Dropped by Raffles City for afternoon tea and was once again tempted to by Tiong Bahru Bakery's large array of pastries and cakes. This time, I ordered their Lemon Calamansi Tart ($6) as I wanted something not so cloyingly sweet or rich. This is a perfect choice if you wish to avoid something overly sweet­ the soft supple lemon curd had a sharp tinge of sourness that to me, was rather refreshing. Pair it with the crumbly tart base around it and each bite is blissful. Those who do cannot take sour stuff might want to avoid this though

Decided to satisfy our craving for korean BBQ at this restaurant. We dropped by on a friday evening during dinner time. You may choose to sit indoors or outdoors- we preferred the outdoor seating area because the ventilation seemed slightly better, and we figured in the evening breeze will help cool us down. It also helps that the outdoor area faces clarke quay and the river and you really get to enjoy watching the pockets of activity and lights as night falls.

The dinner menu is relatively simple- the main highlight is the BBQ items- the restaurant only serves beef and pork and some special seasonal items listed on separate menu. We ordered the 4 colours set ($58) which is essentially a choice of four types of marinated sliced pork meat. We had a hard time choosing from the variety offered- but decided to settle with red pepper paste, wine, garlic and herb. The set comes with korean starter appetiser dishes, soup (we went with the bean paste seafood). This is not a self service joint- their staff will help grill your meat orders to perfection, so you can sit back and relax and not worry about under/overcooking your meal. The pork slices are really thick and tender and take some time to be cooked. Generally, the pork slices were well cooked and came out really juicy. We ended up preferring the pork with stronger marinates such as wine and red pepper as we were able to discern the taste- the other marinates were rather mild and tasted normal.

The bean paste seafood soup took rather long to cook but it was truly a cornucopia of seafood- with fresh mussels, cockles, squid and prawn to be found in it. The soup base is slightly salty and pretty mild- the other choice was a spicy soup base which we did not dare order.

Our waiter was a really friendly korean, who speaks really good english. He made recommendations on what sauce to eat our meats with and drinks to go with our meal and we also managed to make small talk as he cooked for us. The service here is really commendable- the people are really friendly and they even accommodated my request to charge my dying mobile phone. Overall, I enjoyed the service, food and environment here, though it seems a little pricey.

One of the must order dishes when you visit Soup Restaurant is their Samsui Ginger Chicken ($16.90+ for small portion). We tried to ask if we could select the type of chicken meat served (e.g. no breast meat) but the waitress kindly explained that a portion is almost equivalent to half a chicken so every dish comes with a fixed proportion of chicken meat from various parts. The chicken is absolutely tender and the fats wedged between the meat and skin literally melts in your mouth. This is one instance where I do not remove the chicken skin and enjoy the dish in its entirety, forgetting the calories and fats for a little bit. Another plus point- the chicken meat is boneless, so less messy eating. The ginger sauce provided is also excellent- it comes in chopped ginger pieces drenched in oil, which makes the sauce so fragrant and matches so well with the chicken pieces. The dish also comes with fresh crunchy lettuce pieces- I personally like to roll the chicken and ginger sauce in lettuce and eat it like a sandwich!

Tiramisu hero is not difficult to spot. Located along tyrwhitt road, its entrance is flanked by a faux grass carpet and garden facade. Enter the place and you will spot sir Antonio, the cat mascot painted in different poses on the ceiling. It was a relatively quiet Monday afternoon and the cafe wasn't really crowded and it was a pretty nice place for reading or chilling out. I got a little excited by the menu and ordered the yummy sounding Truffle Egg Bacon ($10.50). The dish is meant to be a starter so te portions were relatively small. It is essentially scrambled eggs, cooked outside to be a little firm and circular shaped while the insides remained warm and fluffy. There were also strips of crispy bacon to be found in it. It was served on top of fragrant slices Portobello mushrooms which really completed this delicious dish. I also had their Mommahero ($7.50)- essentially the name for the tiramisu in a jar, meant for 1 serving. There were many exotic flavors available and I chose the strawberry flavour- which came with chunky strawberry slices wedged between fresh cream and spongecake. This tasted more like strawberry shortcake than tiramisu and can potentially be a let down for some. I also had their macchiato ($5.50) which was pretty strong, fragrant espresso shot served with foam milk.

I did not find service here lacking- the staff are generally polite and accommodating. You do have to place orders at the cashier in front though. I do find prices a little steep for the relatively petite portions of food here. But the environment is really inviting and nice to be in.

I am a big fan of mcflurry and I always look forward to the introduction of new, exotic flavors. This time is no different, I placed an order for black sesame mcflurry ($2.80) with high expectations. The final product  didn't look as appetizing as was advertised- but the swirl of black sesame powder and rice krispy cereal in soft serve ice cream was unmistakable. The black sesame taste blended well with the ice cream and the cereal added some crunchiness but it was too heavy and overwhelming with black sesame that I couldn't finish the mcflurry. Only order this if you are a big fan of black sesame.