Full review found in http://www.nahmj.com/2015/12/29/da-luca-italian-restaurant-goldhill-plaza-ingapore/

We were at the restaurant at about 6.30pm on a Monday evening, most tables weren’t occupied yet. But by 7pm, it was almost full house. In other word, either go early or make sure a reservation is made to avoid disappointment.

Food was more than good. Fresh Mixed Salad with Mushroom, Corn and Cherry Tomato in Extra Virgin Oil ($11.90) was with a good mix of vegetable.

Chef’s Ravioli Stuffing With Sausages and Mushroom Sauce ($22.90). It was with a very rich and creamy sauce. I like it. 

The Lamb Rib in the Grilled Lamb Choped with Spinach and Roasted Potato ($27.90) has a good portion of fats to meat. It was grilled to perfection. The spinach and roasted potato complemented the lamb well. Another enjoyable dish.

Tiramisu ($10.90) was easily one of the best. A good balance between the cream, coffee, alcohol and sponge.

Original review at http://www.nahmj.com/2016/06/09/hokkaido-sushi-restaurant-m-hotel/

I have never heard about Hokkaido Sushi Restaurant even though it exists for quite some time. I suppose that because it is perched at Level 9 of M Hotel which can’t be seen from the road. And may be not much of publicity was done previously. I am glad that I was introduced to this restaurant who pride themselves in serving authentic and fresh Japanese cuisine.As I was approaching, I saw the facade of the restaurant I didn’t feel alluring. It has this 80s vibe in it. When I entered the restaurant, it looks pretty dark as it has only random spotlight as lighting. The space at Hokkaido Sushi Restaurant is huge and it could seat 120 guests at its full capacity with 4 private rooms.At Hokkaido Sushi Restaurant, beside the classic Japanese food such as Sushi, they famous for their Omakase too. And they have started to introduce The Hokkaido Buffet Experience in the form ala carte buffet. It is this that I went for at Hokkaido Sushi Restaurant for my first dinning experience with them. And I am say, I am surprise at the quality and taste for most of the food.

The Hokkaido Buffet Experience

At The Hokkaido Buffet Experience, it offers a wide variety of food ranging from appetizers to sashimi, sushi to cooked food. We are spoilt for choices.The first luring factor for The Hokkaido Buffet Experience is the Premium Sashimi Platter. Each guest who are at the restaurant for the buffet is served a portion. This promotion is available in June and July 2016. They will be changing this premium items from time to time.

Appetizers
We started our meal with the appetizers. There are 11 items on the ala carte buffet menu. We were recommended the signature dishes and we went with it.The first appetizer is the Pitan Tofu which is my absolute favourite among our order. The pungent flavour of Pitan is mild as such it is easy on the palate.Next is the Ikura Chawanmushi. I adore it as it was served pipping hot and not lukewarm. At least this was true on our visit. The chawanmushi was silky. I find it comforting.The lightly sweetened omelette, the Tamago Yaki is such a typical Japanese dish.Last but not least is the Ika Geso, deep fried squid. It has a thin and light batter which make it a great snack with beer.

Sashimi
Right after our appetizers, we dived into the Sashimi as this item is value for money. It is a must go after item at any buffet. Lol!We have all the available Sashimi on the menu; the Maguro, Mekajiki, Hamachi, Salmon, Tako and Hotate. When it was on the table, the first we took note was the thickness. We were Wow by this plate and we relished in the freshness and sweetness of each thick slice.

Sushi
There are a total of 21 Sushi, 7 Temaki and 9 Maki.First to be served on the table was the Hokkaido Maki which is a sushi roll with salmon in the centre, laced with special sauce and mayonnaise and finally with generous amount of ebiko as final touch.Some of the Sushi we tried were (from right to left) Aburi Salmon Mentaiko, Aburi Ebi, Unagi, Hamachi Truffle and Maguro with Mayonnaise. What I like about the sushi is that the rice amount was small versus the meat.

Others
If you are looking for some hot food, The Hokkaido Buffet Experience of Hokkaido Sushi Restaurant has plenty to offer.Two of my favourite are the Wagyu Mushroom and Pork with Ginger. These 2 dishes were flavourful. And most importantly, they weren’t cooked using the same sauce.If diners need some vegetables, the seems like one and only vegetables to order the Mixed Vegetables with Mushroom.Ginkarei Shioyaki looks similar to Cod and has a smooth oily texture like Cod too. A pity this dish is bland.The Tebasaki, grilled chicken wings, though succulent but the flavour remains on the skin. It did not penetrate into the meat.
In total, there are about 25 cooked items to choose from.

