Truffs at Telok Ayer is the latest newcomer on the chocolate scene in Singapore. The boutique shop is very spacious and the smell of heavenly chocolate lingers in the air. I really wanted to try their dark chocolate cake but sadly, there's no sliced cakes on sale and it's only sold as a whole cake (order 3 days in advance), sigh. There's only 3 types of truffles available: 55% équateur, 66% antilles and 70% honduras dark chocolate. I had the 70% ones as I like my chocolates to be ultra dark and bittersweet. These were quite good, very smooth and rich. Bonus point about Truffs is that you can try all 3 types before deciding on which one to get. The people there are really generous: one whole truffle as sample! =)

Like Nagomi at Cuppage Plaza, Ooi Japanese Dining is one hidden gem that I want to go back again and again. And again. Hiromi-san, the lady boss, is so charming and takes the effort to explain each and every single dish sent to our table so that the sensory assault on the palate is maximised.

Gingko nuts are a secret love of mine. Mom always say that it’s not good to eat too much but I often do just that whenever there’s freshly de-shelled and cooked ones at home. Here, the shioiri ginnan ($10++) are roasted with rock salt and so addictive! Slightly nutty and delicately sweet~

Steamed whole with the skin still intact, this kuri ni ($12++) is the sweetest chestnut I’ve ever eaten. One is sooo not enough!

The nama shako sashimi ($28++) comes highly recommended by Hiromi-san cuz Ooi is the only place in Singapore where one can have mantis shrimps served fresh in its rawest form. She even showed us a book on the subject, that’s how passionate she is about the food at Ooi!

I always try to have eel in any form at Japanese restaurants if I can. Ooi’s anago tsukeyaki ($20++) is L.O.V.E. The sea eel was grilled so perfectly, though the tiny bones in it were rather annoying. And chef included the edible soft bone of the eel on the side too!

I fell in love with this humble dish in Shanghai when I had it for the first time. Pu Tien’s version of spinach with salted egg and century egg ($12.90++) is superb, all thanks to the sweet and flavourful supreme stock!

The stir-fried yam ($10.90++) is what made me interested to visit Pu Tien. Coated with a sweet sticky glaze, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, these little cubes of carbs didn’t disappoint! So addictive that I pretty much finished this whole dish on my own, haha.

Another star dish of the night for us was the homemade beancurd ($8.90++) which had an incredibly smooth and silky texture. So simple, yet so good.

I went “I want that” when I saw the claypot sea cucumber with chestnuts ($35.90++) on the menu cuz I love both sea cucumber and chestnuts! Sadly, there’s only 2 or 3 chestnuts in the claypot (as though thrown in as an afterthought) but the sea cucumber was great. Firm, gelatinous and not too rubbery-tough-to-chew~

Yay, I finally went to Tatsuya, a key stalwart in Singapore’s Japanese dining scene =) And happy to report that my meal there was nothing short of excellent!

I love eel, anything eel will do, so the delicate anago sushi ($14++) suited me perfectly. The chu-toro sushi ($24++) was slightly disappointing though, with tendons in it so the melt-in-the-mouth effect was somewhat ruined.

Continuing my obsession with eel, this plump simmered eggplant topped with grilled unagi is my favourite dish from Tatsuya. It’s quite brilliant to pack a combination of chopped eggplant and rich tender unagi into the deep eggplant shell! Made eating this so much easier too~

A nice fatty slab of grilled miso cod ($23.80++) that’s faultless~

I wish the green tea flavour was a tad stronger but otherwise, all the 3 flavours (black sesame and yuzu) were good!

I totally enjoyed my first “raw food experience” at Saf Restaurant in London earlier this year so I was rather excited when I read from the ST that Chef Matthew Kenney will be in town from 11 to 17 Oct to introduce his haute raw food cuisine at One-Ninety in the Four Seasons Hotel. I went there twice this week, once for dinner ($98++ for 5-course), the second time for the weekend lunch buffet ($48++).

Out of the 8 or so appetisers I tried, I’m partial towards the colourful kimchi dumplings and the black sesame and white coconut dumplings! I love the different textures in each and the seasonings make it so full-flavoured.

For mains, I like the gnocchi, which is surprising since I’ve never fancy those potato dumplings. This wasn’t starchy or doughy at all, so unlike the real McCoy!

Dessert samplers at the buffet include strawberry tart, key lime pie, pumpkin pie and my favourite — a luscious chocolate tart that’s absolutely un-raw-like. The crust is rock-hard but that’s easily overlooked for the most fantastic combination of rich chocolate and spicy chilli in the mousse-like pie filling!