of you). But instead of going to Bugis Junction, turn right and go down North Bridge road all the way. When you reach Masjid Sultan Mosque (which will be on your right hand side), turn right and walk further down. It should take you about 10 minutes (max) to get there from Bugis MRT Station.

Here's how I got to the cafe (see red highlighted path).Address: 20 Kandahar Street, Singapore 198885

Tel: 62940078

Operating Hours:

The cafe @ Level 1Mon-Thur: 9am~9pmFri-Sat: 9am~11pmSun: 9am~7pmThe bar @ level 2Sunday - Thursday: 4pm ~ 1amFriday, Saturday & Eve of PH: 4pm - 2am

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

Food: 4.5 / 5

Ambience: 3.8 / 5

Bang for your buck (Value): 4 / 5

Service: 3.5 / 5

Average scoring via my F.A.B.S rating: 3.95 / 5 (Must try!)