For full reivew: http://molly-mia.blogspot.sg/2014/11/mias-review-cake-spade.html

I first stumbled onto Cake Spade after a google search of "cake cafes near tanjong pagar" due to a pretty sudden cake craving while waiting for T at the mrt station. And subsequently, I returned with A recently for a quick cake fix. Located around Orchid Hotel, I have to be honest to say that Cake Spade is a cafe so small and humble looking, with just 6 seatings in the interior and a couple more humbly plain looking tables and chairs laid out on the outside, that you probably will just walk right past it without a second look or the slightly recognition that that's a friggin awesome cake cafe right there. Chinese Apple Pomegranate Green Tea

I first saw this selling at Cedele and instantly got attracted to the pretty bottles! But due to the price (it was about $4.50 or so), I didn't want to buy it then for I tend to spend less on a pick-and-go as compared to a cafe-hopping trip. So yup, tried it at Cake Spade instead.

But frankly speaking, judging from the fact that you probably will not be keeping the bottle after consuming the beverage, the price tag does not justify the purchase at all.Nutella Fudge Crumble - $4.50

A layer of fudge and nutella sandwiched between a buttery short crust pastry and a layer of crumbs! Sounds yummy, eh?And to show how runny the fudge-nutella layer is.

First bite, heavenly! The bottom crust tasted like an exceptionally short (buttery and crumbly) shortbread and the top layer of crumbs added just the right amount of crunchiness oomph up the overall texture of this decadent treat!

But as you slowly polish the entire bar off the plate, things might get a little difficult as the taste is way too rich, both the chocolate-nutty richness of the filling and the buttery fragrance of the bottom and top layers just made it too jerlat (strong, overpowering) for me.

Best to visit with a friend (or two) and share a few other choices of goodies together so as to not experience a sweet-richness overkill.Oreo Cookie Brownie - $3.20

Come on, oreo cookies, brownie, and a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. What more can you ask for?

The brownie was rich, chocolatey and very dense. I remembered it was a little too dry and dense for my liking and the oreo cookie were somehow, too soft and soggy. Would have been a perfect match made in heaven, but oh well, it somehow fell short of my expectation, which I have to admit that I might have unknowingly set them a little too high?Red Velvet Cake - $5.90

Of course, with T around how can we not have red velvet cake? Look at the moist layer of red sponge cake and pretty swirls of cream cheese icing on top!

But I didn't really try out the taste, for I'm really not a fan of red velvet (mostly due to the cream cheese icing).And on my 2nd visit with A, I got myself a cup of Iced Latte due to the hot weather.

The coffee was just so-so, and quickly got washed down when the ice started to melt.Chocolate Blackout Cake - $5.90

A classic chocolate cake with moist chocolate sponge cake and iced with rich and smooth chocolate ganache.

This cake is truly decadent and is a must try for all chocolate-addicts out there. The sponge layer is (obviously) moist and soft, and the ganache velvety smooth and rich. But once again, the taste can be pretty jerlat even for a chocolate-lover like me, so sharing with fellow chocoholic friends is highly recommended.Lastly, Strawberry Tofu Cheesecake - $5.90

Yeah of course, how can we miss out their signature cake?

And with just one bite, both A and I nodded our heads and said, "Yummy!" Worthy of the signature tag indeed! The cheesecake was truly of an almost tofu-like consistency, super smooth and finely textured, which literally melts away in your mouth. Topped with quite a generous chunk of fresh strawberries encased in sweetened jelly, this is a remarkably light and refreshing cheesecake. A pleasant surprise indeed, for I've always feel that cheesecakes are the most jerlat cake of all.

For full review: http://molly-mia.blogspot.sg/2014/11/mias-review-smiths-authentic-british.html

I remember walking by this humble looking eatery and peering sideways at the patrons' open packages of fish and chips lying on the tables. And I thought to myself, "The fish and chips I've eaten at Ballarat!"

