I was in a state of panic this evening because it was already 10pm and my boyfriend and I were looking for a place to have our dinner at in the City Hall area. We must've tried at least 4 to 5 restaurants and they were ALL done taking their last orders for the day. We thought we were stuck with Macs until we remembered Marche Bar & Bistro behind Raffles City Shopping Centre. This one restaurant's always open till late and it has saved me from starvation (and fast food) more than once!

This was my third time having a late meal at Marche and I must say, it has NEVER failed me! The first two times, I was pleased with my meals but I thought I just got lucky. But this time round was the tipping point for me. I had the Norwegian Smoked Salmon on crusty bread dish - I can't remember the actual name of it but it's under the Bar Snacks section on the menu. All the choices under this section are about $7.90 - $8.90, with this salmon dish as an exception as it costs $12.90. The portion... was HUGE. I was quite shocked. That's real value for money right there! It was like a pizza concept and it was drizzled with some horseradish cream sauce concoction and topped generously with bits of green apple. Messy dish but amazing combo!

My boyfriend had the Tuna Steak ($28.90). The portion was ALSO crazy big and the tuna was grilled to juicy perfection. The garlic herb sauce made it even more enjoyable. The sides were Caesar salad with loads of sauce (sinful but sooo delicious) and roasted baby potatoes which were very well-seasoned.

Needless to say, we were so full after that. One of my favourite places to dine at - do pay Marche Bistro a visit when you can cos you won't regret it!

I've been to Oriole several times - once for dinner and once for drinks - but it never crossed my mind to give the desserts a try, until this particular evening.One of the desserts we chose was Honey Crumble Affogato ($7.50). This was a mishmash of espresso, bits of honeycomb crunch and vanilla ice cream. Coffee lovers would enjoy this one - the espresso was a real shot to the head and the honeycomb bits added that certain texture to the already soft mix of espresso and ice cream. Dessert #2 was the Sticky Pudding ($9). Sticky Pudding (sometimes Sticky Date Pudding) is usually very average, nothing special, you know, bleah. But this one was really fantastic. What set it apart from other versions was the generous amount of rum that covered entire plate. Every spoonful of sweet treacle pudding with raisins and vanilla ice cream had loads of rum in it and boy, that rum was some hard stuff. Yet another shot to the head! I'm definitely coming back just for this.

I'm a HUGE fan of Filipino food although I'm 100% Singaporean. It's hard to find folks here with a strong love for Filipino food because it's really different from local fare - it's way oilier, full of fat and loads of pork is used in Filipino cuisine... which is exactly why I can't get enough of it.

I was quite surprised to find out there was a Filipino eatery at Cuppage Road. And I was even more surprised to find out that Gerry's Grill is actually a chain of restaurants in the Philippines. We decided on Chicken Chicharon Skin (white plate on left), Pork Sisig (sizzling plate on right), and Sinigang na Baboy (soup - image above). All these were side dishes that accompanied our white rice.

The Chicken Chicharon Skin tasted somewhat like the cripsy bits of pork lard in Bak Chor Mee - only bigger, dried, not so oily, and cracker-like. I could taste the oil in it and it was just soooo good. It actually had a smooth texture, unlike our bits of crispy pork lard. One could definitely eat this like popcorn all day long. Try it for yourself and you'll see what I mean.

Pork Sisig is a very classic dish in the Philippines. You usually enjoy it with beer at a bar. But here, we had it for dinner instead of as a snack.

It seemed to have bits of corn beef in it too, I wasn't too sure, but the gamey pork taste was strong. That's also another thing I love about Filipino food - the fact that the gamey taste is there. Strange but true.

Sisig is usually topped with egg but we didn't have that this time round. You can see the oil in all its sinful glory floating around the plate... wahhhh I'm practically drooling now...

Last but not least, Sinigang. This sour soup dish is my FAVOURITE Filipino dish of all time. Baboy means 'pork'. This soup dish is tamarind based and has other ingredients like tomatoes, eggplant and kangkong in swimming around in it. The best bit? The large chunks of pork belly floating around, waiting to be eaten.

I can't say this is the best sinigang I've had because it could have used more tamarind, but I haven't had sinigang in a long time so I was happy to be slurping on the soup after ages!

All this was enjoyed with a chilled glass of Ripe Mango Shake. I'm telling you - I would come here just for this drink... not kidding! It's sweet and incredibly refreshing. It's not your average cup of Mango Shake.

After the meal I had to walk around town just to burn some calories. I think I overate but for darn good food, who cares?!

I find myself returning to Skinny Pizza time and time again because of one thing, and that's the Wild Truffled Mushroom Pizza.

Fact that I'm a sucker for truffle-anything aside, this pizza is just LOADED with flavour, mushrooms (many many many!) and fresh veggies. I admit it's a little too rich - after gobbling up 2 huge slices I'd usually get that 'sore throat' feel - but honestly, it's so worth it and I don't mind falling sick from such 'heaty' meals as long as they're darn hearty

Another dish worth trying is the The Elegant Black Pepper Prawn Linguine. Don't be fooled by its appearance... this pasta dish is actually quite spicy!

Enjoy your meal with a glass of cider (can't remember what it's called - it can be found in the drinks menu) and you can definitely walk away from Skinny Pizza feeling happy and, well, not so skinny!

Lil Papa's is about a 5-10 minute walk from Tanjong Pagar MRT station. It's tucked away in a corner of Block 7, Tanjong Pagar Plaza and yeah, it's pretty cosy!

The selection of all sorts of rare beer was what caught my attention at first. Seriously wish I could try them all! Settled for the Toffee Apple Cider in the end. It was really sweet - exactly how I like my alcohol!

As for the hotdogs, there were many kinds to choose from, but I ordered the Sambal Sin Wiener in the end. With the spicy Italian sausage I chose, plus the super-shiok-darn-spicy sambal sauce and small chunks of pineapple, it was a chilli combo that was simply unbeatable. Absolutely delish!