Noodles and Rice
Lastly, there are 2 Soba and Udon (Hot and Cold) with ingredients of Pork, Beef, Chicken and Vegetables, 2 Don (Pork and Chicken) and a Garlic Fried Rice. And how could we forget the Miso Soup.

All the dishes found at The Hokkaido Buffet Experience is also available as Ala Carte. And the restaurant claims that they are serving the same quality as per Ala Carte for the Buffet.

Though Hokkaido Sushi Restaurant provide a good selection that are fresh at The Hokkaido Buffet Experience, I can’t help but to lament on the lack of dessert. It is a shame that it doesn’t include them for a rounded experience. And drinks are to be ordered separately like the desserts.

More reviews at http://www.nahmj.com/

Original Reviews at http://www.nahmj.com/2016/05/07/fuel-plus-at-morse-road/

Fuel Plus rested under the foot of Mount Faber, surrounded with greens is the sister cafe of Refuel at Bedok. When I saw the address 16 Morse Road, I thought it was familiar and then realised that it took over the space of 93 Degree C Coffee. For those who have never patronised the 93 Degree, you can’t spot the cafe along Morse Road, instead, turn right into Wishart Road from Morse Road if you are coming from Telok Blangah Road.The raw space where it was occupied by 93 Degree C Coffee previously has now transformed into a hipster looking Aussie-style one. Fuel Plus cafe has cleverly uses different tiles on various walls, pillars, counters and even on the floor to provide the different texture instead of just plain white cafe. It has elements that captivate.Even though it has an A3 size one page, it has lots to offer. On the menu were 7 sections; Beverages, Desserts, Cakes, Eggs & Such, Mains & Burgers, Pastas & Salads, lastly being Bites.The commonly found espresso-based coffee is also provided at Fuel Plus. There isn’t anything usual or special under this section. As usual my choice Espresso-based coffee is the Cappuccino ($5) which has a medium body, pretty low acidity and mainly nutty note.For diners who prefer tea could opt for the Tea by pot ($5.50) or the recommended Fuel Ice Tea ($5). Other options include the Shakes and Sodas. I tried the Raspberry Basil Soda ($6.50) which is lightly sweet and nice basil fragrance.Fuel Plus At Morse Road, Telok Blangah, Singapore - Desserts, Mains and Burgers, Soft shell Crab in What e Crab BurgerI have not tried any breaky items under the Eggs & Such. I dived into the “Mains & Burgers” and picked What e Crab Burger ($16). Basically, this is a deep fried softshell crab sandwiched between a burger bun with a bed of shredded cucumber and wasabi mayo and lots of roe. By the burger side is shoe string fries. As long as you like softshell crab, you can’t go wrong.We went for the Baked Chicken Stew ($17) as it is a recommended dish by Fuel Plus. I was surprised to find the chicken tasty and not too heavy in tomato sauce.Beef Ragu Pappardelle ($18) was my pick from the Pastas & Salads section. This is a recommended dish by Fuel Plus. This dish uses Pappardelle as the pasta mixed with herby tomato sauce, mainly rosemary herb. The beef was cooked in the same sauce. It was tender.Fuel Plus serves quite a number of pretty plating desserts. The Pump it Up Hotcake ($16) and The Wicked French Toast ($15) both are the recommendation by Fuel Plus has enticing look. 

Homemade Apple Crumble ($9) is a smaller portion dish suitable for one to finish. The granny smith chunk were perfectly caramelized and the crunchiness remains. It was topped with granola instead of the usual butter crumbs. Finally, it was topped with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream.Limited cake varieties were served at Fuel Plus too.I thought well of Fuel Plus. At the very least, the food I tried were delish though not sure about the rest. I like the ambience too and its location, since it is accessible by public transport with minimal walking in a quaint environment.

More reviews at http://www.nahmj.com/

Original Review at http://www.nahmj.com/2016/05/05/percolate-cafe-bedok-singapore/

Percolate Coffee has been around for a while and expanded at its original location to twice the size it was. It was only after its expansion that I visited them twice before this post. Both were for tea on weekdays only. and despite it was weekdays, at both visit, Percolate Coffee was packed to 90%. Lucky, it wasn't 100%. At least, we managed to grab a table at both occassions. And interestingly, I took the same table.This cafe is another one which is below a HDB residential block. Beside the indoor seating area with air-condition, as an alternative, 2 tables were also placed outside the cafe for those who prefer natural air.As I opened the door, I was surprised to find that they hacked a hole out of the wall and in it placed a communal table. And this wall is in an unusual blue.Menu at Percolate Coffee is a single page. 2 columns; one for drinks and the other for food. At a glance, I see that there are more drinks option than food.