And so, some time later, I dropped by alone on a weekend evening to have some alone time and also, dinner! Love all the comic strips and drawings hung up on the wall, some are actually pretty hilarious. And yes, there's HP sauce for all of you HP lovers out there! I'm not one though. Never a fan of root beer in general except for the scoop of ice cream on it as a float. But somehow I just decided to pick one up while I was there. Haddock Standard & Chips - $19.50

And yes, be it dine in or takeaway, you'll get your fish and chips in a paper wrapped up packet like so. And yes, this is the servings of a standard fish and chips. And no, that pair of plastic utensils aren't mini sized. A word of advice, unless you're a huge eater, go for small!

If you're a fan of soggy chips (yes, as weird as that sounds, some do love soggy chips), especially FAT soggy chips then Smith's is the place for you. These chips doesn't taste processed at all, and totally looked like pieces chipped off a potato and fried as it is. The only disappointing thing was that Smith's do not have the yummy chicken salt I've had at Ballarat. It'll be good if they bring in flavoured salt to go with the chips.

As for the fish, I didn't quite like it as it was a little too moist and bland for my liking. On my second visit, I went for Cod small and it tasted way better in terms of the fish texture and taste of freshness.

And if you're the kind of person who cannot eat fried stuff without some dips and gravy, I highly recommend that you get their curry sauce at $2. It's a little pricey for a pretty small tub, but it tasted so good, even just on its own. The savoury fragrance of curry actually goes pretty well with both the soggy chips and mildly flavoured fish.

All in all, soggy fat chips with mildly flavoured fish. But somehow, Smith's is still a fish and chips place I will keep on visiting (I've visited thrice so far) because it really tasted (and felt) like the affordable, takeaway fish and chips I've tasted in Ballarat and fell in love with.

So on a Sunday, I was back at Velocity @ Novena Square for my 2nd facial appointment and T accompanied me down so we can have dinner here at Velocity/Novena Square/Square 2/United Square!

And look what T has found!One of my favourite food, Ramen!

And this is the Tonkkotsu Kazan Ramen located at Square 2. It was pretty crowded when we got there at about 8 plus, and the small ramen-ya remained pretty packed up until we left at almost 9pm. Pretty popular huh! You'll find out why. And this is how small the entire place is. Erm, sorry uncle, I didn't mean to snap a picture of you slurping the hot ramen... So T chose a pretty 'usual' Karamiso Kazan while I decided to try something new and went for their Hinomaru Tomato Kazan. And then we were first served these jugs of soup....Then this intimidating "volcano" ramen is served, dry in the super hot stone pot. The server will then pour in about half of the soup in the jug and close the red lid back on. Then you wait for 1 minute (there's a cute little timer on your table), until you see smoke rising from the top opening of the lid and, and remove the lid, pour the rest of the soup in and viola, you get your kazan ramen done!

I'll definitely advise that you get the staff to help with removing the lid for it'll be VERY hot.Tadaa~ My Hinomaru Tomato Kazan Ramen,

I think this ramen will be the best choice for ladies, filled to the brim with a huge tomato, tons of cabbage shreds, beansprouts and red capsicums. The pork bone based broth is further 'spiced up' with a tangy flavour from the tomatoes, giving it a lighter and refreshing taste to the usual heavily flavourful ramen tonkotsu broth.

Seriously, I think that all the cabbage and beansprouts combined is twice as much as the noodles inside. Having a ton of beansprouts seemed to be how they do their ramen, so if you dislike beansprouts, please make a special order request to not add them in! It'll be a painfully infinite process if you have to pick them out one by one.T's Karamiso Kazan Ramen.

The broth was strongly flavourful, yet not spicy at all. So we're both a little disappointed. The charsiu, however, was heavenly! So thoroughly braised, and has the right amount of fattiness to make it tender and soft. I took a bite and it literally like melt apart in my mouth.Their flavoured egg was pretty disappointing too.

