After the bubble tea craze, came the cafe-hopping craze where diners choose to partake in this high-class lifestyle: sipping coffee/tea whilst enjoying the world go by. I popped into this branch of Hatched the other day after hearing a lot of positive reviews about it. I must say I was really delighted by everything in the quaint little shop.

The decor of the store was really cozy and channelled a really adorable vibe. Pictures of eggs were scrawled onto the blackboard where diners could check out what's on the menu quickly and decide on the specials of the day. The menu that was given was also really cute, i felt like i was reading a children's story book as it was smaller in size than other places and has a lot of cute egg pictures around!

I finally settled on the Shrooms Overload ($18.00) I changed the bacon to zucchini instead as I wasn't a fan of bacon. I loved the egg as the egg yolk oozes out as you cut into it! Perfection!
There were also pickles inside which i HATED which made the bread a little sour and I didn't like it. But the huge portobella mushroom which sat right at the bottom of the burger was a delight! It complemented very really well. The zucchini was fantastic, (I might be bias due to my addiction to zucchini) it was soft and was really unique as I've never eaten it with in a burger. I also love their big thick cut of fries and the light olive oil that was sprinkled onto the salad at the side was a nice addition to the burger.

I love the whole concept of this cute little cafe but as most would know, the prices at cafes are usually a little pricey and one would usually grumble at the price for simple and cheap things mashed up together. I would hope that in due time, albeit wishful thinking, the prices will start to decrease so as to cater to a wider audience who would appreciate their egg-tastic food!

This store is one of the stores in the food court of JEM. Situated at the uppermost floor, the food court boosts a large variety of different cuisines. From mini hot-pots to korean, it seems larger than the normal food court at other shopping malls.

After walking around the food court twice, I decided to try the korean stall as I could see them slowly brewing the ddeokbboki (korean rice cakes) at the counter! The steam that was rising from the pot felt like a tiny volcano waiting to erupt! Upon deliberation, i decided to try the hot stone bulgoli with vegetable soup ($7.30). I did not pick the ddeokbboki as it was about 5 rice cakes with cup noodles type of noodle for about $5.90 or so which i felt wasn't that worth it. I choose the with with beef (option of chicken/beef/pork). The picture doesn't do the food justice as it was really good! I think it was worth the price. Just felt that there should be a tad less pepper sprinkled in so that I can taste the sweetness of the beef. As it was a vegetable soup, the vegetable was in abundance. They also added glass noodle in and I felt that for a small eater like me, I could do without the rice. The kimchi as a side dish also woke up my tastebuds and left me craving for more! It was not extremely spicy and was refreshing at the same time.

I also really like the auntie as she was a Korean (strong accent!) I asked for some sesame seed on my rice and she gladly obliged and while I was taking my cutlery she gave me even more! So generous

Although the food were mostly on the pricey side at that food court, I would go back to try this korean stall after I've finished trying the other stalls as the service and food they provided was really top notch!

I couldn't resist visiting this branch since I was so near to the school! Japanese outlet in a school!? The students must either be getting more pocket money or the prices at this branch is relatively cheaper! Sadly, the prices are the same, haha! Guess the younger generations are able to afford more and more! Being adventurous, I decided to try the Teriyaki Chicken Sumi Udon: Tender chicken slices and vegetables cooked in our sweet teriyaki sauce dipped in steaming hot broth ($13.99). I think Sumi means black charcoal? I was quite apprehensive about trying this dish as it was made from charcoal and one would usually think that charcoal = inedible. I could not taste the difference between the normal udon and sumi udon, was was a little different was perhaps the soup broth? It tasted a bit sweeter. There were about 4-5 pieces of chicken strips and some fishcakes, no more no less than outside. I also ordered the kakiage (Shredded vegetable tempura - $2.29). As i wanted some vegetables to go with my meal. The only tradeoff was that it has to be fried :[ Decreased the healthy value of it. Lastly, the mandatory the deep fried salmon slices ($2.29). The pieces given here was more or less similar to the branches outside so they didn't give lesser just because they taught that students wouldn't eat so much. haha!

I would most probably try the promotional items they have on which seems to attract most students in the next time round!

After craving for vietnamese pho for so long after my trip back from vietnam, I've been meaning to go to one place that could match up to the standards there. Sadly, I have yet to find one that's as good as the one there!
The opening of SO PHO @ JEM was a delight to me as it is relatively near my house and most of the vietnamese food are pretty far away.
Decided to try it when the queue wasn't as long during the lunch/dinner hours.

I think most of the staff there were very new and hence they seemed a little clueless about the menu. My server had to flip the pages when he was repeating the orders back to me. Forgivable as i believe it is a new establishment and they were mostly newly employed hence the unfamiliarity. I ordered the Beef Brisket and Beef Balls Noodle Soup which cost $9.80. I think it was quite worth it as the amount of beef given was very generous. I wanted to ask them to cook the beansprouts for one first but I was afraid they won't know what to do and would tell me that the vietnamese style was to eat it kind of raw. haha! Beef Ball was springy and nice to chew and the beef were all pretty big portion. The noodles they gave was also very slow and was a nice complement to the beef. The soup itself was really good! But I felt that it was a little too sweet, maybe there were too much beef goodness inside. haha!

I think that this dish is not too bad but I wouldn't say that it reminds me of vietnam. Maybe with a better touch to the environment, the owner could boost the ambience of the place? There are also other similar dishes such as beef brisket itself/beef balls itself if i'm not wrong and it's a little cheaper than the combination of both? Perhaps those who are not that hungry could opt for those dishes instead!

With the close proximity to my house, I will definitely go back and try the other dishes!

My friends and I wanted to try this Thai Food place along coronation road the other day, but unfortunately, it was closed ): We begin walking towards Island Creamery which was further down the road but chanced upon this Thai food place which serves western food as well. The aroma that was wafting out of the eatery beckoned us towards it like a bear to honey. The friendly lady owner waved us in with a menu, very prepared to serve us! Upon knowledge that we were students, she quickly presented us with the student menu where dishes were a few dollars cheaper than the normal price.

The eatery has 2 levels, the top floor is a tiny space which can sit roughly 15-20 people while the bottom level housed a much bigger space. As we were complaining about the scorching heat, the owner informed us that the top level has air-conditioning! Yay! The tiny space was quite dark (hence the bad lighting of the photo) but pictures of Thailand was plastered on the walls which created an unnatural "Thai environment".

The food came fairly quickly after we placed our orders. I must say I was a little skeptical about the taste of the food as the food came almost instantly. I ordered the Seafood Phad Thai ($6.50) and I must say I'm truly impressed! The noodles are cooked to a perfect texture. They aren't mushy and too soft but a perfect consistency that gives just the right amount of resistance when bitten into.The chef uses just the right amount of tamarind, fish sauce, and other spices to flavor the phad thai. I did not add the lime as I prefer the original taste of the noodles and I particularly did not like sour foods. The sauce was not too sweet nor spicy (chilli flakes were provided to add a stronger spicy flavour!). The dish also had a generous amount of bean sprouts, squid, peanuts and tofu. A miss for me was that the prawn was not the crunchy type that I like. However, the overall taste of the dish was really excellent!

All in all, the place is extremely easy to locate (right behind a bus stop before coronation plaza, next to a bicycle shop) and the food is really awesome! It is right to say that the phrase "never judge a book by its cover" is highly applicable to this eatery. I will definitely want to go back to try the other dishes!

Note: There was no GST and service charge! Do note that customers need to pay first before eating.