I was rather excited when ION’s highly anticipated Food Hall at Basement 4 first opened cuz food hall = lots of food stalls to ogle at. Since then, some have closed, some are new, and Mushiya Steamers is one of the many stalls left standing today.

The steamed cakes come from Hokkaido and all the ingredients used are from Japan. Supposedly very healthy too cuz they are ”non-oil” and the flavourings are “natural”.

I tried the matcha (green tea) kintoki and kurogoma (black sesame) mochi kintoki ($2 each)… And was disappointed. Bland, texture was sticky and chewy rather than soft and fluffy. Maybe like our Chinese “huat kueh”? Anyway, these cakes are really “what you see is what you get” cuz the sweet kintoki beans/mochi are limited to the top of the cakes.

Deep-fried Whitebait ($9.90++): Extremely crispy and crunchy but I suspect the ratio of batter to fish was probably 10:1. And it was oily. Not worth it!

I have no idea what possessed me to order the Soft Shell Crab ($9.90++) in a supposedly Italian cafe. Must be a moment of irrationality. On 1st sight, all those droplets of oil turned me off immediately. Even an amateur chef would know not to serve deep fried food that’s not well-drained!

Salmon Escallops ($12.90++) is just a fancy name for 2 generous pieces of salmon fillets served with ratatouille. The latter was good but the former was overcooked. And it sat on a pool of puke-green pesto oil which didn’t look the least bit appetising.

For photos/reviews, feel free to drop by www.myfoodsirens.wordpress.com =)

With a new cafe in Suntec City (just opposite TCC by the main entrance) serving both savoury and sweet, Gobi is more than a desserts patisserie now. Kind of Bakerzin/Canele-ish, isn’t it? Set lunches/dinners are affordably priced (around $14.90++/$18.90++) for 3 course but I’m more into trying the cakes and pastries they are well known for.

Like strawberry shortcake, black forest cake is one of those desserts I can easily say no to since I don’t like cream all that much. But Gobi’s version is one of those rare ones I like, mainly cuz the Black Forest ($7.30++) is unconventional with both jelly and cherries embedded in kirsch cream. Flavour of the cherry liquer is distinct and chocolate sponge is soft and moist too. A nice twist to the traditional!

Strawberry Mille Feuille ($7.30++) was so horrible such a joke that we sent it back. Puff pastry was not flaky or crisp, tasted stale and so hard that it’s impossible to cut it.

The manager kindly allowed us to choose another dessert to replace the mille feuille. I like the nice gesture but not so much the Opera ($7.30++) though. It wasn’t cut as neatly as the black forest, coffee cream was too sweet and there’s a coating of condensation on the top layer of dark chocolate which I’m quite sure wasn’t supposed to be there.

Though pricing is comparable to Bakerzin, Canele, 1 Caramel etc., the standard and derived satisfaction still falls short of the mark so it’s unlikely Gobi will spring to my mind when the desserts craving hits.

Anyway, if you want to try Gobi’s cakes, go after 6.30pm cuz it’s 50% off all individual cakes!

For photos/reviews, feel free to drop by www.myfoodsirens.wordpress.com =)

I had my first meal at Iggy's when it was still at Regent Hotel and it was great. Now that it has moved to Hilton Hotel, it's time to see what new tricks does Iggy's have up its sleeve =)

Unfortunately, I think I went expecting too much. Overall, the meal was nice, but nothing fantastic. Since it's priced at a premium, I was hoping for something more but I can't remember any single dish that's outstanding. Perhaps, only the desserts leave a lasting impression on me. The rest, I can't say the same.

Only recently did I know that there’s a minimum spending of $50 if you wanna make a reservation at Itacho Sushi. Doesn’t that mean a lot of sushi at one go? No wonder there’s usually a long queue outside, besides the fact that there’s always a discount of 50% off some of the sushi!

Like this salmon with soy sauce, which was only going for $0.40++ each. 40 cents per sushi, where to find in Singapore?! Of course, don’t expect too much. The cut is very thin and it’s mostly fats without the flesh.

The salmon inari sushi ($1.30++ each) has a sweet beancurd skin filled with rice topped with a spicy salmon mixture. Quite tasty!

I usually like any tamago ($2.40++) but I find this too dry to be even considered average.

Pork chop don with scrambled egg ($12++)! Big portion, small price~

Without a doubt, this is what I came to Itacho for. The “supreme sea eel” ($6++), a looooong piece of thin eel hiding a minute ball of rice, which is just my kind of thing. The eel has a perfect melt-in-the-mouth texture, and the seasoning is not too sweet. I reckon I’ll just get multiple plates of this and skip the rest next time!