Though it was already past 10pm, the little cafe was still packed with people young and old. Love the happy vibe of the place!

All the ice creams are hand-churned and made on the premises at The Daily Scoop. There’s more than 40 flavours but not all are available daily.

My bowl of 3 scoops ($6):

Ginger Crumble — sweet ginger ice cream with a sprinkling of crystallised ginger. The star of the night!

Utterly Avocade — a blend of avocado and gula melaka. Beautifully smooth and creamy consistency.

Cha — earl grey tea sorbet. Light and refreshing~

Initially, our intention was just to order mains from the ala carte menu. But we had a change of mind when we saw the weekend brunch ($32++ for 3 course) cuz it’s more value for money.

I’ve been craving for real, feel-good food like bircher muesli these days, so much so that I’ve been making my own quickie version at home. And that’s why I was delighted to see that Heart Bistro offers homemade bircher muesli! Definitely tasted better than mine, creamy and moist with lots of grated apple, nuts and berries~

This is my first time trying the Myanmar inspired pickled tea leaves with ripened tomatoes and mung beans and it caught me by surprise. I thought it’ll be a mild salad but no, no. It’s a mishmash of textures and strong flavours: spicy, salty and tangy all at once. Thumbs up for this.

For mains, I had the roasted black cod with baby spinach and edamame from the ala carte menu (additional $6++). The oily fish was moist and tender but the highlight was the ginger broth, incredily light and aromatic. Soba purists will probably wanna stone me when I say that I had a side of soba noodles to soak in all that pure heart-warming consommé~

I was really happy when I saw the executive salmon set on the menu cuz it’s my “dream menu”, i.e. what I would have ordered ala carte anyway.

Executive Salmon Set (from $28.80++):

Leeks with vinaigrette dressing;

Grilled salmon chunk with red wine sauce and spinach, “Genevoise”style; and

Homemade tiramisu.

I’m rather fond of leeks, especially leeks that’s served cold with a tangy dressing and boiled till so tender that its stringy fibrous texture became more delicate than tough.

Salmon was just salmon, nothing memorable.

Surprisingly, the tiramisu was way better than decent! Very moist and nice balance of mascarpone cheese to soaked ladyfingers. In fact, I enjoyed this even more than what I had at top Italian restaurants like Garibaldi and Otto.

Though the food was generally good, I wouldn’t come back anytime soon. Lack of air conditioning is one, the obscure location is also another reason. And if you notice, prices are not exactly cheap after all the additional surcharges have been included in the final bill. That said, the concept of making French food affordable for the masses is still a great one!

According to the menu, the pan-seared cod ($15.50++) is the most popular item so that’s what I had. This was ok (the worst word to describe any food ever). I like the little bits of crispy fried garlic that’s drizzled on top of the fish cuz of the nice bitter yet aromatic taste.

Though the portion was very big, the friend managed to finish the whole plate of chicken spaghetti with mushroom in cream sauce ($8.50++) so I’m guessing it’s either quite good or she’s hungry (or both, haha).

Again, the serving of bi bim bap ($9.50++) was colossal. Mix the californian rice, bulgogi (beef), shredded carrot, beansprout, cucumber, sesame seeds and fried egg with spicy bean paste together, then enjoy =)

Quality seems to have dropped drastically since my first and only visit last year when it first opened with much hype. Don’t expect too much or authentic Japanese cuisine since it’s just casual food with casual prices.

Kani & Hotate Cream Croquette ($5.80++): Darling bombs of delight! We always order this.. And was never disappointed. Yet.

Watami Salad ($7.80++): No longer as good as I remember it to be… Greens were not very fresh and the scoop of tuna mayo had decreased in size.

Seasonal special: Salmon White Miso Toji ($9.80++). We were told to mix everything together after a few minutes. Kind of bland, nothing outstanding..