Yes, the yolk was almost perfect with the outside moist and just cooked through while the innermost is glistening gooey, but... where's the braised flavour?! It was pure white throughout on the insides and the surface was only so ever slightly tanned that on first look I thought it was just a soft boiled egg. Taste wise, same thing.

This is just a soft boiled egg sold as a flavoured egg. Period.Yaki Gyoza.

My first impression when I saw these burnt gyoza was also another mental thumbs-down. But hey, I was surprised when I took a bite! The slightly charred flavour actually added more taste to the gyoza, while the meat filling remains tender and moist.

Failed on the presentation, but passed with flying colours on the actual taste.

repost from: http://molly-mia.blogspot.sg/2014/12/mias-review-tonkotsu-kazan-ramen.html

Located at the heart of Jalan Besar, and conveniently right opposite Jalan Besar Plaza (Fret not, drivers! There's ample parking spaces! Per entry in the evenings too!), Wan He Lou is actually quite easily accessible on foot from both Lavender and Farrer Park MRT Stations. The restaurant management advised that Farrer Park will be a more straightforward (hence, 'safer') choice, but we actually strolled back to Lavender Station very easily in about 15 minutes' time.We were actually the first to arrive, on the dot at 11am sharp when they open, and just went on a crazy phototaking spree! A feature wall of the photographs taken when our local artistes visited the restaurant.And I love these bird-cage lanterns so much!

Okay, let's get on to the food, shall we?Fresh Vegetable Juice - $3.50

I know, this vibrant shade of green with almost half the glass of 'pulpy remains' aren't exactly the most appealing drink you'll find. But believe me, this is the yummiest green drink you can ever find. Oyhz loved it so much, she went for a second one!

A yummy blend of pineapples, sour plums and cai xin, you'll actually taste the pineapples and sour plums in spite of the strong green colour. A really icy refreshing drink that tickled my tastebuds and boosted my appetite. Crispy Lotus with Salted Egg (S) - $11.90Each piece of the lotus is sliced till nearly paper thin, deep fried till golden brown and then generously coated in salted egg. If you're a fan of both fried lotus chips AND salted egg yolk flavour, you definitely have to order this! This dish is more of a light snack instead of a main dish and I strongly recommend that you try to finish it up as soon as it gets served, for as the dish gets cold, it loses some of its crispiness as well. Pan Fried Kurobuta Pork (S) - $14.90If you're still a stranger to kurobuta, it's actually Japanese for Black (kuro) Pork (buta). The main reason why kurobuta is much more 'raved' and popular as compared to their pink counterparts is due to the fact that the meat is actually much more tender and has very much less of the commonly hated (in individuals who doesn't enjoy eating pork) 'pork smell'.

I really love this dish, even though I myself is also a pork-hater, for the meat is really tender and it has a savoury-sweet flavour, a perfect dish to go with a bowl of piping hot rice! Qing Long Cai / Green Dragon Vegetable with Dried Shrimps (S) - $9.90I know, $9.90 for such a small servings of vegetables sounds kind of pricey. But this is actually not just any vegetables you can find in the supermarket. These Qing Long Cai are specially brought in from Cameron Highlands, and grown in limited sunlight by having them covered in nylon nettings after their first cut at about 6th week's growth.

They look a lot like garlic chives, but is crunchier, sweeter and more succulent in taste. It does have a mild 'typical chive smell', but I didn't taste the distintive 'chive taste' as I ate these greens. Perhaps the dried shrimps have masked the dreaded 'chive taste', or it's just how the Qing Long Cai is supposed to be. Nontheless, the addition of dried shrimps really complemented this dish really well. The strong salty flavour of the dried shrimps really brought out the crisp sweetness of the greens and the perfect combination of both sweet and savoury taste just made this vegetable a must try of the restaurant.Hokkaido Scallop with Hawthorne Sauce & Asparagus (S) - $20.90 Yup, there's 5 big fat Hokaiddo scallops you see there, drenched generously in sweet hawthorne sauce spiced up with cut chilli. I abosolutely loved the asparagus (yes, an asparagus-lover here). Unlike many other restaurants, which tend to mix young and old asparagus together, this entire plate only has young, tender asparagus that was cooked till just the right time to keep its soft crunch and natural sweetness, yet absorb enough of the hawthorne sauce's flavour. Sounds complicated, eh? Well, you just have to try them out for yourselves.

