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!)

Just yesterday, I visited Sun with Moon Japanese Dining & Cafe at Wheelock Place, Orchard Road.

It brought back memories of one friend as she was the one who first brought me here about 5 years ago. (Alice, I hope you're doing well!)

The place still looked the same as how I had visited it years ago, with nice, comfy chairs that really provides comfort while eating your meal. Also, I like how tables are well spaced out, so that you're still able to have a, somewhat, 'private' conversation with your friends.

I came here with two ex-colleagues-cum-friends and this place was really great for us to do some catching up.Big sisters of mine with 2 garfield soft toys they collected after the recent Garfield Run.

The set meal here is expensive - one set meal for example (which I had wanted to order), was the Sukiyaki & Tempura set, which comes with sliced Aus beef and vegetables in hotpot, a cracked egg, rice, soup and assorted deep fried tempura.

I did not order that as I was worried it might turn out too much for one person, on a diet too, to be having.

So....

I ordered the ala carte sukiyaki ($17.80)! The beef was served raw with soup broth. It cooked pretty quickly, about a few minutes or so. From this...To this! YAY!! Finally ready to eat. Big sister Serene felt that she likes the pork here - so she ordered an ala carte Pork Shogayaki ($12.80) instead of having the set, which comes with soft shell crab tempura, soup and rice. If you order rice separately, each order will cost you a hefty $3, which every Singaporean knows is expensive to pay for a bowl of rice! Big sister Christina ordered a Bara Chirashi set, which came with a soup, (a super small sized) chanwamushi - steamed egg - and the main dish (Sushi rice bowl with grilled eel, flame-seared salmon and scallops!). This set cost $28.80.When dining in a Japanese restaurant, how can you leave out the salad? I ordered the Bacon & Mozzarella Caesar Salad ($12.80). The appetising dish was well presented in a really huge bowl and was served with a special sauce, which I just poured it all over the salad without thinking twice. (Here goes the diet plan!) The salad tasted fresh and came with fresh mozzarella cubes which really added flavour to the otherwise typical mix. What also gave it a winning edge was also its thick cut bacon strips, that came with some fat on it. It tasted really good and I would seriously recommend this dish to anyone not on a diet.

Lastly, it's dessert time! You cannot leave Sun with Moon restaurant without trying out their desserts. It's one of the most lightweight desserts I've eaten and this is one of the top choices of my review tonight.What else? DESSERT TIME!!

For people who love variety in their food, I recommend the dessert trio ($9.80). The dessert comes with a goma pudding, a small slice of tofu cheese cake and green tea ice-cream topped with red beans. You will not regret this.

My favourite was the goma pudding (also known as black sesame pudding). They managed to marry both rich black sesame paste and silky milk pudding together, making the smooth and bouncy texture of their matrimony that much more exciting to eat.I also ordered a Matcha Tiramisu (Green Tea Tiramisu), it costs $6.80. It tasted so light and fluffy, it was a perfect end to the heavy meal.In summary, I like the food in this place, but I feel that most food items are really expensive. I would only return if I have more money to spare!

Location:

Wheelock Place

501 Orchard Road #03-15

Singapore 238880

Tel: +65-6733-6636

Directions - From Orchard MRT Station (red line), exit the station on facing Ion Orchard. When you've exited, just turn towards your right. Walk straight and follow through to the underpass and when you've reached the end of it (there should be an escalator), use that to get to level 3. The restaurant is on this floor. (Even if you can't find it, just ask any Singaporean locals. They'll be happy to direct you to Wheelock Place.)

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

Food: 4.2 / 5

Ambience: 4 / 5

Bang for your buck (Value): 3 / 5

Service: 3 / 5

Average scoring via my F.A.B.S rating: 3.55 / 5

Today I'm going to share a little about a Japanese eatery which has been tucked away from busy Singapore in International Plaza for many years.

Some people might know the way, but its name - Bimi Kaiho - may not come to mind as the eatery's signage board is all in Japanese. The owner is also Japanese, it seems, as I hear him blabbering away in Japanese during my visits to this place.

The place is really small though, but I do like the rustic Japan decor.It's big as it looks. Nothing bigger.Lovin' this beer ad. So 1950s.

Packed with patrons during lunch hour, Bimi Kaiho served simple, traditional Japanese favourites with affordable pricing. It's menu is nothing fancy too, just binded with laminated paper. Whatever that's on the wall is on that menu, so really, there's not much need to refer to it. Simple Looking MenuThe eatery serves interesting dishes like Zosui (Kaki Oyster $11.50, Yasai Vegetable $8), Saraudon ($10), Hiyashichuka ($10), Nabeyaki Udon ($13) and more! Of course you'll have the normal sets, going from $13 and above.

I ordered the Udon set ($15.50), which comes with any 1 item of your choice (seafood tempura, tonkatsu pork, tori karaage, yakiniku or cream croquette). It also comes with chanwanmushi (steamed egg), which I simply love. I chose to have the tonkatsu pork, which turned out to be a pretty good choice!Slurpilicious noodles. I loved how the tonkatsu was fried to perfection. While on the oily side, the meat was really tender and the outer layer was crispy and the entire combination was lovely. Eat it together with piping hot udon noodles? OOH-LA-LA.Chanwanmushi

My friend had the Katsudon (Pork Cutlet) for $13. It comes with soup, rice and a simple garden salad. According to her, it was pretty good too.I'm also surprised that many people store their bottles of sake here, so I took some photos for you:One of my favourite bottles. They even bothered to decorate it!

Summary: You want affordable, Japanese food and friendly staff. Bimi Kaiho should be one of your top choices. What's more, the environment and decor is very Japanese. While eating, take a walk down the daydream valley and imagine that you're in Japan for a holiday! (It's not that hard, really.)Entrance of eatery - Bimi Kaiho

Directions:

When you've reached International Plaza (Tanjong Pagar), take the escalator next to 7-11 convenience store on the first floor. Once at the second floor, turn right and walk all the way straight. You'll find Bimi Kaiho right at the end of the walk.