At Percolate Coffee, there isn't much choices for food. They offered mainly Croissants, both plain or with jam or with some fillings as sandwiches. The other option of sandwiches is on ciabatta. Two breakfast food; the organic granola and banana loaf. We have tried none of these offerings.The usual Espresso based coffee in either black or white for hot drink option existed on the menu. There are some Iced Coffee too. The White are in 3oz ($4), 5oz ($4.50) and 7oz ($5). There is Hot Mocha ($5) and Iced ones ($5.50) too.The Hot Mocha has a rich chocolate added into the coffee. Under the Iced Coffee, 2 interesting drink which I have never spotted on other cafe menu.The first was the Sparkling Black ($5) which we ordered to try. It was too acidity for me. The other was the Espresso Tonic ($5.50).
Other drinks include the Chocolate and Cold Pressed Fruit Juice.It is nice to see a variety of Tea; Hot Tea, Chai Latte, Cold Tea and Green Tea Latte. We tried the Lover's Rose ($6), a caffeine free tea. It is a blend of organic herbs, chamomile, rose petals, lavender, hibiscus and pink peppercorns. One would imagine the tea as sourish as a berry tea, but it is the case for the Lover's Rose. In addition, it has a stronger scent of Lavender than Rose.Lastly, Percolate Coffee offers an array of cakes and pastries. Strangely, we picked the same cake on both occassions, the Earl Grey Lemon Cake ($7). It has very subtle Earl Grey flavour, it is dominated by the lemon curd that were sandwiched between the cake.It is a cosy and warm cafe. Since in the neighbourhood, there isn't much choice, we don't see why it shouldn't attract. Hence expect it to be crowded even on weekdays.And we would avoid it on weekends too.

More reviews on http://www.nahmj.com/

Original Review at http://www.nahmj.com/2016/04/25/south-union-park-kembangan-singapore

South Union Park is nestled among a landed private property estate in the East of Singapore with Kembangan MRT station some distance away. It is walkable distance though many would choice otherwise.As it is surrounded by private residence, the area is tranquil and serene. It makes a great get away from the usual bustling shopping mall or crowded area for a peaceful meal with friends or family.It is easy to spot South Union Park as its name is printed in black and it is against a white facade, a good contrast. Most importantly, it is huge enough to be spotted from a distance.

As we pushed opened the glass door, we were welcomed by a homely feel from the interior design of the cafe. The design seems to resemble Scandinavian theme.South Union Park offered a single paged menu with 1 soup - Chicken Noodle Soup ($8), 1 Snack - Pork Crackling ($5), 5 Starters, 2 Mains, 3 Homemade Pasta and 3 Plated Desserts.

Among the starter choice of Roasted Veg Salad ($10), Butter Lettuce Salad ($8/12), Fried Chicken ($9), Poutine ($12) and Crabcakes ($12), we chose the last item. I didn't imagine the crabcakes to be in a mini balls that is good bite size. It came as a pleasant surprise. The crabcakes has visible crab seen and it has a distinctive herb taste. Depending on whether do you like the herb flavour. We were neutral to this herb taste though. At least, the strong seafood fragrance was absent.3 pasta offered, Short Rib Ragu ($22), Duck Confit Pasta ($19) and Butternut ($17), we chose the 2nd option with no regret. It was amazing. We could savour the duck flavour laced on the surface on the tagliatelle. The hazelnut cream unique and it complemented all the ingredients well. And some sauteed spinach with abundant shredded duck confit were throughout the dish.Among the 2 Mains, Cheeseburger ($22) and Poached Salmon ($20), the former is more intriguing but we chose the latter as one diner doesn't consume beef.
Looking at the pale salmon steak with raisin abundantly in the couscous, I was skeptical about its taste. Since both isn't my preferred ingredient. I have a change of impression after trying it.3 Plated Desserts choices of Brownie ($9), Souffle of the day($13) and Apple Crumble ($10) which was our choice of dessert for the meal. On the plate was an entire baked granny smith, a scoop of vanilla ice cream with butterscotch sauce drizzled sat on butter crumble. Apple remains crunchy. As it has a core in it, making it difficult for consumption. It would be perfect if the core could be removed before baking or serving it.It is interesting that all of us ordered the same drink, the Cappuccino ($4.50). And among the drinks, one of which has a variegated look. It has a distinctive layer of milk, coffee and foam. Not sure what went wrong while brewing the coffee. The cuppa was low body, low acidity with nutty note. We find it decent.I thought well of South Union Park. All the food served were above average at a reasonable pricing. My friends and I enjoyed our meal at South Union Park.

More reviews on http://www.nahmj.com/