And finally, how can we miss out Wan He Lou's specialty? Signature Lobster Porridge - $29.90 onwards (serves 2)

According to the restaurant's management, each order, which serves 2, comes with 1 lobster (halved).And the first thing that the server did while serving us the porridge was to remove all the lobsters from the hot porridge onto separate plates so as to prevent the lobsters from getting overcooked. And as you can see, the porridge is in Teochew style with the rice still maintaining their grain forms and all the essence from the lobster locked into the thick, flavourful soup. I know the Cantonese congee is commonly more popular than the Teochew muay due to the perception that the congee is more flavourful and rich, having to cook the rice with all the ingredients for long hours. But tell you what, having been fed Teochew muay since young, I really do appreciate a good one when I find one.

This is definitely not those 'short-cut' kind at the hawker centres with just hot tasty soup poured over ready cooked rice and served straight away with the rice still tasteless and hard (at least it didn't taste like so to my tastebuds), but really cooked in the flavourful soup until the grains further soften, which allows flavour to develop not just in the soup but also in the rice itself. This is the kind of Teochew muay my mother and grandma has been cooking for me since young! But of course with only ikan billis or a few pieces of dried scallops, duh.(The lobster is too big for my bowl... T.T)

The soup is simply awesome! This just has to be the best comforting food you can ever find that is rich yet not overpowering, and enhanced with the fresh sweetness of the lobster roe that complements the overall savoury flavour of the porridge. The soup was so delicious, that we kept refilling our bowls with the soup and leaving lots of the grains behind. The lobster was also fresh and well done, the meat thick and chewy from the freshness.

An award winning dish indeed!To end the food tasting, the restaurant management also served us some desserts, Beancurd & Lychee pudding with Ice Cream, to refresh our tastebuds.

If you didn't know, I'm a serial Katong hang-outer and Le Petit Paradis caught my eye one of those days as I was walking aimlessly along the street houses, while they're still under going their very final stages of pre-opening preparations.

"Hey, isn't this the French food stall from the Ali Babar kopitiam?"

And yes, it is. And apparently, this kopitiam really has some awesome fengshui, for its previous tenants include Aston's (after which they started 20 over franchises) and then Saveur. Le Petit Paradis has obviously, followed their footsteps and expanded just a few shops down the street. The restaurant is actually pretty small, yet not crowded on a Sunday evening when we visited. Interior decor is also kept simple and chic.Just showing off my pot of tea. xpSous-vide Lamb Leg - $21

62 degree Celsius slow-cooked lamb leg, served on top of creamy basmati rice and topped (or in a literal sense, surrounded) herb vinaigrette.

Sounds yummy? Yes it is! I love the lamb leg! It's not exactly moist-slimy kind of tenderness you find in chicken or duck, but it's definitely tender yet with a chewy bite. The meat still remain much of the natural sweetness and juices, brought out and complemented with a strong flavour of spices that I reckon, help to mask out the distinctive 'lamb smell' commonly feared by many.

As for the creamy basmati rice, it's pretty average and taste just like a mediocre risotto. The rice remains hard and generously covered in creamy cheesey sauce, albeit not as flavourful as I will like it to be.

And lastly, the herb vinaigrette didn't go too well with my tastebuds. Too.... herbal?Steak and Fries - $23

150 days grains-fed Angus Sirloin with thick crispy fries and caramalised onions.

T commented that the steak is too thin to be deemed nice, but later on changed his mind in relation to its affordable price. It would be a decent choice for a cheap steak & fries fix.