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

Food: 3 / 5

Ambience: 3.5 / 5

Bang for your buck (Value): 3 / 5

Service: 3.5 / 5

Average scoring via my F.A.B.S rating: 3.25 / 5

So I was walking around and came across Simply Wrapps today. My first reaction when I thought of lunch at this place, was that it was going to be unsatisfying for me, because I'm very much a rice person during lunch. But I told myself that I should give it a try as there was a snaking queue and I was glad I did!The surroundings - that's as many seats as it gets! Many people get it on the go.

Looking at the plentiful choices I was offered on the menu, I wanted to try almost everything. It felt like I would have tried every type of food in the world, because each wrap had a unique flavour, which was tagged to a certain country. Like Singapore Mixed Seafood Wrap, Taj Mahal Wrap, the Classic Greek wrap etc! But it was my first one and so, I decided to go with the Classic Caesar Wrap.Choose your wrap and flavour

First up: Choose your wrap.

There are 5 types of flavours for the wrap, which you can choose from. I took a recommendation from the staff and got tomato basil as she shared it was the most tasty out of all (her personal take).Next, choose your flavour and you're ready to go!

The Classic Caesar I chose contained its usual suspects: Romaine lettuce, grilled chicken, parmesan cheese, croutons, boiled eggs and classic caesar dressing.

My friend chose the Martian's Delight, which contained: Romaine lettuce, roasted mango chicken, pumpkin, cherry tomatoes, carrots, cucumber and wasabi mayo dressing.

'How filling could the wraps be?' I thought to myself, before I ordered. How wrong I was.

The wraps were HUGE and packed to the brim.I loved the Caesar wrap. The crunchy croutons made it very delectable and crunchy with every bite. The chicken were chunky and filling, and they did not scrimp on the boiled eggs too. This is a safe choice to have here that will definitely set you in motion for a second trip back here.Classic Caesar Wrap

Just look how much is packed into half a wrap!Wrap Dissection!

First thing I see when I look at this, is the huge chunky pumpkin bites staring back at me. I'm a little biased towards this because I'm not really a pumpkin person, but don't let that affect you. It's ingredients are really fresh and surprisingly tasted more salad-y than the Caesar one. I'm thinking that it's due to so many vegetables stuffed into this lemongrass wrap! The chicken was good, but I'm not tasting too much of the mango here. I wish there were more mango taste to really take this selection up another notch.Martian's DelightWrap Dissection!

On a side note, I was also very happy that this place sold Bundaberg. This bottled drink has a nice variety of flavours; I got the Blood Orange one. It was a nice addition to the meal as it zested it up a little and was a nice match with the meal! Overall, I felt that the entire combination of the ingredients were good, it was deliciously made and every mouthful was bursting with flavour. If you're up for a wrap, I would encourage you to get it from Simply Wrapps. I would certainly be getting my next dose very soon... probably... the Classic Greek? (Because I love feta cheese!) They are having a promotion now!

Lenu (樂牛) is a restaurant opened by the Paradise Group, and I'm here to review it! With high expectations after some good meals at other Paradise Group Restaurants, I was hoping to get a real taste of Taiwan Beef Noodle Soup. LeNu literally means 'Happy Cow' in Mandarin. It's cute, I guess. Haha.Wide variety of beef noodle choicesMake your selection!

We were shown to our seats and a menu was given to us, as well as an order form. I have to say that I'm not too fond of filling up order forms, so with my order in mind, I went straight to the counter, which is what you'll have to do anyway after filling up the form.Top ups are available at a costly price, which I didn't take up!

Right beside the counter, some appetizers are on display and customers would just need to select what they want and pay for it at the counter.The SurroundingsThe 4 Essences (winning formula) for Lenu are shown on the walls.

My friend ordered the dry version of the Braised Beef Brisket Noodles ($10.90) and I ordered the Braised Wagyu Beef Noodles ($16.90).Dry Version of Braised Beef Brisket Noodles

After mixing the noodles, you are ready to start! The noodles tasted so-so, but the beef is really tender. In my opinion, I felt the noodles could be more springy, it felt like it was neither here nor there.The dry noodles version are nice!

My turn!Braised Wagyu Beef Noodles (they really like putting a huge scoop of spring onions in every bowl of noodles huh!)

There are 3 types of noodles available for choosing: Thin Noodles, Broad Noodles and Rice Noodles (exclusive to Singapore only). Of course, I would try the rice noodles. It turned out to be the really thin kway teow type noodles, but I did enjoy it as the noodles were quite well cooked.

I felt the wagyu beef was quite an expensive addition though. While the thinly sliced beef were easy to eat, but I felt I would have enjoyed it as much as if I were to have the normal beef slices.

The soup is also a make-it-or-break-it factor for me, so I would have to say that it managed to be comforting for my tummy, but doesn't have the oomph factor. It's pretty much average, though the broth is light and doesn't taste too salty. (It is oily, though!)In summary, I felt that although it was a comforting warm meal, but the taste lacks punch to make it stand out from other soupy meals competitors.

Location:

Vivocity, 1 Harbourfront Walk, #02-91/92/93, Singapore 098585 (Opposite Ben & Jerry's)

Tel: +65 63769039

Visit their Facebook and Website to find out more.

Nearest MRT: HarbourFront MRT Station (Circle Line (Orange), NE Line (Purple))

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

Food: 3 / 5

Ambience: 3.2 / 5

Bang for your buck (Value): 3 / 5

Service: 3 / 5

Average scoring via my F.A.B.S rating: 3.05 / 5